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April 14, 2025
WAUSAU – Shepherd & Schaller Sporting Goods, a cornerstone of the Wausau business community for more than 75 years, was recently honored with the 2024 Business of the Year Award from the Wisconsin Main Street Program.
The award was presented at the 34th Annual Wisconsin Main Street Awards Ceremony last month in Menomonie.
Callie Wulk, executive director of the Wausau River District, said the organization nominated Shepherd & Schaller in recognition of its longstanding impact on the local economy and Wausau community.
“Shepherd & Schaller has been an anchor in our downtown for many decades,” she said. “Its commitment to service, community engagement and downtown vitality makes it truly deserving of this honor.”
Opening its doors in 1949, Co-owner Robb Shepherd said Shepherd & Schaller is perhaps best known for outfitting Wausau-area enthusiasts with outdoor gear, ski equipment and advice.
“My wife, Theresa, was one of the originators who applied for the Main Street designation 20-odd years ago in Madison, filled out the application and was on the board for a series of years,” Robb said.
The Main Street program, Robb said, can be a great benefit for those businesses that qualify for it, as well as for the community they are established in.
“The program has been a great benefit for the Wausau community and the business community in the greater Wausau area,” he said.
According to the Wisconsin Economic Development website (wedc.org), the Wisconsin Main Street Program is a “statewide initiative that supports the revitalization of historic downtowns and commercial districts, annually recognizing outstanding businesses, communities and leaders who contribute to the success of Wisconsin’s Main Streets.”
“Probably one of the catalysts of why we were nominated is because we celebrated our 75th year of business in 2024,” Robb said. “We have longevity on our side – that was quite a milestone for us to reach.”
Robb said he and Theresa and the rest of the team at Shepherd & Schaller are “blessed and humbled by the award.”
“The praise of this award really belongs to my father (Allen) and my uncle (Stan), who sacrificed so much back when they started this business,” he said. “I can only begin to understand how difficult it must have been with such limited resources, starting with nothing. I also want to praise our former and current team members – they’re the ones who really helped us and brought us to this point and kept us going for this time.”
Furthermore, Robb said Shepherd & Schaller wouldn’t be where it is today without loyal customers.
“They’ve supported us for 75 years,” he said. “A lot (of thank-yous) also go out to our families who have put up with all our hectic schedules – we appreciate all their love and support.”
Robb said, minus a few years when he went away to the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (UWL), he has lived in the Wausau area his whole life.
“Wausau is really gorgeous,” he said. “A lot of communities in Wisconsin are really neat and have a lot of neat things going for them, but Wausau is evolving for sure – and we’re nowhere done yet. I’d say since the late 1970s and early 1980s, we’ve been evolving, and I think we’re still defining ourselves moving forward – what the community wants it to be.”
A storied history
Robb said his father and uncle (his mother’s brother) originally opened Shepherd & Schaller at 212 Scott St.
“The building we are currently in (324 Scott St.), my father and uncle purchased in 1962,” he said. “Our main building was built in 1888, and then the building we purchased next door to us in 2001 – when we revitalized our storefront to combine buildings – is from 1895.”
Robb said the buildings underwent major renovations.
“We did an all interior redo of our stores,” he said. “When we moved into this other building, we had to punch through 24 inches of brick wall – that was interesting.”
Robb said his dad is originally from Seymour.
“My dad and uncle served in the Army in World War II,” he said. “After the war was over, my dad helped reacclimate troops back into civilian life in the Madison area. For whatever reason, he and my uncle moved to the Wausau area after that. I think my dad got another job within the Army, but then they decided to open a sporting goods store in ’49. They were at the 212 Scott St. location from 1949-62.”
Robb, who graduated from college in 1985, said he worked for his dad and uncle growing up.
“I did what every young kid did working for his dad – clean the bathrooms,” he laughed. “I worked at the store during middle school, high school, college, summer breaks, winter breaks, etc. I often joke that back then, I cleaned the bathrooms, but you know, I also cleaned the bathrooms here last week – I guess I’ve been cleaning bathrooms for 50 years.”
Robb said he studied small business administration at UWL – “perfect for eventually taking over the business.”
“I came back in ’85 and started taking over,” he said. “My dad had five kids, and my uncle had six kids, and I was the youngest of all the kids from both families – I was the last of the last, so it was either me or nobody. I always wanted to do this, so it’s worked out great. I have thoroughly enjoyed this endeavor, but it hasn’t been easy at times. With any small business, you have your trials and tribulations, but I often tell people it’s a marathon and not a sprint.”
Evolving over time
Just as any business evolves over time, Robb said the same can be said for Shepherd & Schaller.
“When I was a kid, we dabbled in pretty much everything,” he said. “We sold (equipment for) fishing and hunting, snow sports, skiing, bowling, trophies, etc. Before I was born, we even sold outboard motors. They had a big cross section of categories, but as we evolved in the late 1980s and ’90s, because of the demands of the public, you couldn’t be a jack of all trades. You had to narrow your focus because you only had so much breath to work with.”
Robb said the evolution of Rib Mountain – now Granite Peak – also changed the business.
“Since then, we’ve moved away from fishing and hunting, bowling, trophies and all that kind of stuff,” he said. “I would compare us to a small REI store. A big emphasis of ours is winter sports – alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, etc. And then all the clothing that goes with those categories.”
As the temperatures get warmer, Robb said Shepherd & Schaller will shift gears.
“In the summertime, we focus more on camping, biking and water sports,” he said. “Though we shift gears during non-winter times, I tell a lot of people that we’re always thinking about winter. We’re always working on winter because that’s our biggest time of year.”
Mother Nature ultimately decides
Robb said, “obviously, if the winters are mild with low snow,” that hurts tourism in the Wausau area.
“The winter before this one was not very good because of the mild temperatures and not much natural snow,” he said. “I think (the winter of 2023-24) was a blip on the radar. As I look back on my 40 years, we’ve had some milder, less snowy winters, but I don’t know if we’ve ever quite had a no-snow winter like we did that year – that was challenging for sure.”
Robb said the years following COVID-19 were very good for the outdoor industry.
“This winter – even though it was a little milder in the fall and we had a bit of a hangover from the prior year – we saw a bit of a resurgence because we had some cold in December and January, and Granite Peak was able to make a ton of snow,” he said. “Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing were still limited a bit. You move forward and roll with it.”
Robb said timely weather is more important than anything.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re a farmer, a retailer or whatever – if you get bad weather, and it’s not timely, it’s challenging,” he said. “Everybody is in the same boat. It doesn’t matter what the political landscape is or what the economic climate is at the moment – it’s more about the weather and people wanting to get outside and play.”
Succession plan
Robb said he and Theresa aren’t quite sure yet of a succession plan for when they want to retire.
“We do have kids, but they have their own dreams and paths,” he said. “I’m very proud of them for that. Something like this is not everyone’s path, but it was for me. My kids are forging ahead in their own way.”
Robb said for now, it’s status quo for Shepherd & Schaller.
“When people ask me when I’m going to retire, I always say, ‘When I grow up,’” he laughed. “I’m still having fun. I have a great young team here that keeps me fired up and keeps me invigorated. That’s what gives me the energy to keep going.”
For more on Shepherd & Schaller, visit shepssports.com or find it on social media.
