Franklin Today

More public funds for 27th Street?

Tonight's Common Council agenda includes two development topics: the Crossroads intersection (Hwy 100 & Loomis) and the 27th Street Corridor. What stands out is how those two topics part ways in terms of priorities and vision.

Three Cellars breaks ground on new beer & wine garden

After several months of working with the city on issues, Three Cellars proudly had a groundbreaking "ceremony" last Thursday to celebrate the construction of its new beer & wine garden. This will be a great addition to the 76th & Rawson business district and to the community at-large, which needed something like this since Ka Martini Lounge closed several years ago. Three Cellars is located on the opposite end of Hanley's in that tiny strip mall. The beer & wine garden will replace what was a tiny, one-lane parking lot, and in essence would double the size of the business during warmer months.

Three Cellars is already one of those "hotspots" for "who's who" in the community. I fully expect the beer & wine garden to bring more people and neighbors to the business, making it a true community gathering place after work.

Culver's of Franklin's May Flavors of the Day are up

For some reason, the e-mails from the Franklin Culver's are spotty when it comes to the monthly "Flavors of the Day" announcements. Fortunately, they sent everyone on their e-mail list a copy. Here they are, with the numbers corresponding with the date.

May  FLAVORS OF THE DAY
01 Turtle 02 Rocky Road 03 Raspberry Cordial 04 Caramel Cashew 05 Really Reese’s 06 Butter Pecan 07 Double Strawberry 08 Caramel Chocolate Pecan 09 Butter Brickle 10 Just Drummy 11 Chocolate Covered Strawberry 12 Turtle 13 Caramel Cashew 14 Red Raspberry 15 Mint Oreo 16 Chocolate Oreo Volcano	17 Strawberry Bon-Bon 18 Snicker Swirl 19 Butter Pecan 20 Turtle 21 Cookie Dough Craving 22 Cookies & Cream 23 Black Forest 24 Caramel Cashew 25 Nestle’s Crunch Swirl 26 Cherry Pecan 27 Strawberry Cheesecake 28 Peanut Butter Cup 29 Berries & Cream 30 Turtle Dove 31 Butter Pecan Culver's of Franklin, WI #139 4220 W. Oakwood Park Ct..

 

Danny Gokey shoots commercial in Franklin's Moondance Cafe

A couple of hours ago, Franklin's very own Moondance Cafe posted an update on their Facebook page thanking American Idol-turned-Country star Danny Gokey for filming part of his Wisconsin Vision commercial at their business. For those who might not be aware of this, Gokey actually has family ties in Franklin, and while being a sensation on American Idol made a stop at Robinwood Elementary School, where his relatives attended school, for a special performance.

It's great to see Gokey back in Franklin, this time showing support for one of our local businesses. 

Pictured Above: Gokey with Moondance Cafe owner Hatem (Harry) Shata.

Parking requirements for projects to be reviewed

This Thursday's Plan Commission meeting looks to be interesting as the commission is set to review the parking requirements for new developments within the city. As Franklin's leadership has been attempting to promote a more business-friendly climate here, several changes have already occurred in the development process. These changes, proposed by the Mayoral Ad-Hoc Development Process Review Committee, were more focused on the protection of the city's natural resources and features.

It's good to see that we're moving beyond that.

The parking requirements in Franklin are a bit out of hand, and have received criticism in the past. Instead of utilizing the land in a more compact form, the requirements would have developers build massive parking lots due to the square footage of the building(s) within the project. To that end, many completed developments in our community currently feature parking lots that are half-full, and with some projects this eliminates any sort-of "community" feeling and replaces it with a generic strip mall environment.

While retailers and restaurants have parking requirements in order for their business to locate in a particular project, it always seemed that Franklin's requirements far exceeded those numbers. Instead of creating asphalt paradises, perhaps developers can attempt to create true community shopping and working destinations with revised (and hopefully lower) parking requirements.

Wyndham Village faces possible foreclosure

The news broke last Friday in the Business Journal, and since then no other local news source picked up the story. I view this as very significant, given the history not only of this project, but others as well since 2008.

It can be said that retail issues in Franklin are due to "global economic collapse". Unfortunately, that's the standard being used throughout the country and nothing is being done to buck the trend. Instead of shrugging shoulders and walking away, let's look for a solution and see if there are other factors leading to Franklin's very real retail problem. Some might disagree, but there really is a retail problem in Franklin. A community doesn't have what our leaders coined "The Big Three" in retail projects in 2007/2008 all end up in the pits. Yet somehow, some way, Franklin pulled it off.

Omega Custard's special flavor has Franklin twist

Go to Omega Custard on 27th Street today to check out the custard flavor of choice from the winning bidder of a Franklin Educational Foundation auction. "All Twisted Up", as it's called, features vanilla-based custard with chocolate covered pretzels, chocolate flakes and chocolate swirls. Considering that a portion of the sales will be going to the Educational Foundation, I will be stopping by Omega later today to give the flavor a try.

Franklin restaurant gets a Journal Sentinel review

Two Brothers restaurant, located just north of Ryan Rd (Hwy 100) on 27th Street received a positive review from the Journal Sentinel's dining critic, Carol Deptolla. You can listen to her review and enjoy some of Two Brothers menu offerings by viewing the video below.

Another reason to love Fall...

Two reasons, actually. Both of which have to do with food. One can be found in Franklin while the other, unfortunately, hasn't built a location south of I-94 yet.

1. Pumpkin shakes & concrete mixers are now available at Culver's! Support Franklin's Culver's location at Oakwood Park Road & Ryan Road (Hwy 100), in the Franklin Business Park.
2. Pumpkin cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory! Unfortunately with this one, not only does one have to travel all the way across the metro area to Mayfair or Bayshore, but last year the Mayfair Cheesecake Factory actually ran out of pumpkin! That was a sad day for my taste buds.

I got an e-mail from Culver's reminding me that their pumpkin flavors are now available, which inspired me to do this post. Thank you for the reminder!

9/17 Examiner.com post of the day

76th & Rawson: A gateway that shouldn't diminish and suffer

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