Readstown's Crazy Franks, they probably have it
While the Driftless Area is known for almost a limitless number of unique stores, Readstown, Wisconsin is home to one of them, Crazy Franks Indoor Flea Markets.
Billed as an indoor flea market and located deep in the Driftless (one store on Hwy 131 South, another on Hwy 61 South, and the third on St Rd 23 in Mineral Point, WI), Crazy Franks is open year-round.
For a couple of years, I have driven past the two stores in Readstown, and though curious about what was inside, didn’t stop until this past summer. Anyone that has been through Readstown, a beautiful little town nestled in the Kickapoo Valley, has indeed caught a glimpse of an alien peeking out of his flying saucer next to the store located on Hwy 61. I would be remiss if not to mention this ingenious marketing ploy that can, and must capture many people’s attention. I mean, who doesn’t (especially if the kiddos are along in the car) eventually stop and go inside to see what Crazy Franks is all about. A bonus-selfies with the alien and his saucer.
Who is Crazy Frank? Well, let’s get to his story.
Frank is Frank Callaway, a true entrepreneur to say the least, and a man with his own story that involves hard work, dedication, and a love of life with all its peaks and valleys.
Callaway was born in the Township of Bear in Mather, WI. He had three sisters he grew up with, and attended school through the ninth grade.
As a child, Callaway and his family had moved from Mather to a farm in Kendall where he was raised. “I learned how to drive a tractor and truck at age six and learned how to work hard,” he said with a grin. His daily work included cleaning the barn and feeding the cows, you know, the usual among others. “That’s when my work ethic kicked in, from my youth. We went to a one room school near Kendall for eight years. Then we went to Warrens, WI. We harvested sphagnum moss in a nursery. I had my own crew at age thirteen. I’ve always been an entrepreneur,” said Calloway with a sincere face. In 1964, Frank married his soulmate and love of his life Myrna, and soon after started a family.
Having caught the entrepreneur bug from his father, Callaway shared that at one point his dad owned a burlap bag business where the family processed the bags. “We had trucks that would pick up the bags from the feed mills and farms.” Eventually, Callaway bought the business from his father and ran that for about six years. “Then, burlap bags kind of disappeared.”
Determined to move on, he started building houses. “I built homes for about 3 years working for President Homes. I had a crew; we went to South Dakota, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin.” Eventually, Callaway started a business manufacturing lawnmower grass catcher bags. A business in which he employed 15-20 women that sewed the bags.
In 1970, Callaway and his wife and sons, living at the time in Tomah, WI, moved to Readstown, where he and Myrna opened up a liquidation-type store. “We ran that until 2012. We built this new store on Hwy 61 here in 2008. That left us an empty warehouse, an empty store in uptown Readstown. We started the flea market in the old store here in Readstown first. We did the same thing in Mineral Point. They did so well that we thought we could do that in all of our stores. It’s called Crazy Franks. When I came here to Readstown, we picked that name Crazy Franks- Selling Stuff for Peanuts. My wife was crazy and I was Frank.” So, there you have it, the story behind the name.
With a solemn face, Frank shared that this past August, his wife Myrna had passed away. He shared about his deep respect and love he has always had for her and the role she played in their success, one that spoke to what he called, “a great team”. “We were married for 55 years, and we worked together every day. We worked very hard as a team. We also raised our family.” Frank and Myrna have three sons, Mark, Miles, and Mike. Mike owns the Chepo Depot in town, a discount store that sells closeouts, tobacco (smoke shop), CBD products, hemp, vaping supplies, tools, toys, housewares, fireworks, pet supplies, and more. Son Miles runs the families Crazy Franks with his wife in Mineral Point, WI on St. Rd. 23, and Mark helps his father run the two stores in Readstown. “I have kids that are going to take this over someday,” Callaway said smiling.
The Crazy Franks store in Mineral point is very similar to the stores in Readstown, and has been known to hold outside flea markets as well.
Standing in his store, that I will call the store in the middle of Readstown, Callaway offered a bit of history about the building. “This used to be the old school property. I bought property and built this building in 1980. I had a home store and started selling paneling and moved to plywood and second grade stuff. That turned into a regular lumber yard. That was where this building is now. During that time, we built farm barns and machine sheds. From the lumber, I went back into the liquidation business because the interest rates got so high, no one could build anything. We moved it to the other location (Hwy 61) because it was better being on the highway. I had this building empty. A lady said to me, ‘Why don’t you turn that into a flea market?’ So, I cleaned it up, and put in new lights and a heating system. At my grand opening, I had 5 vendors. Today we have 350 vendors (in all three locations combined). So, God has blessed us every day!”
Having had several businesses and working hard his whole life, Callaway had a few mentors. “The two people who had the most influence on my life were my uncle George and a man named Jim Delaney that owned Delaney’s Sales in Baraboo, WI., they both were entrepreneurs. They made money by buying and selling. So that taught me, if I could buy something and sell it, I could make money,” he said with a chuckle.
When I asked Frank how his stores grew so big, he said, “Just an act of God. We have three stores and about 350 vendors. We don’t charge a commission; we just charge for the floorspace. It’s a month to month contract, and it’s been working very well.”
At Crazy Frank’s, the inventory changes daily. “Our vendors are bringing new stuff in all the time. Our motto is ‘Buy now or cry later’. If you see it today, it might not be here tomorrow.”
Taking heed of the Crazy Franks motto, Geri Swanson of Steuben, WI, led a three-generation shopping crew that day, accompanied by her daughter Bree Groom and Bree’s daughters Liv and Gabby.
“We are a big thrifting family so we go around. Today, we are doing a thrift shopping day. We are starting here and making our way to Coon Valley. We’ve been coming here for many years. We just try to find cool stuff and look around,” Liv said smiling, adding, “It’s like a women’s day. All of us get together and go. Usually great-grandma is with us. We try to do this at least a couple times a year, but we’ve been slacking the last couple of years because I went to college.”
Liv’s sister Gabby said she likes the wide variety of stuff. “If you come here to buy one thing, you walk out with more.” Bree added, “We always walk out of here with a great story, between the hats, and the laughter.”
On the Driftless area, Bree said she loves the beautiful scenery and noted there are many places to stop and shop and great eating spots all over. “This area has good people. When you go from Viroqua to here to Kickapoo, anywhere, you will find good people. You’ll find fun things to do and it is a great time to spend with family.”
“It’s heartwarming. This is the best time. It means a lot when Mom is here too, but she couldn’t make it today,” Geri said referring to what usual makes up the Fourth generation of their shopping crew.
One would think that being on a main highway, and the growing notoriety of the Driftless area in general would bring prospective customers. Surprisingly Frank shared, “You always get more travelers in the summer than you do in winter, but winter is pretty decent too. Winter is sometimes better than May or June, because in the winter you don’t have all of the outdoor flea markets and garage sales.”
Callaway said he did not see expanding to yet another store, noting he thinks three is enough.
Callaway’s final words to me, “You can’t climb a ladder with your hands in your pockets”.
Visit Crazy Franks on the web or on Facebook.
Editor’s note: Be sure and watch the video. Lead photo by Crazy Franks.
