By Neil Johnson - Febuary 2nd 2023

 

JANESVILLE

The former Exclusive Company record store on Milton Avenue in Janesville is about to go exclusively pizza. Or at least, the front half of the building is.

According to preliminary plans, the Milton Avenue-facing portion of the former independent music shop is set to undergo major renovations, including a glass-and-metal exterior facelift, as it is transformed into a walk-in Domino’s Pizza store. The plans include a drive-up window for to-go orders.

Mandy Witt, a local commercial property broker who worked on the purchase of the building, said she’s helping the new owner, listed in tax records as Raising Dough, LLC, secure a tenant for the rear half of the 3,900-square-foot former rock and roll emporium at 1259 Milton Avenue.

Raising Dough already owns the Domino’s at 1260 Milton Ave., in a strip mall directly across the street from the former Exclusive Company. Witt said the owner’s intention is to move the pizza business across the street. She did not give a timeline for the relocation.

Officials at the city of Janesville’s planning department said Thursday they hadn’t received renovation plans for the former music emporium, but preliminary renderings that Witt shared show a significant facelift happening, including the addition of a large glass façade facing Milton Avenue, prairie-style awnings, Domino’s signs and emblems, and the drive-up window on the south side of the building.

On Thursday, a current Domino’s store employee deferred to the owner for comment on the project and the move. The owner did not immediately respond to an inquiry by a reporter from The Gazette.

The Exclusive Company, an independent record store chain that had operated since 1956, closed all seven of its Wisconsin stores last spring after founder and owner James “Mr. G.” Giombetti died in late 2021.

The Exclusive Company had been run out of the Milton Avenue location for 20 years before it sputtered to a close in April after a weeks-long inventory liquidation run by a third-party auctioneer.

The record seller’s exterior signs and hand-painted mural featuring music icons including Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash were removed last year when the store was shuttered, and the building went on the market.

The building’s stark white exterior under the Domino’s renovation will change to a motif of tan and gray, accented by Domino’s signature Red, White and Blue emblem.

The publicly-traded Domino’s, which has more than 5,500 U.S. locations, has operated since 1960, when it was founded in Ypsilanti, Michigan, according to a company history.

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Mandy Witt

D. 608.314.8252

M. 608.751.9108

Mandy@mcguiremears.com