Music store finds a new home in downtown Port

Downtown Port Washington is getting two new retailers in the coming weeks, filling spaces that have been vacant for some time.

Lakeside Music and Naturals was expected to open Thursday, July 5, at 115 N. Franklin St., in the space vacated last spring by La Tulipe.

  Sherper’s, an outdoor clothing and equipment store based in Hales Corners and Oconomowoc, plans to open a retail shop on the first floor of the Harbour Lights building at the corner of Franklin and Main Streets later this month.

Formerly known as Creekside Music and Naturals, Lakeside Music and Naturals is moving from its location on Grafton’s Paramount Plaza, said Kat Chronis, who with her husband Aaron Rossmiller, owns the store.

“July is going to be a month of transition for us,” Chronis said, noting that the couple will be adding products throughout the month as they make the move to Port.

The couple has been struggling to find the right home for their Ozaukee County store, she said. It was initially located in Cedarburg, but after it outgrew that space, the couple moved to a storefront on Highway 60 in Grafton and later to the village’s Paramount Plaza.

“At our Grafton store, we had no visibility or foot traffic,” Chronis said. “Here, we’ll have that.”

Many of the customers are from the Port Washington area and suggested the store move to the city, Chronis said.

“They said we’d be a better fit here,” she said. “It’s been great. We’ve had such a warm welcome so far. We’ve found our home. We have never been more sure of anything pertaining to the store as that.” 

The store is an eclectic mix of musical instruments and natural products, such as essential oils, organic body care products, baby clothes and toys, that reflects its owners interests.

Chronis is a wholistic nurse and birth instructor while her husband has been involved in music for much of his life.

The store will rent and sell a variety of new and used musical instruments and accessories, and the couple plan to expand their lesson program, Chronis said. Rossmiller also repairs and refurbishes instruments and is planning to start manufacturing guitars under the name NorthPoint Guitars.

This is their second shop — Rossmiller started Monument Music in Sheboygan in 2006 and continues to operate the business.

Sherper’s, which announced in February it would be opening a retail shop at 128 N. Franklin St., had hoped to open early in July but construction issues have delayed that until the end of the month, Nate Sherper, vice president of the company, said.

“We’re shooting to open in July,” he said. “We’ll still be able to hit the tail end of summer then.”

The store will be getting in its fall merchandise then, he said, but will still have warm-weather offerings ideal for Port’s summer season.

Sherper said the store will employ about 15 workers, many of whom have already been hired and are undergoing training at the family’s Hales Corner store.

“That way, we’ll be ready to go when we get construction completed,” he said, noting it will take three or four days after that’s done to get the store set up.

Sherper said he and his brother Rob, will initially serve as the store managers.

In addition, Sherper said, they are still looking at setting up a kayak rental kiosk on Port’s lakefront.

They initially sought permission to place the kiosk just north of Newport Shores restaurant, but they are now rethinking that and instead are look at setting up on South Beach.

“We’re hoping we can still do something this summer, but if not, we’ll do it for next summer,” he said.

Sherper and his brother are the fourth generation to run the family business, which began in 1935 as a men’s haberdashery, then after World War II became more of an Army and Navy surplus store. Later, it adopted an outdoors bent. 

“We’re kind of a general store,” Sherper said earlier this year, noting the business carries everything from military and police uniforms to paddlesports equipment, camping items, general clothing and footwear.