After fire, Rice Lake business community rallies for support

Matthew Day

Staff

November 25, 2024

RICE LAKE – The afternoon of Oct. 17 could have crushed the spirits of Rice Lake’s business community as a fire at 17 E. Messenger St. destroyed three businesses – Agonic Brewing Company, Cheese Louise Sandwiches and Finewood, Inc. – and damaged the warehouse of Kitchen and Floor Décor.

However, their peers in the local business community had no intention of letting the victims bear the weight of this burden alone, as more than 20 local businesses and organizations have made efforts to support their peers. 

In the weeks following the fire, Allison Hall, Northwoods Cycle co-owner/retail lead, said between these businesses’ efforts and donations from the community at large, nearly $22,000 have been raised for the owners who have – for now – lost their livelihoods. 

Rice Lake reacts 

When a structure fire breaks out downtown in a city the size of Rice Lake – 9.75 square miles, with a population of approximately 9,000 – it won’t go unnoticed long. 

“I saw the fire within 10-15 minutes of it starting, because the building is directly behind our shop, across an alley,” Hall said. “Our first priority was making sure everyone was out of the building and safe, then letting our other business neighbors know what was happening.” 

Two Sisters Boutique Owner/Operator Darcy Musil said she also saw the fire from her nearby business quite quickly. 

“I am (located) right across the block on the other side of Main Street,” Musil said. “Watching the fire was something I don’t think you can really understand just by explaining. The sidewalks were filled with people. We were worried, frightened and honestly devastated.” 

The news of a fire can spread quickly in a small city, as does the smell. 

Ryan Quinn, owner/announcer of Dirty Chai Radio, said he had enjoyed soup and a sandwich from Cheese Louise for lunch that day, walked home and was awakened from an afternoon nap by the smell of smoke. 

“After the initial relief that my own dwelling wasn’t up in flames, I walked down the alley toward the thickening smoke,” Quinn said. “I asked a passerby if they knew anything, and when they told me it was Agonic my heart sank. I picked up the pace and eventually found (Agonic co-owners) Danni and Desmond who confirmed the worst and informed me that Cheese Louise was in flames as well.” 

Chris Olsen said he and several others could suddenly smell smoke from the shop he co-owns, Northwoods Promotions & Apparel, a block away from the fire. 

“We walked down half a block onto Newton St., and we could see smoke,” he said. “We continued… and all of a sudden we realized there was smoke coming out of the building. It was before it was fully engulfed in flames, and fire trucks were just showing up at that time. It was only a two-minute response time for our fire department.” 

The building shared by the businesses was a historical landmark for Rice Lake, more than 100 years old, originally serving as the A.A. Bergeron & Co. feed mill. 

“It really was a beautiful building,” Patrick Kelly, owner of Cheese Louise, said. 

Even with the quick reaction time and the efforts of the entire Rice Lake fire department, all available on-call firefighters and firefighters from nearby districts, Olsen said unfortunately the building could not be saved. 

“It was that fast, but it was probably one of the oldest buildings in the downtown,” he said. “It was all old timber.”

Fire Chief Michael Hover said firefighters succeeded in stopping the fire from spreading to other buildings – a battle made all the more difficult due to dry conditions and exceptionally strong winds.

Per a social media post from Moose Lodge #402 of Rice Lake, to aid the firefighters’ efforts, downtown restaurant Kids Korner Pizza began baking pizzas to donate, with members of the lodge volunteering to deliver them with bottles of water. 

Meanwhile, Hall said she and Co-owner/Service Lead Tim Bradley offered the evacuated business owners – including Kelly, Dannyelle Moon and Desmond Benevides of Agonic Brewing Company – immediate sanctuary in Northwoods Cycle.  

Ultimately, the building and its contents were completely lost, Hover said, and one firefighter suffered an arm injury – no civilians were injured. 

“We were so very thankful to find out that nobody was stuck in the building or (occupants) physically hurt,” Musil said. “However, hearts are heavy in our business community, and we hope the businesses can rebuild bigger and stronger than ever.” 

Rice Lake recovers

Though the literal flames are long extinguished, Alice Cherney, owner of Surge Nutrition Club, said Rice Lake’s generosity has raged through the ensuing days and weeks.  

“The community has been super supportive,” Cherney said. “Everyone has been fundraising and lending a hand.” 

Cherney said Surge held a tea fundraiser and created a special recipe called Communi-TEA, with a portion of sales going to the victims of the fire. 

Samantha Davis, who co-owns Evergreen Artisan with her husband Byron, said she created Rice Lake map-themed ornaments to likewise raise funds. 

“It was inspiring to hear what everyone was doing to help these families,” Davis said. “Never underestimate your small towns.” 

Local cafe and cupcake/dessert shop Mad Batter was another company to lend a hand however possible, Co-owner Taylor Karpenske said, following the “shocking and unreal” catastrophe. 

“We are a small business ourselves, so we tried helping the only way we could – by setting up our food trailer at the chamber in Rice Lake and donating a portion of our sales to the businesses that were involved,” Karpenske said. “It’s hard being a small business owner, and sometimes all we have is a kind word from a community member or business owner, but (you) give what you can.” 

