Electronics Chain hhgregg Hopes to Grab Share of Milwaukee Market

The Indianapolis-based chain opened three stores in the Milwaukee area and on in Green Bay and Appleton on Saturday, its first five Wisconsin stores.

Some of the management team at Indianapolis-based hhgregg may be new to the area, but they certainly did their homework. The appliance and electronics chain, which opened its first five Wisconsin stores in Green Bay, Appleton, Brown Deer, Greenfield and Racine on Saturday, was scheduled to hold a state-wide, four-day grand-opening starting Sept. 13. The same day the Green Bay Packers host the Chicago Bears in a primetime NFL game. “All the paperwork said Sept. 13, but we decided to wait,” said Michael Burdick, who relocated from Virginia to be the Electronics Sales Manager at Greenfield’s store, 4585 S. 76th St. The grand opening is now slated for Sept. 20-23, but all five Wisconsin stores are open to customers now. Those who shop at …

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New Appliance Store Scheduled for Late Summer, Early Fall Opening

The former Ultimate Electronics and Circuit City location will be occupied by hhgregg later this year.

Work on both the exterior and interior of the former Ultimate Electronics building, 4585 S. 76th St., began last month as crews convert it to a different big-box electronics and appliance chain store. Renovations on the new hhgregg will continue through the summer, pushing the opening of the store to late summer or early fall, according to Kim Paone of the company’s public relations firm. With more than 100 models of flat panel televisions and more than 350 models of brand name appliances on display, hhgregg stores are designed to appeal to consumers who seek a broad selection of video products and appliances. The typical hhgregg store is 25,000 to 30,000 square feet. Let Patch save you time. Get great local stories like this delivered …

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Future of Greenfield Haunted House Scary at Best

A haunt in the vacant Ultimate Electronics store is facing a serious time crunch after getting its request for a temporary use permit declined.

Greenfield residents that have driven past the vacant Ultimate Electronics building likely have noticed the large semi-truck trailers with “HauntFest” emblazoned along the sides. The trailers serve as movable billboards announcing the haunted house’s newest location. The haunt used to be at the State Fair Park fairgrounds in West Allis, and according to the haunt’s website, the screams are supposed to commence Sept. 30 with 17 days of haunts throughout October. But Greenfield’s Community Development Manager Chuck Erickson said the chances of the haunt opening to the public on time, or at all, are not good. According to Erickson, the city has declined a temporary use permit to Taj Jordan, owner of Music on the Move of Greendale and operator…

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Electronics, Appliances Retailer Wants Prime Greenfield Location

The Indianapolis-based hhgregg would be the third straight store of its kind to fill the prominent big-box building on 76th Street.

Greenfield's most prominent vacant big-box building might soon have a new tenant.  A new tenant not unlike its previous two. Indianapolis-based electronics and appliance retailer hhgregg will come before the City of Greenfield Plan Commission in mid-September to present its proposed plan to fill the building at 4585 S. 76th St., the former site of Circuit City and Ultimate Electronics, according to a story by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The story said the city's Community Development Director Chuck Erickson expected both the Plan Commission and the Common Council to favor the proposal. The Plan Commission meeting is set for Sept. 13. The story also said that hhgregg plans to open 14 stores in the Chicago area next month, giving the …

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After Tweaks, Changes, Greenfield Resale Ordinance Finally Passes

A similar ordinance had business owners up in arms last summer.

One year after creating an uproar with its resale ordinance that was later rescinded, it appears the City of Greenfield got its redo done right. The Greenfield Common Council approved the repeal and recreation of its ordinance relating to pawnbrokers, second-hand article dealers and second-hand jewelry dealers Tuesday by a 3-1 vote. Alderperson Thomas Pietrowski voted against the ordinance; Alderperson Pam Akers was not in attendance. “The creation of this ordinance was kind of an unprecedented thing, at least as long as I’ve been around, which is 21 years,” Greenfield Interim Police Chief Brad Wentlandt said. “The ordinance, as it sits before you, is probably 50 percent input from the business and 50 percent regulatory issues we had …

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There Will Be No Pawn Shop on 76th Street

The Greenfield Common Council denies the store's request, 3-2, at Monday's meeting.

The City of Greenfield will continue to look for a tenant for the vacated Ultimate Electronics building after the Common Council shot down a proposed pawn shop at the location at Tuesday’s meeting at City Hall. Despite pleas from the store’s owner and company representatives, the council rejected the request by Exchange Street, a Minnesota-based company, to move into the building located just off Interstate 894 and on the busy 76th Street thoroughfare. The public hearing lasted 45 minutes before the council denied the request with a 3-2 vote.  A large concern was the stigma attached to pawn shops and the kind of clientele it would attract. “It may be dressed nicely. It may be in a beautiful location. It may have whistles and bells. But the…

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Editor's Notebook

Pawn Shop: Yes or No? You Decide

Before the Planning Commission discusses the matter again tonight, here is your chance to sound off on Exchange Street's request to open a large pawn shop in the vacated Ultimate Electronics building?

Ultimate Electronics, despite doing well locally, had a short-lived existence in Greenfield, lasting only a few months. The building the company vacated is one of the most visible in all of Greenfield, with thousands of people driving past it daily on I-894, South 76th Street and even Layton Avenue. So, what should fill the building now? Greenfield's Planning Commission will revisit that discussion when it considers the request of the owners of Exchange Street, a large pawn shop, to move in at a meeting at 6:30 p.m. tonight at City Hall. Greenfield Police Chief Frank Springob has said he's not in favor of the request because of a potential strain the selling of stolen goods at the store would put on his department, but how long can the …

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Some Not Excited About Pawn Store

Minnesota-based Exchange Street's request met with mixed reviews

Will they or won't they? That's the big question when it comes to what will City of Greenfield officials do in regards to the Minnesota-based Exchange Street's request to fill the vacancy on 76th Street left by Ultimate Electronics this winter. When the proposal first came to light, Greenfield Police Chief Frank Springob expressed concerns that a large pawn or resale shop will result in the reselling of stolen goods and the need for the city's police department to pay close attention to the new store. In a story last week on Greenfield NOW, city officials were concerned the about the negative connotation "pawn shop" carries, and Mayor Michael Neitzke wondered what a pawn shop would do the to image of 76th Street.

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Pawn Store Hopes to Move Into Greenfield This Fall

The city will hold a public hearing to discuss the request June 21.

Rixmann Companies of Burnsville, Minn., wants to open an Exchange Street pawn shop in the building that once housed popular Circuit City and the short-lived Ultimate Electronics, according to a story in The Business Journal. Greenfield Patch covered the Greenfield Plan Commission meeting Tuesday, at which Rixmann director of community affairs Chuck Armstrong express his company's desire to move into the 40,000-square-foot building. According to The Business Journal story, Rixmann operates a chain of shops known as Pawn America. Exchange Street differs from Pawn America in that it would be a larger store with a focus on family shopping, the story said. There will be public hearing about the proposal June 21 before the Greenfield Common …

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