Nelson’s new bar and grill is one of 33,000 new businesses that opened in Wisconsin last year. According to the state’s Department of Financial Institutions, that’s a 2.3 percent increase from 2010.
“We’ve changed some corporate tax policy in the last year, that has certainly helped people, willing to explore,” said Dick Granchalek, president of the La Crosse Chamber of Commerce. “And unfortunately unemployment pushes people into saying, ‘Ok, what can I do on my own?’”