Steve Cahalan: La Crosse Hy-Vee supermarket, convenience store to open in October

The Hy-Vee supermarket chain plans to open its new La Crosse grocery store and its convenience store next to it in October, the company said in its application for permission to apply for a liquor license for the grocery store.

Hy-Vee, based in West Des Moines, Iowa, purchased the former Sears department store property at Valley View Mall in September 2020 for $2.4 million and is remodeling it into a supermarket. A Hy-Vee Fast and Fresh convenience store has been built nearby and will sell fuel and other convenience items.

The company’s application for permission to apply for a liquor license for the grocery store will be considered by the La Crosse Common Council’s Judiciary and Administration Committee at 6 p.m. Aug. 2 in the council chambers in City Hall. It will be considered by the common council on Aug. 11.

Hy-Vee plans to apply for liquor licenses for both the grocery store — which will have a restaurant — and for the convenience store. It does not need permission to apply for a liquor license for the convenience store.

Michele and Tucker Bills and Michele’s sister, Cecilia Kirkland, opened Matsumoto Ramen House, a Japanese ramen restaurant, on July 5 at 106 N. Water St. in downtown Sparta.

Michele and her daughter, Renee Thacker, are head chefs at the restaurant, which specializes in various kinds of authentic Japanese ramen noodle dishes. Some of its biggest sellers are tonkotsu ramen, made with braised pork, creamy pork broth, egg, mushrooms, green onion and ginger; shoyu ramen, made with clear soy sauce broth, braised pork, egg, bamboo shoot and green onion; and fishcake.

The restaurant also sells sides such as gyoza, which are crisp dumplings with a choice of pork, chicken or vegetable filling; and edamame, which are boiled and salted immature soybeans in the pod. And it serves desserts such as mochi ice cream and melon bars, and beverages such as tea, specialty juices and soda pop. “We will be serving Japanese beer in the near future,” Michele Bills said.

The restaurant is open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and for dinner from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 4 to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. It’s closed on Sunday.

The restaurant’s décor includes posters with Japanese scenes.

Michele and Cecilia are half Japanese, Michele said. “Our father was stationed in Japan with the Navy when he met our Japanese mother,” she said. “We were raised in Japan for a while, then moved to the States.” Matsumoto is their mother’s maiden name, Michele said, explaining the restaurant’s name.

For more information, call the restaurant at 608-487-9888, or visit www.matsumotoramenhouse.com or Facebook or Instagram.

Melissa Thompson opened her Cozy Atmospheres by Mel home decorating and boutique business on June 6 at 1507 Caledonia St. in La Crosse. It’s in the same building as Exclusively Yours Salon & Boutique.

Thompson had been operating her home decorating business for three years from her home, before moving it to the new location and opening her new boutique there as well. “I worked in retail leadership roles for 25 years,” she said. “Decorating for people and having a boutique are passions of mine. I like to create cozy and warm spaces for people to come home to at the end of the day.”

In her boutique, she said, “I sell home furnishings such as furniture, window treatments, accessories, throw pillows, wall art and lamps.”

The boutique’s hours are 4 to 7 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday. Appointments are available for home decorating.

For more information, call 608-792-6301 or visit Cozy Atmospheres’ Facebook or Instagram pages. Thompson plans to have a website soon.

Look for Milan Laser Hair Removal to open in the former B.A. Burrito Co. restaurant at 2928 Market Place, in a multi-tenant building near Walmart in Onalaska.

Remodeling is under way in the space, where B.A. Burrito closed in April 2018. An opening date for the Onalaska location wasn’t available last week from Milan headquarters in Omaha, Neb.

Milan was founded in 2012 and says it is the nation’s largest laser hair removal provider, with more than 190 locations in 25 states.

For more information about the company, visit https://milanlaser.com or its Facebook page.