Schlotzsky's Will Stay — If It Makes ‘Cents’

owner Dan Gorman said he would likely keep his business right where it is at Main Street if the is approved — that is, if the price is right to stay.

Gorman, who’s had his business at that location for 15 years, is under a long-term lease with the shopping center owner, Richard Conley. Under the proposed lease agreement from Gatlin, the developer of the Walmart project, Gorman’s lease rate would carry over and stay the same. However, Gatlin is requiring Gorman to foot the bill for the cost of exterior improvements to his building.

Gorman is awaiting cost estimates from Gatlin regarding those improvements. He said the price tag associated with the exterior brickwork would make or break his decision to stay.

“I’ll decide if I want to pay for it or not — if I want to stay or not. It’s all in the numbers, I’ve got to be able to make it work.” Gorman said. “If it’s a $100,000 to $200,000 repair that might be out of my realm of comfort.”

For the past year, Gorman has been under some pressure from Schlotzsky’s corporate to improve the exterior of his business, or move to a new location. Bricks have fallen off the walls and the entire building needs to be brought up to current Schlotzsky’s standards, Gorman said.

Gorman said it’s been a bit contentious between himself and the current landlord, Conley, to get improvements to the exterior of his building.

“Typically you would think the landlord would be responsible for the exterior improvements of the building they own,” Gorman said.

Gorman said he’s known that Conley has had the shopping center up for sale for a number of years, and may have been hesitant to invest in building improvements. The same is true across the parking lot at . They’ve devised a funnel system to drain rainwater from a leaky roof into a garbage bin.

A welcome project

If the costs of improvements are low enough for Gorman to stay, he expects to see a welcome increase in business when Walmart opens. Gorman estimated that Walmart will bring about 2,000 to 3,000 vehicles of added traffic to the corner on Main Street.

“There’s added value of having a business in front of a Walmart,” Gorman said. “It’s going to bring people here and spur business along Main Street.”

Gorman added that the project is also a good-looking addition to the Main Street corridor in need of a new look. 

“Anything is better than what we have now. We could put barracks back there and it would be an improvement on what we have,” Gorman said. “Main Street is the gateway into Menomonee Falls and it needs to be treated as such.”

Gorman added that he is not concerned about any added crime coming to the area when Walmart opens.

Gorman said that if all the costs balance out correctly, he will also make significant interior improvements along with the exterior work. He said the design would be brought up to date, and he might add a Cinnabon within the store.

The outlook for Gorman’s businesses is markedly more positive than the fate of three . , and will all be pushed out when the wrecking ball hits the shopping center. However, and will likely stay.

“I feel for them I really do,” Gorman said. “I don’t really know the intricacies of their business, but I feel bad. They’ve been long-term tenants; they’ve been here longer than me.”