When Pamela Barnes was looking for a location for a wine bar, she thought that the village of Fox Crossing in northeastern Wisconsin was ideal.
“I saw a need in my community. There was a strong emergence of corporate offices within the area with prominent industries nearby,” Barnes said. “It was a niche opportunity — to create a space where people would have a place to meet after work, and a small meeting room for gatherings.”
After much research and assistance from the Fox Cities SCORE chapter and Fox Valley Technical College Venture Center, she opened “Xe54, an Offbeat American Wine Bar” in late fall 2018. (The Xe is pronounced “Zee” and was inspired by the periodic table symbol and atomic number for the element xenon.)
“I talked to Amy Pietsch (Venture Center director) and learned about the startup process and took some of the tech workshops, " Barnes said. "I also contacted SCORE and was matched with mentor Cheryl Muskus; she was really helpful in getting me enrolled in a QuickBooks class. We started taking apart a business plan, step by step.”
