Team Clean and Art Attack open in Kewaunee

The residents of Kewaunee will be glad Michael Bories and Bob Kennicott didn't move to Croatia.

Bories was planning to move from San Francisco, where he had worked for Visa Inc. for 30 years, to a relative's home he had purchased in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea.

He and Kennicott, a friend from Madison, were looking for a place to winter in 2013 before they made the overseas move when they stumbled across The Barnsite on the internet and came to an agreement with its owner Kris Kolinski to rent the four-bedroom apartment at the site for the winter.

They enjoyed Kewaunee so much that after a trip to Europe, they decided to make Kewaunee, rather than Croatia, their full-time home..

Bories has an architectural degree and said when he saw the homes in the Marquette Historic District, they looked into purchasing a home on the street that was for sale.

"It's a beautiful neighborhood of historic architecturally significant homes – each one is a gem," said Bories.

Shortly afterwards, he decided to buy the former home of Dr. Reynold Nesemann at Milwaukee and Center streets that was for sale.

He hired Jeanine Pardowsky of Casco to clean the house before he and Bob moved in.

The three of them decided that there was a need for a commercial and residential cleaning service that would serve Kewaunee, Manitowoc and Door counties.

They established Team Clean, which in only a few short months has 10 commercial and 15 residential clients. They are also offering cleaning services for boats, campers and other recreational vehicles.

When they were looking for a place to house their business, they found a building at 314 Ellis St. and signed a lease, installed new flooring and a laundry.  They added flower boxes outside and have ordered a new sign from Joski Sign Co. across the street.

They also had enough space to make the front of the building into an art gallery, "Art Attack," for Kennicott's paintings and hope to exhibit other local artists.

Bories said that they currently have several part-time employees, including Pardowsky who has 27 years of experience in the cleaning business.

"We want to hire people at a living wage; we don't want to be a sweat shop," said Bories.   He said that they are offering paid vacation as well as an optional 401(k) plan to employees after their first year of employment.

With clients like Nicolet Bank, Bories' business has gotten off to a great start.  They expect business to increase significantly after three new billboards they have leased are installed – two are in Kewaunee County and the other is in Door County.

In the meantime, the community is tapping into Bories' architectural and urban planning skills.  He was recently appointed chairman of the Marquette Historic District and serves on the board of directors of the Build the Future Foundation.   He was also recently appointed by Mayor Sandi Christman to the city's Plan Commission.

Bories recently volunteered to help clean the building that will be the home of the Friends of the Library and he also serves as a volunteer for the Violence Intervention Project.

Right now, Bories is focused on increasing their customer base with the help of Melody Lacey, his customer relations manager.

They are organizing their cleaning supplies in the back of the store and offering a variety of cleaning services, including regular cleaning services, deep cleaning and cleaning before and after moves.  They are professionally insured and bonded and have a guaranteed customer satisfaction offering, as well as special discounts for customers who refer a client.

They also have joined Buy Local and the Business Network Institute.

"We are glad we found Kewaunee," Bories said.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press Gazette: Team Clean and Art Attack open in Kewaunee