Though it was not easy to know that she could have played a potential role in keeping Ambiance alive, Poukey knew her passion and skills lay in shoe retail—and Callies was 100 percent supportive.
“My mom is amazing in the fact that she was excited for our idea, and she wanted us to do something that we loved,” Poukey says. “And what my mom does, nobody can duplicate.”
Whether as a collector and creator or mother and mentor, Callies put her many roles to use to help ease the transition.
“She knows what it’s like to run a business. The pretty side and the not pretty side,” says Kryzch. “She’s a mentor that way—where she understands the hard stuff.”
Callies also offered up her keen eye for design when helping with the store layout.
“I didn’t get paid, but they pay me in shoes,” she adds, proudly displaying her shoe collection, organized impeccably with an array of styles and colors.
Poukey and Kryzch met in 2000 and continue to base their business off the two things they share in common: their love for La Crosse and their love of shopping.
Photo by: Stephanie Wezelman
“Whatever it is you want to do or sell, you have to love it. Like we still love shoes. We still look at shoes just for fun because we love them. And that’s something that you can’t fake,” says Poukey.
The two pride themselves on focusing on the customer experience, providing comfortable and quality shoes while carving the activity of shopping into an enjoyable pastime. And despite challenges with the economy and rising prices, Poukey and Kryzch work as a team to get through it all.
“First thing I remember saying to them is I need to know how you fight,” Callies says, recalling the common antics that occur between business partners. But fighting never seemed to be an issue for the dedicated duo.
“I have to say, those two are the best business partners I have ever seen,” Callies says proudly.
By following in Callies’ footsteps and tapping into the niche of specialty shops, the girls remain leaders in bringing business to downtown. Through their involvement on downtown boards and planning of fashion shows and costume parties, the two have helped bring personality to the area. Since Kick’s opening, downtown has seen an increase in the number of young store owners taking their stab at entrepreneurial life in La Crosse. Poukey and Kryzch have continued to follow down Callies’ path to help foster this development.
And as a mentor from above, Callies enjoys taking a step back and watching as Kick continues to progress.
“Now I just take the decorating jobs I want, and I babysit my granddaughter, and I throw parties when I want, and I get to live in my building still and have it taken care of from the girls downstairs,” Callies says. “It’s just a win-win. It couldn’t be better.”
So when Callies received a call in early September—with an offer to buy the old cigar factory building at any price she named—it was an offer she had no trouble refusing.
Whether one knew it as a high-end shoe store, an antique shop, an eccentrically decorated home, or a bustling cigar factory, the many faces of 115 S. 2nd Street continue to leave a positive mark on downtown La Crosse.
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