She just wasn’t ready.
Lisa Wegner tried retirement. She gave it a whole year. But as it turns out, she just didn’t like it that much. She likes being out of the house and around people. It suits her better.
So Lisa Wegner found a storefront in downtown Bay City and opened Urban East, an upscale shoe store. Her shoes are fashionable yet comfortable, she says. You don’t have to sacrifice comfort for style.
Today, Wegner is glad she decided to retire from retirement.
"Bay City is really up and coming. I wanted to be part of that and to give people a place to shop for shoes here. It’s fun to shop for shoes," Wegner says.
"I love being down here. I love what I do, the community, the location. It’s perfect."
Urban East opened on Nov. 30, commonly known as Small Business Saturday, earlier this year.
It’s a family affair at Urban East. Wegner’s husband is a silent partner. Their daughter Elyse works at the shop.
Previous to her shoe store life, Wegner owned a salon in Kawkawlin for more than 30 years. Following the sale, she retired for a year – just to try it out, she says.
She always liked shopping for shoes. And when she realized that there wasn’t much opportunity to do so in Downtown Bay City, she decided to do something about it.
"There are a lot more people living down here than there used to be. All of the condos. A lot of people for the first time in years. And all these businesses and restaurants and bars opening up. You can see it when you’re here," Wegner says.
"There’s a lot of energy down here."
Urban East is located at 904 Washington Ave. in Downtown Bay City.
Got a development news story to share? Email MJ Galbraith here or send him a tweet @mikegalbraith.
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