Running a business in a small, tourism-dependent community has its challenges, especially after out-of-town traffic slows down this time of year.
Nobody knows that more than Vicki Pintsch, who has owned and operated Pintsch’s True Value for 50 years. She has been involved in the business, located at 17891 State Highway 32 in Townsend, since she and her late husband, Richard, took it over in 1976.
Customers will find anything from hardware to sporting goods to housewares to lumber at the store.
“It’s a little bit of everything,” Pintsch said. “Everybody knows you, and you try to have what people need in stock. If you need something right away, it’s close, and you don’t have to take so much time out of your day to go somewhere else when you’re working on a project.”
Business at the store was good during the 2026 tourism season, according to Pintsch.
“It was a nice summer, and when winter comes along, you have to be prepared, because the population is a lot less and therefore, sales go down,” she said. “The snowbirds go south, and that’s usually any time between October and November through March or April when people come back. Normally, it’s the start of the fishing season when we start to see things picking up.”
Wisconsin’s gun deer season, held in late November, is also good for business.
They see “a lot of hunters,” Pintsch said. “We open early for the hunting season. We’ve been selling (hunting) licenses for many years.”
The store has been in the Pintsch family for more than a century. Richard’s grandfather and father operated the business before Richard and Vicki took it over in 1976.
“I married into it, so I didn’t have a choice,” Pintsch said. “My husband passed away in 2013, and since then, I’ve had it. It’s been in the family for over 100 years.”
She said there’s a reason why the store has been successful when others failed.
“I don’t know if there’s any secret except hard work,” she said. “It’s been a lot of hard work, and we did as much as we could as a family. You miss a lot of holidays because you’re working, and you work seven days a week. There’s a lot of sacrifice that goes with it to a degree.”
Retirement is on Pintsch’s mind these days.
“I hope so, I’m 75,” she said. “If you know anyone that’s open to buy (the store), let me know.”
She said her children aren’t interested in running the store, because they operate their own businesses.
Pintsch has been thinking about retiring for a few years but doesn’t have the business or building listed yet with a Realtor.
“People know,” she said. “We’ve had some people interested, but it’s a little bigger than some people thought. Hopefully, when the time comes, there’ll be somebody that’ll continue the store. Right now, it’s on our mind, because the grocery store next door is closing its doors, and that’s been there for as long as we’ve been here.”
When she does retire, Pintsch said she’ll miss the business.
“My husband was born and raised here, so everybody knew him,” she said. “He was popular, and a lot of people liked him, because he was their hometown boy.”
At the same time Pintsch was dealing with customers at her store, Josh Banie and his staff were opening the Old Town Hall Sports Bar & Restaurant at 17767 State Highway 32.
Banie has owned the business off and on for more than 15 years.
“For us, it was a really good summer for my first year getting back into it,” he said. “I sold it about a year and a half ago and then got it back.”
Banie admitted it’s not easy to run a place like Old Town Hall, which has a bar and adjacent restaurant.
“I’m pretty fortunate,” he said. “We have good employees here.”
The tourism season typically runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day weekends.
“It’s the best three months, for sure — June, July and August,” Banie said.
Old Town Hall is one of several choices for food in the Townsend area and has been a part of the community for years.
“We do a lot more food with the full restaurant with weekly specials,” Banie said. “The chicken dinner is a big one. The Friday fish fry is a big one.”
The business relies on support from local residents year-round, he said.
“They’re a big part of our core business,” he said. “We’re open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, so we see a lot of them regularly.”
Most of Old Town Hall’s business comes from the restaurant, while the bar is busy during Green Bay Packer games.
ATV and UTV trails that run through Townsend also bring in customers, Banie said.
“The trails are open for a while yet, and we have the gas station next door. So a lot of people are stopping,” he said. “Being right on the trail and easy access is definitely a plus. The local club does a good job. They grade this and water it to keep the dust down. They’re always out there.”
Banie admitted that business does drop during the winter.
“December’s probably the slowest month with Christmas coming up and everybody’s saving for that,” he said. “We get quite a few Christmas parties and employee parties and banquets. This is probably one of the bigger ones that can hold stuff like that. We have those in the slow months, and hopefully we have snow for the snowmobile season.”
