Photo by Tim Czerniakowski
Fischberger's Variety - Exterior
Fischberger's Variety in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood
When Sarah Fischer and her former husband moved to Milwaukee’s Riverwest neighborhood 27 years ago, they thought they had found the perfect spot to raise their family. The housing was affordable, the neighbors friendly, and the location central to Downtown with easy access to other parts of the city.
One thing was missing. At the time Riverwest didn’t have much of a commercial district and lacked the kind of businesses she felt a young family could visit while going for an afternoon walk. As someone who while growing up loved visiting Ben Franklin stores, F.W. Woolworth outlets, and other so-called five-and-dime retailers with her mother, Fischer felt the absence of such simple shops undermined the community feeling she sought when she first moved to the neighborhood. So, she started her own store.
“This was always my dream,” says Fischer, who now owns and operates Fischberger’s Variety at 2445 N. Holton St. “We’re a gift shop for all ages, plus we sell fabric, yarn, and crafting supplies. We hope our customer range runs from babies to grandparents. Most of all, I wanted to contribute to an environment where people can live their lives.”
An Enterprise Reaching Beyond Just Income
Fischer’s enterprise, as well as her contribution to neighborhood growth has blossomed over the past two decades. With her 1,000-square-foot store well-established as a neighborhood destination, Fischer predicts that the gross sales for what will be her 19th year in business will top $500,000. That won’t hold a candle to a retailer like Walmart, which already has reported 2025 fiscal year earnings of $462.41 billion nationwide. But when it comes to small businesses, there is more to the value equation than simple earnings. And the growing number of small businesses in both the Milwaukee area and state of Wisconsin exhibit both the viability and community value of such enterprises.
“Small business is huge in Wisconsin,” says Kathryn Dunn, president and chief visionary officer for Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corp. (WWBIC). “Together, small businesses make up 99% of all business in Wisconsin and account for 48% of overall employment.”
WWBIC serves the professional development and economic needs of women-owned small business statewide. Dunn says women-owned businesses, which tend to be on the smaller side, account for 179,000 small enterprises throughout the state, including 163,000 located in rural areas. Milwaukee County has about 62,000 non-employer establishments, meaning that they are owner-operated and tend to rely on part-time workers and family members to pitch in, much like Fischberger’s does. But Dunn says the impact of those businesses to the communities they serve far outweigh the value of any Walmart outlet or other chain store.
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“There’s a tremendous amount of recirculation of small business earnings that funnel back into the community,” Dunn explains. “Shop owners pay rent to local landlords and wages to employees who then recirculate that money into the local communities before those dollars eventually leave the area. Shopping locally impacts the local economy financially, but it also helps keep the social fabric of the community whole.”
Investing in Someone’s Dreams
Photo by Tim Czerniakowski
Fischberger's Variety - Interior
Fischberger's Variety
Retail sales of all types will get its annual shot in the arm this month and next as people start to spend for the upcoming holidays. That includes small businesses who will get their moment in the sun on Nov. 29. That’s Small Business Saturday, a shopping holiday traditionally squeezed between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Given the changing economic and political environment, shopping locally has become more important than ever to local entrepreneurs, say both Dunn and Fischer, who agree the current economic climate will make it hard enough to survive, much less thrive. And the Trump Administration’s tariff programs are just one compromising factor.
“The tariff’s impact can be positive or negative depending on what kind of business you’re talking about,” Dunn says. “Some small businesspeople are saying it’s killing their enterprises, while others say it has had a net positive effect.”
Fischberger’s imports a lot of its goods and merchandise, and Fischer has had to change her plans thanks to the tariff burden. This year she had planned on importing some ceramic Snoopy mugs, based on the “Peanuts” character, from the United Kingdom which, in turn, imported them from a Chinese manufacturer for finishing. Tariffs and fees at each leg of the journey would have increased the product cost, raising the required retail sales prices from $12 to $24 per mug, which Fisher felt was too much for her low-to-moderate income clientele to manage. She’s also gone around her store reducing the markup on multiple items both to increase sales and meet her customers’ needs.
“Life is not just about buying and selling, and it’s a shame I can’t better serve the people in my neighborhood,” Fischer says. “My spirits become a little deflated when that happens, but I am not a worrier, and I don’t think my personal joy in this business will go away any time soon.”
Fischer’s advice to other small business entrepreneurs during these times is to stay flexible, be aware of and respond to changing conditions, and address the needs of your customers.
“The sun will come out tomorrow and we’re going to do what it takes not to lose customers so we can meet them where they’re at,” she explains. “And customer service is key.”
Dunn agrees: “When you buy from a local small business, you’re investing in more than just an object. You’re investing in what at least once was someone’s dreams. To buy locally from small businesses is literally putting those dreams to work for the betterment of all.”
