WAUPUN — Local boutique business Chic Tique has a new home—across the street!
Chic Tique Girls LLC has been in Waupun for the last three years at 300 E Main St, but after finishing renovations to their new building will be officially opened for business at 301 E Main St this weekend.
Kristen Schultz originally started Chic Tique in 2014 in an old granary on her property. She opened up her first commercial location in 2021 in downtown Ripon, followed by a new store in Waupun in April 2023.
When the Waupun Senior Center moved into the recently completed Community Center at 520 McKinley St in late 2024, an opportunity arose in the former building at 301 E Main St.
After going through the process of finding the right buyer, the City sold the former Senior Center to Chic Tique last August on the condition that they invest in redeveloping the property for commercial use.
“When I purchased it from the city, we worked together on figuring out details of me coming in, and I worked with my contractors and got it up and going. It took us about eight months, and here we are,” she said. “Jeff Colleen was the general contractor, and then we had a lot of subcontractors along the way that did great work as well.”
As for why Schultz chose to invest in downtown Waupun, she said she loved the community.
“I grew up in Waupun—born and raised—so I felt a strong connection to the community,” Schultz said. “A lot of the customers that I had were Waupun-based. A friend of mine helped me get a place and we kind of just took a chance at opening it up in Waupun and it became very successful. I have a wonderful support group here in town. My customers are amazing, they’re loyal, I couldn’t ask for a better community.”
Two parts of the renovation process they were most excited about were exposing the brick wall and restoring the stairwell, which has been completely enclosed for years. The Waupun Senior Center has called that building home since the 1980s.
“I’m super excited for everyone to come in and see my vision and all the hard work that we put in,” she said. “Chic Tique is a great eclectic mix of everything—we have a little bit of something for everybody here, whether it’s boutique gifts, home decor, gourmet food. We kind of have it all, it’s like a market.”
The finishing touches were being made on Thursday in preparation for the weekend. Everything except for a few seasonal items in storage has been moved to the new location, which is now ready for business.
The new location’s grand opening is this weekend, Friday, June 19 and Saturday, June 20. The first 25 customers of $25 or more will receive a free “swag bag” of various goodies.
Friday June 19th: 10 AM – 4 PM
Saturday June 20th: 9 AM – 2 PM
Chic Tique sells an “eclectic mix of home furnishings, décor, gift and boutique items” in Waupun and Ripon, Wisconsin.
