From mega-large to small, and with a range of purposes, three new businesses have opened in Waukesha County in early autumn.
They deal with mental health, a special bath for pets (at a big-box store) and, well, jobs by the hundreds, each offering something different to the communities in which they operate.
Here’s what’s new.
Ellie Mental Health, a franchised mental health service that began in 2015 in Minnesota, has opened a 4,600-square-foot clinic at N14 W23777 Stone Ridge Drive in the city of Pewaukee. It’s only the second in the Milwaukee metro area (the other is in Hales Corners) and the third in the state.
What makes the clinic different, according to its operators, is that it makes humor a part of its treatment plan while aiming to make mental health care more accessible and culturally acceptable, according to Ellie Mental Health’s corporate website.
“Mental health struggles are widespread, no matter how big or small,” said clinic director Kelly Kuehl, who is a licensed clinical social worker. “These challenges can be debilitating for individuals, families, and communities, especially when support at the appropriate care level is not available.”
The Pewaukee facility has 11 therapy rooms for patient counseling sessions and seven trained therapists to treat both adult and adolescent patients for anxiety, depression, ADHD, eating disorders and other challenges. The clinic operates from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays, with weekend appointments available in some cases. More information is available on the Pewaukee facility’s website, its Facebook page or by calling 414-667-5809.
A 45-year-old Waukesha big-box store, Blain’s Farm & Fleet, recently celebrated with a grand reopening, even though the store itself didn’t close for business during a year-long expansion and remodeling project. But one new addition did open: Blain’s Bath Barn, a new self-service pet wash station outside the store.
The pet wash station is the most visible element, but it’s not the only change.
Blain’s Farm & Fleet, which opened at 2310 Kossow Road on the city’s eastern edge in 1979, added 5,000 square feet of warehouse space, along with some minor improvements to the property. Inside, the store has been rearranged, with men’s clothing now located near the center of the store and the pet department toward the front.
A celebration was held Oct. 24-26, including pet wash demonstrations.
ABB Inc., a global technology Swiss company, has completed a massive facility in New Berlin three years after plans were unveiled. A ceremonial open house and ribbon-cutting event was held Oct. 29.
The new facility will make motors and industrial electric drives as part of an effort to increase U.S. production capacity. Plans initially called for a campus that would include a 270,800-square-foot office, research and production facility at 18250 W. Lincoln Ave., an adjacent 309,474-square-foot building for warehousing and distribution functions for ABB’s motion business, and a 7,160-square-foot connector building between those two buildings.
Roughly 700 employees will work within the facility, with another 100 expected to be hired in the next three years as production ramps up, company officials said in a news release in October. The company previously operated a smaller facility nearby on West Glendale Drive.
New Berlin city officials previously said the development was a major component of the business park that includes that stretch of Lincoln Avenue.
Contact reporter Jim Riccioli at james.riccioli@jrn.com.