The Neighborhood Slush is a woman sitting in a lawn chair, wearing a robe, high heels, and sunglasses and holding a glass of wine. “It could be 10 a.m., and the kids just burned down the house, and you’re just like, I need this moment for myself,” said owner Carrie Wunderlin of Cassville, Wisconsin.

 Just like every other detail in this boutique slushy bar, The Neighborhood Slush logo is “sarcastic and lighthearted,” reflecting the fun-loving vision of its owner, Carrie Wunderlin. “I had a vision,” she said of the business’s birth. “I wasn’t sure of the execution.”

 A nudge toward execution came from Village of Cassville Tourism Director Tracy Fishnick, a friend since childhood. Fishnick introduced Wunderlin to the Wisconsin Badger Bounceback grant, a passthrough of American Rescue Plan Act, and other federal funds that granted $10,000 to new business owners opening in Wisconsin’s vacant downtown storefronts.

“This space would not exist without that grant,” Wunderlin said. “Zero chance. I literally opened this with $87 in my pocket. I jumped in, just fell off the cliff headfirst. The grant is the only reason I was able to launch my business.”

And launch she did. The $10,000 grant quickly went to slushy machines, equipment, inventory, and building out the empty space. “I guess I was naive,” Wunderlin said. “I had no idea how hard it would be. I was a single mom and raised three kids on my own, and this is way harder running a small business than it was raising my children.”

Since opening in 2022, The Neighborhood Slush has hosted a flurry of special events, as well as maintaining regular hours for Cassville villagers and visitors, who come to this town of 775 people to camp, four-wheel, boat, and ferry across the Mississippi River.

 Wunderlin grew up in Cassville but moved to Colorado, where she raised three kids while working in office administration and general contracting. When her kids left for college, she decided it was time to get out of the city.

 “I missed the river,” she said. “I missed family around here, the community. I would come back, and I would have so much fun, and it was very relaxing and very freeing.”

 Now, she wants to bring that relaxation and energy to her wine slushy bar customers. “I have a very light and vibrant and fun space,” she said. “I wanted it to be almost shocking when people come in.”

As the weather and tourism cools, she plans more events, like her always-sold-out Bad Moms BINGO, featuring naughty prizes and themes like “vixens and vampires.” She hosts craft nights, pumpkin and cookie decorating, hat bars, jewelry artisans, Hallmark movie BINGO, and more.

The Neighborhood Slush hosted a guys-only bourbon-and-BBQ event with a smoked-foods truck and Blue Ash Farm distillers from Argyle, Wis. The holiday season saw an ugly sweater meat paddles party, a “charcuterie-style” take on a meat raffle.

Wunderlin has even organized “team bonding” for bar owners throughout the county. “I love community building,” Wunderlin said. “I do serve alcohol, but I have nonalcoholic options as well. It’s not just about drinking. It’s about the community aspect as well.”

Ultimately, Wunderlin hopes Cassville is home to the first of many Neighborhood Slushes. “My big goal is that this is a franchise,” she said. “I keep saying this is my flagship. One day, there’ll be The Neighborhood Slush in a lot of neighborhoods.”