Business tries to survive, but construction is making it rather difficult

OAK CREEK -- One Oak Creek business is just trying to survive. But the owners of that business say construction and the state are making it difficult.

The business in question is New Spice II -- an adult novelty store at the corner of S. 27th St. and Rawson Ave. It's a business Stephanie Higgins has owned since 2010.

"My driveway is on 27th. Then it's on Rawson," said Higgins. "Then it's closed for a couple weeks. Then it's opened back up when I complain."

Stephanie Higgins

Higgins says her business was pulling in a half-million dollars a year -- and then construction vehicles moved in. Last summer, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation bought her building and started street work. The deal was -- the state would find Higgins a new, comparable place to run her business. But that has not happened.

While the store was grandfathered in by Oak Creek, many municipalities have ordinances against a shop like hers.

"I can't be within a thousand feet of a church, school, residential, restaurant," said Higgins.

In the meantime, Higgins said the DOT does not allow her to put up signs telling customers how to get to the store. When she put up an "open for business" banner on the store, surveillance video showed someone took the banner down.

Higgins now pays rent to the DOT to stay in the building -- and she has been contacting the department about a leaking roof. To fix it, special permits are needed. Higgins said she would move or stay for a while, but neither is working.

The DOT has tried through the courts to get the store to leave. But a judge ruled the state has to find her a new place.

All DOT officials would say on Wednesday, October 28th is the agency is following what it has to do by statute.