Whitewater is a pretty small town.

When I was first looking at coming here, a family friend once described Whitewater to me as a city with nothing more than a college campus and a Walmart.

When I first got here a long four years ago, it was very easy to see what they meant. Campus is really the focal point of the city, and it’s hard to ignore all of the fast food chains and the ever present walmart.

However, after living, breathing and learning this city for four years, I realized that family friend must never have set foot in Whitewater, at least the Whitewater I had learned to love.

Whitewater is so much more than just a university and a Walmart, and what makes us more than that is our very strong small business presence.

We take small businesses pretty seriously in town, and that is something pretty unique I think. Not only are small businesses important to a small city like ours for economic interests, but most importantly you’re supporting the people you know and love from your community.

You are supporting a friend’s dreams, supporting generations of a family’s hard work, supporting a strong, tight knit community that can work together to create a world we can be proud of.

Supporting your community is beyong important, and having a small business presence can help do that as well as provide a special, unforgettable experience for everyone in the town.

We are a city with an always changing population, students come and go, graduate and make room for the next class, but that doesn’t mean we can’t provide each student with a unique experience.

I will forever remember so many of our small, locally owned businesses that have provided me with a product or experience that strongly impacted my time here.

I will always look forward to finding out what the Sweetspot’s cupcake of the month is (it’s cookie dough and candy filled goodness this month, so go check it out), I have gotten my entire family hooked on the Sweetspot’s cold brew as well. Really, they’re so addicted that if I don’t bring home a few growlers of it everytime I visit, they never let me forget it.

Honestly, don’t even get me started on Second Salem’s soft pretzels and cheese curds, they’re amazing. Also always a stop on the list when my family comes to visit.

These are just a few of my favorite products that I have learned to love, and will forever miss when my time is up in Whitewater.  They are products enterily unique to our city.

You can only get them here and that makes it so much more special than getting a cup of coffee from a chain.

Whitewater is a small town, but we are so much more than just a university and Walmart.

We are a town full of small businesses, full of character and full of community support.