From storage to storefront: How a vacant building is becoming De Soto, WI’s new potential anchor attraction on Main Street
Reviving a Main Street building in De Soto, WI ... Mitch Schiffer of De Soto, WI stands near a front window displaying a sign announcing the new business venture he is working to create in a Main Street building he is renovating in the little river town. Receiving grant funding from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation and Vernon County’s Elevate Vernon program, Schiffer is also investing a significant amount of his own money into a project nearing the $700,000 range to transform a vacant building he has used for storage of his own construction tools into an opportunity for many. Photo by Joshua Sharpe.
by Joshua Sharpe
The tape binding Mitch Schiffer’s fingers evokes the appearance of aged drywall dust, frayed at the edges from a day spent navigating the challenges of construction. With a resolute exertion, he elevates a stud into position, squints one eye to ensure the level is accurate, and presses the wood against brick that has experienced more years of silence than commerce for nearly a decade.
On Main Street in De Soto, WI, windows of this nature rarely exhibit a polished sheen any longer. Instead, they have transformed into reflective surfaces - only capturing the transient headlights of passing vehicles over the years.
“This building once held a thrift store. Before that, something else. Then nothing.” Schiffer reflects on the passage of time with quiet contemplation.
“Seven to ten years,” he calculates, mentally ticking off the figures: five years under his ownership, two years on the market prior, and another year or two with the doors firmly shut. “The River Lounge has been sitting vacant for decades… the old bank… the Blue Bar… ten years,” he adds, surveying Main Street like a builder evaluating a sagging beam. “We’ve been in a town that’s been dying for a long time… declining for the past 100 years.”
A BUILDER’S BET
Frustration with a property in La Crosse, WI might have prompted most people to sell and move on, but Schiffer chose a different path - one that began with a carpenter’s calloused hands and a readiness to start anew in a town many had stopped betting on. He first acquired the De Soto building almost on a whim, seeking inexpensive storage for his construction tools while he still resided in La Crosse.
“Originally, my first introduction to De Soto was buying this building and I bought it for cheap storage for my construction business when I lived in La Crosse,” he recalls. At that time, the building was merely a convenient warehouse; he had no grand vision for storefronts or community spaces.
However, over time, De Soto captivated him. He and his family relocated from La Crosse, purchased land and additional buildings. Schiffer was involved in the community, serving on the town board and multiple commissions - from tourism to planning.
“The more I’ve been here the more I’ve kind of got integrated with the community, I’m involved in the community, I’m on several commissions, I’m on the town board,” he reflects.
As interest in tourism began to rise - with the establishment of a Tourism Commission and initial plans for a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district - Schiffer recognized an opportune moment. “With the recent kind of uptick in interest in tourism in the area with the Tourism Commission and starting a TIF district … I thought that was a good time,” he explains.
Simultaneously, his La Crosse property had become a burden. “I was also frustrated with my property in La Crosse, so I wanted to get out of that … it seemed like a good time to sell other assets, put that money into this asset, and kind of try to roll with … getting right ahead of the game on really building De Soto as a tourist destination,” he shares.
Construction had always been his trade, the means by which he sustained his livelihood: residential remodeling that evolved from a part-time endeavor into a full-time profession. “Construction is my main bread and butter,” he states, but he was already envisioning a future beyond the job site, “rolling that into trying to open more businesses, get out of the construction space long-term.”
What started as a place to store tools was transforming into a cornerstone for Main Street renewal. This metamorphosis - from personal storage to public marketplace - was not an impulsive decision but rather the result of a steady accumulation of experiences: years of observing empty storefronts, months of frustration with a distant property, and the gradual embrace of civic roles that allowed him to envision the town’s potential. By the time he sold the La Crosse property and reinvested the proceeds, the decision felt less like a gamble and more like the next logical step: turning his own livelihood into the foundation for De Soto’s next chapter.
To read the full article, pick up the Wednesday, October 22, 2025 print edition of The Standard or subscribe to our e-edition or print edition by clicking here.
