Les Moise Owner Plans to Move Store to Mequon

After 56 years on Silver Spring Drive, has plans to leave Whitefish Bay next summer and move into a new building in Mequon.

Les Moise owner David Rosman went before the Mequon Plan Commission for the first time Monday night with architectural plans for the new building at 10130 N. Port Washington Road, which he said will offer a larger, one-level space with more available parking.

“We have outgrown the space at our current location,” he said. “We looked at the immediate area and didn’t see something that would suit our needs, and the closest spot we could find was in Mequon.”

Whereas the Whitefish Bay store has skiing equipment on a separate level from other merchandise, the new Mequon store will be more spacious and have all merchandise on one level. The Whitefish Bay store has about 9,000 feet of space, and the Mequon location would have 10,500 square feet of space, with more storage space in the basement.

Another perk for Rosman is the advantage of owning instead of renting.

Rosman said his lease on the space at 151 E. Silver Spring Dr. ends in June, and he hopes to be open in the new building by then. The Mequon Plan Commission requested changes in the proposed design of the building, but Rosman hopes to resolve those issues and begin construction in the end of October.

The new location will more closely resemble the Brookfield store, which Rosman said draws traffic from around the Milwaukee area. Les Moise moved into that space in July 2008.

“We wanted to emulate the Brookfield store, and the closest space was Mequon,” he said. “It will be a nicer place to shop, and we will have our own parking lot.”

After working for nearly 30 years in the Whitefish Bay store, Rosman said the move will be bittersweet, but he looks forward to a larger space.

“We’ve grown to the space that we’ve had, and now it’s just not adequate,” he said.