Downtown shopping favorite shutting down

The cows are coming home, Shawano shoppers.

The eclectic retail store known as Til The Cows Come Home is closing its doors after eight years as one of downtown’s most distinctive shopping destinations.

Store owner Mary Zimanek said she plans to close the business in November, in keeping with a promise to her husband that they would retire upon reaching 50 years of marriage.

Zimanek said it will be difficult to walk away from a shop that has become so much a part of her life.

“It’s not just a business to me,” she said. “It’s like this is our family.”

Customers and other supporters are saddened to hear that downtown Shawano soon will be without the unique collection of artwork and home decor products available at Til The Cows Come Home, 154 S. Main St.

Jennifer Burke, who lives out of state, said she frequents the store every time she visits Shawano — at least once a year — and she always finds something new with which to decorate her home. Burke said the quality and selection of products is irresistible.

“I walk in here, and I feel like my home could look like this,” she said.

Zimanek started out showing her artwork during the 1980s at farmers markets and festivals in and around Sobieski, where she lived with her husband and their three children.

When her husband, Ray, built an art studio but then considered turning it into a barn, the artist jokingly told her husband that the studio would remain off-limits to livestock “until the cows come home.” Thus was born the unusual name of her future business enterprise.

She first opened a store in the tiny Oconto County town of Lakewood. After three years, a customer visiting from Shawano encouraged Zimanek to consider moving south to the larger city. That customer was Marisa Rycroft, who later became coordinator of the Shawano Business Improvement District.

Rycroft, who still leads the business district, said Til The Cows Come Home has instilled a unique personality in the city’s downtown. The store has grown immensely popular, drawing customers from far away and enjoying the distinction of being unlike anything else in the area, Rycroft said.

“It really is a destination place for a lot of people,” she said.

After settling into her new location in 2008, Zimanek broadened her approach to include other artists and craftsmen who displayed their work for sale on a consignment basis. The resulting blend of products increased the store’s eclectic atmosphere even more, bringing customers back time and again to see what was new.

Nancy Pierce, an artist who specializes in embroidery, said she sold many pieces of work at the store, and also learned a lot from Zimanek about customer service. So much so that Pierce ended up working as an employee at Til The Cows Come Home.

Pierce said she was disheartened to hear that the store owner was ready to retire and was closing the doors.

“It’s just bittersweet,” she said. “I’m happy for her, but the store is just truly going to be missed.”

In addition to running the retail store, Zimanek has been active in the Business Improvement District, as well as the Shawano Country Chamber of Commerce and many downtown special events.

As she and her husband prepare to celebrate 50 years of marriage this month, Zimanek said her decision to retire is final. She said she looks forward to traveling and to continuing her artwork at home.

Gratified that so many customers have taken home a piece of Til The Cows Come Home, Zimanek said she will miss seeing familiar faces come into the store. She also will enjoy the fond memories of customers who returned so often that they became like family.

“It’s what every business hopes for,” she said. “It shows that you’ve done something right.”