Downtown Sturgeon Bay is officially on ‘Cloud Nine’

Rich Palzewic

Staff

October 6, 2025

STURGEON BAY – A fusion of movement and style, Cloud Nine Collective has found its home in downtown Sturgeon Bay.

Located at 147 N. 3rd Ave., DJ Richmond – who co-owns the space with his wife, Maggie – said Cloud Nine blends wellness and lifestyle in a single location – as equal parts fitness studio and activewear boutique.

“The building has two floors with staircases where you can access the top floor, either inside or outside,” he said. “Primarily, it will be a retail space and apparel on the first floor and group fitness classes, etc., on the top floor.”

Richmond said the activewear sold at the store can be used in a variety of ways.

“Whether you want to take a walk, hang out or lounge around the house, Cloud Nine Collective has activewear for all sorts,” he said. “We’re bringing well-made, ethically-made and sustainable brands and clothing items you can’t buy around here.”

The brands and clothing he and Maggie are bringing in, Richmond said, also stand for something.

“A lot of our brands help support different things,” he said. “That could be mental health programs, some are women-owned brands and some give back to the environment. We will also always be donating a portion of our revenue to timely causes, whether it’s directly to the county or the city. We want to create this community where you can shop and get some fun and comfortable clothing for anybody.”

The top floor, Richmond said, is dedicated to creating an inclusive fitness space.

“We’ll have group fitness classes that will go on in the morning,” he said. “It won’t be too large in terms of sheer numbers, but we want to create a welcoming, inclusive environment that’s not like a chain franchise.”

Richmond said there are three portions of the upstairs.

“There is a back room that will have more traditional strength equipment – dumbbells, free weights and barbells with a few racks if you want to do some squats, bench press, band work, etc.,” he said.

In another portion, off the back room, Richmond said, is where group fitness classes will take place.

“On the front side of the building, which is the street side, we’re putting in an area for kids,” he said. “There will be a well-cushioned floor and an indoor playground area with a rock-climbing wall. That area is pretty open, so if parents are getting their sweat on, they can look across to the other side and keep an eye on their kids and make sure they’re doing okay.”

Richmond said this is an example of “being here for everybody.”

“Parents can bring their kids and let them run around while they try and get a little exercise or movement in their day,” he said.

Richmond said fitness members receive a discount on the first-floor retail items.

An historic building

The building currently housing Cloud Nine, Richmond said, was originally built in 1890 and has undergone many transformations over the past 135 years.

“I believe it was either a paint store or some type of hardware store at one point,” he said. “Also, it could have been furniture at one point, too. What we know is it used to be a restaurant at one time, and then right before we were fortunate enough to take over, it was Door County Traders, which was an antique consignment shop.”

Richmond said for the age of the building, he and Maggie were pleasantly surprised by its condition.

“Like a lot of the buildings on 3rd Avenue that were built in the late 1800s and early 1900s, it was in relatively good shape for its age,” he said. “There is a bit of a story behind that, though I haven’t confirmed it. I’ve heard from multiple people that there was a fire in the 1980s, so it was completely rebuilt – all that was left were the brick walls.”

After the fire, Richmond said, the building was restored and brought up to code.

“Even after it was rebuilt, with what Maggie and I have done, it already looks incredibly different,” he said. “We removed the carpet and put in some more durable wood floor, and then we repainted as well. It’s coming back to life. With the couple of months of work we’ve done, we’re getting closer.”

As far as an opening date is concerned, Richmond said they are aiming for sometime this month.

“We hope to open for sure by the end of October,” he said. “We were hoping to be open sooner, but it will likely be another couple of weeks. You try to hit some of those fall tourists before things really slow down during the winter months, so we’re trying to take advantage of being open for the holidays. We also don’t want to put an arbitrary deadline on an opening date and stress ourselves out.”

A vision 10 years in the making

Richmond said the vision of starting something like Cloud Nine goes back at least a decade.

Though both he and Maggie are from Oshkosh, Richmond said they used to visit Door County separately with their own families when they were younger.

“[My wife and I] were on a trip around this time a decade ago, because we recently celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary,” he said. “Sitting at the beer garden at Al Johnson’s [Swedish Restaurant & Butik in Sister Bay], looking out on the street and the water and thinking, ‘Hey, we should do something in Door County where we combine both of our strengths, loves and brain power.’”

Richmond said his background is in graphic design, branding and marketing.

“I was doing that type of work for a company for about five years,” he said. “I’ve been designing apparel and promotional products and have an eye for that and always thought it would be nice to do something on my own that gives back to my community or the world.”

Maggie, Richmond said, is a registered dietician.

“Her undergrad is in dietetics, and she has a master’s degree in exercise science,” he said. “She currently manages the national team of dietitians at Rogers Behavioral Health, where they help people with eating disorders and PTSD. She also worked for the Green Bay Packers for five years on the nutrition team. She enjoys helping folks, just like I do, but just more in that nutrition/fitness kind of way.”

After they agreed they would like to operate their own business in Door County, Richmond said they set a timeline for their dreams to become a reality.

“We said, ‘Let’s try to move up here within five years and open a business within 10 years,’” he said. “So far, we’ve lived here for three years and started everything since.”

Moving to Door County with the eventual goal of starting a business, Richmond said their focus quickly turned to securing a location.

“There happens to be a great coffee shop across the street [from Cloud Nine Collective], and one day while there, I saw a for sale sign [at 147 N. 3rd Ave.],” he said. “Before we knew it, we were talking to different banks. We ended up working with Stephenson National Bank & Trust. We couldn’t have done this whole adventure without them. They have the philosophy of helping locally owned businesses.”

What’s your ‘Cloud Nine?’

When deciding on a business name, Richmond said “Cloud Nine Collective” seemed like a natural fit for what they wanted to convey with the story.

He said he and Maggie frequently ask themselves and others, “What’s your Cloud Nine?”

“Cloud Nine is that sort of higher feeling of happiness, whether it’s because you’re living well or being in a good moment of well-being or relation,” he said. “Each person’s Cloud Nine is going to be different things for different people.”

Richmond said the name fits perfectly with the couple’s business approach.

“If it’s exercise or movement that makes you feel good, come on in and [head up to] the second floor for some classes,” he said. “If you like shopping and want apparel that feels good, come to the first floor.”

Richmond said using “Collective” at the end of their business name was also intentional.

“We want a community-focused space that helps promote doing the right things for the right reasons,” he said. “Let’s spread love and rise above. We’re trying to improve ourselves – whatever that means, whether that’s mentally, physically or giving back along the way.”

Though Cloud Nine Collective is not open quite yet, Richmond said feedback on social media has been positive.

“I think, hopefully, people can tell we’re good people and are here to help,” he said. “We want to build a community, and we’re not just here to turn something around super quick. We want to be here for the long haul because we love the area, and we brought our three young children here to raise – we’re here year-round.”

Through Cloud Nine Collective, Richmond said they are trying to emulate the good things they want to see in the Door County community.

“I think people have taken a shine to Cloud Nine so far, not just because of the uniqueness of the idea and because there is nothing like it around here yet, but also, hopefully, because they know we’re sincere about trying to do a good thing,” he said.

For more on Cloud Nine Collective, visit its Facebook page.