Bell Street Gallery Website Features Photos by Eric Kodner of Madeline Island Realty

I was browsing websites of Madeline Island businesses when I came across the new website for the Bell Street Gallery. It was a delightful surprise to see a slideshow which features a handful of wide-angle photos that I took at the Gallery last September.

The Bell Street Gallery is owned and operated by Minneapolis photographer Steve McHugh and his wife Mary. Steve is a professional photographer in the Twin Cities, which makes his use of our photos on the Bell Street Gallery website even more flattering!

Last September, I posted about Praise from a Professional Photographer and included some of these ultra-wide phots of the Bell Street Gallery. Steve McHugh emailed me to comment, "LOVE THEM, hope you don't mind me dropping a couple of these on Facebook".

We're particularly proud to say that the McHughs bought their commercial property (as well as their Madeline Island home) using Madeline Island Realty as their real estate brokerage. Steve and Mary did a fantastic job of renovating the building at 807 Bell Street and making it a showplace.

The Bell Street Gallery is a Madeline Island treasure. We're fortunate to have Steve and Mary McHugh as part of our business community and their Gallery contributes tremendously to the flavor of the downtown La Pointe business district.

ISLAND MARKET IS A VITAL PART OF THE MADELINE ISLAND COMMUNITY

Ed and Marilyn Hartig operate the "Island Market" across the street from our Madeline Island real estate office at 809 Main Street in downtown LaPointe, Wisconsin. And it's safe to say that the Island would not be what it is without their contribution to tourism and to the quality of life here.

The Island Market is more than a mere grocery store. It's a butcher shop, a produce specialty store, a place where shoppers can get ready-to-eat barbecued ribs, cooked chickens, brown-sugar cured smoked trout, fresh Lake Superior fish, Ed's "Island Potatoes", fresh berries and the best custom-cut meat (aged beef, rack of lamb, thick center-cut pork chops and so on) available in northwest Wisconsin. It's also the place where you can get a copy of the Island Gazette or the Minneapolis Star Tribune, a place where Ed will chat with you about anything and everything (when he isn't in the back of the store cutting thick ribeye steaks or making deli sandwiches, or loading the walk-in freezer with newly-arrived goods).

To some of us, the Island Market is a community center, a gathering place and a tourist information bureau, as well as a market. There are used books for sale and you'll see art on the walls. This is nothing like any typical grocery store you'll see as you travel the United States.

Tourists from all over the Midwest (and many from all over the United States) know about the Island Market. It's no longer a best-kept secret. The Island Market has acquired its own status as a Madeline Island landmark, much like Tom's Burned Down Cafe or the Beach Club restaurant, or the Pub.

Marilyn writes regularly for the Island Gazette about her experiences working in the Island Market. Her column is often the first thing I read when I open the Gazette.

I've told Ed that he needs to be on the Web, especially since the Gazette doesn't have an online edition yet. Ed and Marilyn are so busy that he probably doesn't have ten minutes to blog about the Market. So I blog about their operation fairly regularly. Word of mouth is good, but marketing on the Web is better, in my opinion.