The Blessed Fig Tree

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The Blessed Fig Tree 📕Local bookstore! 🌳
Largest Manga Selection in 4 Hours. A Great Place to Visit this Winter.
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10/25/2026

What Hath Reading Wrought!? 👀😨😱

Whoa!! Book themed gifts!!! 🎁 📖 😗 Yep!New mugs ☕️ Classics Sponges 🧽 Book Baby Teethers 🧑‍🍼 Cooking Trivets 🍳 Hot/Cold ...
10/22/2026

Whoa!! Book themed gifts!!! 🎁 📖 😗 Yep!
New mugs ☕️ Classics Sponges 🧽 Book Baby Teethers 🧑‍🍼 Cooking Trivets 🍳 Hot/Cold Shelfcare Plush Book Comfort packs! 👀

Having fun polishing the store for the upcoming holiday season, so please keep us in mind if you need a gift for the bibliophile in your life. ❤️🎄

📚 Cheers!

Bobbi Rae brought us homemade cupcakes!! 🧁 👀❤️ Great start to our Sunday! Take advantage of my good mood! 10-6pm 🤗*edit*...
10/18/2026

Bobbi Rae brought us homemade cupcakes!!
🧁 👀❤️ Great start to our Sunday!
Take advantage of my good mood! 10-6pm 🤗
*edit* oh my god she made apply bars that are incredible too. 🍎 🤤

🫠 Well. Another $1400 to just open the Airbnb.One of the things people don’t always see when it comes to running a small...
10/17/2026

🫠 Well. Another $1400 to just open the Airbnb.

One of the things people don’t always see when it comes to running a small business is just how expensive it is to get something off the ground before you’ve made a single dollar.

I’ve been working on converting three of our upstairs apartments into Airbnbs here in downtown Antigo. That means purchasing furniture, mattresses, bedding, appliances, decorations, making repairs, and putting a considerable amount of time and money into making these spaces comfortable for visitors.

And then you start running into the regulatory costs.

Wisconsin’s published 2026 inspection and licensing fees can add up to well over a thousand dollars just to get started, with annual licensing fees afterward. I’m still confirming what Langlade County will actually charge for all three apartments.

I understand the need for health and safety inspections. People deserve clean, safe places to stay, and I have no objection to being held to reasonable standards.

But there is something frustrating about spending thousands of dollars improving a property, investing in a downtown community, taking on the financial risks yourself, and then discovering another substantial expense just for permission to begin operating.

For a large hotel, these costs can be spread across dozens or hundreds of rooms. For a small business owner trying to get three apartments operating, the regulatory overhead represents a much larger percentage of the investment.

And this is on top of property taxes, insurance, utilities, maintenance, renovations, and all the other expenses that don’t stop coming just because you’re trying to build something.

I’m not asking for regulations to disappear. I’m asking whether we have created a system where the cost of compliance disproportionately discourages the very people willing to invest in their communities.

Downtown Antigo has plenty of buildings that could benefit from people willing to put money and labor into them. We should want that investment.

Making sure businesses operate safely is important. Making it financially reasonable for small businesses to get started should be important too.

Cooler filled with new exotic drinks! 🥤 Weird new maple bacon jerky! 🥓Come grab a book, drink and snack and nestle in! I...
10/16/2026

Cooler filled with new exotic drinks! 🥤
Weird new maple bacon jerky! 🥓
Come grab a book, drink and snack and nestle in! It’s Cuffing Season! 🤗📖❤️

10/14/2026

Making beds! 🛌 Furnishing the airbnbs above the bookstore! 🤩📚😎

There’s something in the water in Antigo. 👀🍆I cannot seem to keep this title stocked!Apparently, our community has a rat...
10/11/2026

There’s something in the water in Antigo. 👀🍆

I cannot seem to keep this title stocked!

Apparently, our community has a rather large problem. 😂

Cheers to all the happy wives of Antigo. 🫡

— The Blessed Fig Tree 📚

Attended our Farmers market over at The Merchants Market ! Live music, cute vendors, free coffee! Picked up some cute cr...
10/10/2026

Attended our Farmers market over at The Merchants Market ! Live music, cute vendors, free coffee! Picked up some cute crafts. Thanks Rick and Colleen for setting this up! ❤️🍞👀

10/09/2026

To everyone who walks into our shop just to see what they might discover: you are our absolute favorites.

Address

800 5th Avenue
Antigo, WI
54409

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am - 6pm
Thursday 10am - 6pm
Friday 10am - 8pm
Saturday 10am - 8pm
Sunday 10am - 6pm

Telephone

+17152229943

Website

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