By Melissa Ripp

When you arrive in the sleepy little village of Egg Harbor by way of Highway 42, the clean, glistening white storefront in the heart of town, across the street from Main Street Market, might surprise you a bit. Not by the fact that it’s there – the complex itself has been there for about 10 years – but by the fact that its sparkling building renovations, brightly colored flags and flowers, and full parking lot of cars makes the village more vibrant and bustling than it has looked in years. This gateway storefront is now home to Liberty Square, one of Door County’s newest destinations for shopping, entertainment, and dining. And what had once been a diner and a milkshake parlor is now The Bistro, a comfortable and stylish restaurant with delicious food, a wide selection, and, best of all, an affordable price tag.

Like many great ideas, the concept of Liberty Square was born out of sheer boredom. Richard and Pamela Wegner had lived in Madison for all of their working lives (Richard’s jobs ranged from business owner to government official to Special Assistant to the President of the University of Wisconsin; Pamela is a retired Executive Vice-President of Alliant Energy), but they had also been Door County property owners since the mid-1970s, owning a home in Jacksonport. They were excited to come up to the peninsula and begin life as retirees – at first. “When Pamela and I retired and moved up to Door County full time, we were happily retired,” Richard says. “Then, it slowly became ‘unhappily.’ We ran out of things to do! Our retirement became a restless struggle – too much leisure time. We had never had leisure time before, and we realized that we didn’t really want it.”

Looking for a potential business venture, the Wegners contacted Baylake Bank regarding distressed properties, and the Village Shops of Egg Harbor property was the first one they looked at. “We saw a huge potential with the property,” Pamela says. “The interior and exterior were both very run down, but we wanted to create a unique shopping and dining experience – and we knew the location and space the property offered could not be beat.”

Once the Wegners found the property, the next logical step was to look for a business partner. “Pamela and I are both of sound mind and body,” Richard laughs, “but we knew we needed a younger professional that would be the lifeblood of our business – someone vibrant and creative who was willing to throw his entire being into the business. And we found that someone in Chris.”

Chris Anderson, the Wegners’ business partner since the purchase of the property in November 2006, was born close to Door County in the town of Oconto. He attended UW-Stout where he received a degree in Industrial Technological Management with a minor in Product Development. After graduating from college, he moved to Orlando, Florida, and went on to become a professional water-skier for 10 years. Anderson’s last year of water-skiing was spent in China, and he went on to live there for three years, getting a job in quality control for a stainless steel cookware company. “My mom was very pleased that I finally had a job in which I was able to use my college degree!” he smiles.

Before long, though, he started to miss home, and Door County in particular, where he had spent many family vacations as a child. It didn’t take him long to figure out that Door County was the place he wanted to plant his roots. After moving back, he began working for Nathan Nichols & Company, and it was not long after that he met Richard and Pamela Wegner.

All of these background details about Liberty Square and this working partnership need to be addressed because this very effective, complementary partnership is what drives the success of Liberty Square and The Bistro. Interviewing these three people, I could not remember a time when I had talked with a group more in tune with each other as well as the needs and priorities of their business.