Per social media posts from the local and nearby business community, 20 Mile General Store, Adventures Restaurant & Pub, Badger Brew, Bear Lake Coffee Company, The Knapp Stout, Link Motors, Northwoods Promotions & Apparel, Para Pirelli’s Pizza & Grinders and Two Sisters Boutique are among the companies to offer proceeds to the fire victims.  

In some cases, businesses worked with one another to donate, such as Barney’s Meats donating burger patties for The Farmhouse Restaurant & Bar’s fundraising item, the Agonic Burger. 

Cookin’ Up a Storm’s charitable creation was a beer bread and beer cheese dip, incorporating now-exceedingly rare Agonic beer into the recipe. 

In Quinn’s case, he said his Dirty Chai Radio station was already planning a fundraising event for mid-November called Hip Hop Against Hunger, with a focus on generating donations to area food banks and local nonprofit organizations. 

“During the fire, while standing with (Agonic co-owners) Desmond and Danni, I posted online that the fundraising efforts would change focus,” Quinn said of the event, since renamed Hip Hop to Help. “We still wanted to honor our original goal of helping with food pantries, but our friends needed help, and we felt like it only made sense to take the framework of our event and apply it to their needs.”

Quinn said that the initial post set in motion a storm of people who also wanted to contribute.

“In the next seven-or-so days, we heard from more than 30 businesses and individuals that wanted to help organize or wanted to be on the list for tickets,” he said.

Northwoods Cycle and Henry Repeating Arms were among the businesses to donate items to the event’s silent auction. 

To collect all of the donations, Jody Greiner, executive director of the Rice Lake Chamber of Commerce, said the day after the fire, she set up benefit accounts at Dairy State Bank and Sterling Bank, while Hall set up a GoFundMe page to be directed into those accounts, to later be distributed among the owners of Agonic Brewing Company, Cheese Louise and Finewood, Inc. 

Greiner said she also partnered with Quinn on the Hip Hop to Help event and immediately put out a request for donations for a silent auction and “got an awesome response.” 

“I was extremely pleased by the community’s response,” she said. “In a city of (just) more than 9,000, I feel the people of Rice Lake always rally around others during difficult times, and this speaks volumes about the strength and resilience of this community. It makes me extremely proud to be in the position I am in and to live in Rice Lake.”

Rice Lake rises 

Of the many Rice Lake residents to contribute commentary to this article, none said they were the least bit surprised by the business community’s instant, positive response. 

Olsen said mutual support – even among competitors – amid the toughest struggles of the COVID-19 pandemic was another time small businesses showed they have each other’s backs. 

Kelly said Cheese Louise opened after the pandemic, but he and the rest of the downtown businesses all “went through a hard time last summer” when Main Street underwent complete construction. 

“That just absolutely demolished sales for the entire community on Main Street, but we really stuck together during that time, and I think that was a really good bonding time for all of us to kind of get to know each other and how we can help each other,” he said. “That kind of giving and helping has just continued.” 

Even if the heartwarming response can be considered characteristic of Rice Lake, Kelly said it’s not taken for granted, as he’s “eternally grateful for every cent and dime that somebody has contributed to help us get up and back and going.” 

“It truly makes me feel blessed and makes me want to be more active and help other people in the future when I’m able to do so,” he said. “We are looking to rebuild in the same spot. (Cheese Louise), the brewery and Finewood, we all rented from the owners of the building, and they are more than willing – if we were to come back – to help rebuild and then build back stronger.” 

Moon said she has also been “absolutely blown away” by the community support.

“To see all of the love pouring out for us – from retail shops across the street, to restaurants a few towns over and everything in between – we’ve felt lifted up by our small town in such a big way,” she said. “It just encourages us even more to make our way back to serving beer and enjoying time with them in a new home for Agonic Brewing Company as soon as we possibly can.” 

Dennis Bungartz, owner of Finewood, Inc., said he’s likewise felt encouraged by the response. 

“Just to see the support of the community was impressive, because I was just a little finish/woodworking shop – I wasn’t as noted or as well known as Agonic or Cheese Louise because they have foot traffic, where I’ve had just the customers that knew what I did, so I had dealt with quite a smaller clientele,” Bungartz said.  

All three of the businesses’ owners said all the good will has made it easier to endure what Kelly called a “wait-and-see game,” as they work through insurance processes and make short-term arrangements to run semblances of their businesses. 

“They have a long road ahead,” Karpenske said, “but they will build back, because this small community has shown great strength together.” 

Numerous business owners said they find the response reassuring, should they ever experience such misfortune. 

“When you are embedded within a small community like this, you never know – your neighbor could need you at some point. Likewise, I may need somebody out there if something would happen to one of my properties,” Olsen said. “If that would happen, I know this community would just come out and support us and do whatever they could, just like we’re doing now.” 

Quinn said he’s also confident in Rice Lake’s penchant for reinforcement. 

“Any time there’s a tragedy, it seems like this community really comes together and lifts up those who need it,” he said. “From the business owners, community groups and organizations, to the individuals who put in countless hours to make sure everyone gets what they need, this community and the people that make it are some of the best – and they prove it time and again. We are lucky to have each other.” 

To donate, visit gofundme.com/help-rebuild-rice-lake-businesses-after-the-fire.