It was early October 2019. We packed the car with our weekender bags and headed up North from the Greater Milwaukee Area looking for a reasonable place for my then fiancé to call home while he embarked on a new career venture in the Chippewa Valley. The plan: he would take residence and I would join him wherever he settled in this Northwestern Wisconsin town soon after our June 2020 wedding. Until then, I had intended to make frequent visits from our familiar neighborhoods in Southeastern Wisconsin to the soon-to-call-our-home streets of Eau Claire.
He mapped out several rental properties with varying lease structures and floor plans. That first weekend we encountered spaces just about in every corner of the nearly 650 square miles of the bourgeoning clearwater county. Eventually we signed with a new build off Birch Street just up the hill from the downtown strip. You can imagine our eagerness and excitement to explore—to celebrate the success of securing a new home, a fresh start! We took our feet to the streets for a stroll in the Downtown Core, hoping to happen upon a sweet treat.
Sweet treats indeed: the music, the cleanliness, the walkability, the friendly faces met us with the same amount of energy that we carried with us. This new town had promise—for us, yes, but also for itself. It’d be a new beginning, new territory to traverse together as first an engaged couple and then where we’d settle in as newlyweds. The most amazing feeling bubbled up in me while walking those first steps in Downtown Eau Claire. I had potential to charter a new course, catch a different wave, maybe. Percolating within my spirit was the hinting suspicion that Eau Claire, too, as a destination might have also been on the precipice of its own revival. More on that coming up soon…
Living in downtown Milwaukee during my twenties delivered a confidence in me to navigate urban settings with potential and poise. You can imagine the thrill and utter amazement that filled me after accessibly strolling down the immaculately cared for sidewalks of South Barstow Street! A quick pivot to Haymarket Plaza and then a hop, skip and a jump onto the One-Mile Loop linking the iconic bridges offered yet another “a-ha!” moment—this urban setting brought with it an ease with every stride. I felt safe with each step—something that didn’t always accompany a walk in my previous ‘hoods. Accessible establishments (eateries, boutiques, bars, and the like) opened doors to foot traffic easier than achieved in my former stomping grounds. And I hadn’t even seen the sparkle of the tree lights strung up and down the boulevard!
Downtown Eau Claire sparkled for me. This is my first impression. All elements of revitalization added up to influence this visitor-turned-resident to shift career focus and become a first-year student in up-close-and-personal projects that support, promote and provide an all-around boost to businesses and developments both existing and emerging in an effort to bolster economic development. This blog intends to introduce YOU to the happenings and goings of Eau Claire, Wisconsin all the while working to increase my understanding (and yours) of how business matters, because we matter. This is the “Eau” Factor. Join the influence at the confluence.
About The Author
Claire Stoiber
Business Relations Coordinator
Claire works on the Eau Claire Economic Development Division’s small business attraction and retention initiatives, serves as the Business Improvement District (BID) liaison, and assists with copywriting.
