The decision to close Mod Gen, the popular Third Ward store known for its unique selection of home and garden goods, didn’t come easy after 25 years.
“For me, it’s simply time,” said Doug McDonald, Mod Gen’s CEO. “I’m in my early 60s and had been thinking about whether I’m going to sign another long-term lease. There are personal factors and some business factors. But business has been good. That’s not an issue. It was more about looking holistically where I was headed.”
McDonald announced his decision to retire and close the store on social media earlier this month. Mod Gen will close its doors at the end of the business on Dec. 24.
He has been overseeing Mod Gen’s operations since 2020, when owner Deborah Kern retired. Kern, whose father Robert founded Generac Power Systems in 1959, still owns the store, but McDonald says he’s “been managing it on my own since she stepped away. … It’s been a very close relationship getting the business to where it is.”
McDonald, who doesn’t have an ownership stake in Mod Gen, said he and Kern have “played around with the idea” of selling the business. “If anybody wants to step up to do that, we’ve had some conversations, but in this particular business environment, I’m not sure … Trying to sell a business in this environment and have somebody pick it up – that’s a big ask. I’d be happy if someone did, but that’s not the goal right now,” he said. “Maybe somebody could pick up the torch and run with it.”
The business derives its name from “modern general” store and offers home and garden goods along with a wide selection of lush houseplants, books, ceramics, unique home décor, soaps and seasonal offerings.
“I’ll miss a lot about it. Making a decision to retire is one of those push-pulls,” McDonald said. “It’s the right time but so much of your life’s rhythms are wrapped up in your business identity, especially if you run a small business. Am I going to miss all the headaches of running a small business and managing teams of people? No, I’m not. But it’s going to be a shift of rhythms for me.”
For McDonald, one of the best aspects of operating Mod Gen has stemmed from the independence that comes with operating a small business. “You don’t have to be so rigid in your thinking and you can maneuver in the way you want,” he said. “Often, people get stuck in this dogmatic regimented thing. I remind the staff that we get to do what we want. Over the years, we’ve learned lessons about making decisions and having customers meet us where we’re at versus us constantly thinking that we can’t do certain things, like close on Mondays.”
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McDonald will continue to serve as board chairman of Joy Engine, the public art nonprofit that he and Kern started in 2019, initially known as Black Box Fund before a 2022 rebranding. “I’m also an artist myself and I want to get back to a serious studio practice,” he said.
Born and raised in Massachusetts, McDonald lived in Santa Cruz, California, for about 20 years before arriving in Milwaukee in 2018. McDonald and his husband, Michael Doylen, associate vice provost and library director at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, plan to remain in the Milwaukee area. The couple lives in Glendale.
The decision to keep Mod Gen open through the holiday season is, for the most part, based on simple economic. “It’s a business decision,” McDonald said. “Most small businesses don’t make any money until the fourth quarter. You don’t want to shoot yourself in the foot. I have to allow time for all those people who just bought gift cards or have store credit to use.”
He also wanted to leave time for customers to “digest” the decision, he said. “And I wanted to leave enough time for my staff. [Mod Gen has eight employees.] I didn’t want them to come in and see a sign on the door saying we were shutting down. I wanted to leave time to talk through it with them and make sure I was committed to them until the closure.”
McDonald has received messages from a slew of customers since announcing the decision.
“Nearly all of it has been congratulatory. Some are sad, but understanding. That’s wonderful to hear,” he said. “We’ve had people coming out of the woodwork. Old employees on Instagram. That makes me feel really good, that we’ve made a mark. Deborah and I have had lots of conversations about how everything has an arc of life. You don’t have to tie yourself to the idea of this business. We’ve loved it. It’s been a wonderful journey.”
He and Kern also discussed the importance of timing.
“Most of the conversations we’ve had recently have been about leaving on a high point, not feeling like we are somehow being forced out,” he said. “This isn’t a financial decision. I won’t lie and tell you this current business environment is easy. It hasn’t been easy since the pandemic. But that’s not the reason.”
Prior to the pandemic, Mod Gen had 12 employees and business was thriving, McDonald said. “We had a banner year in 2019 and business was really picking up, then the bottom dropped out,” he said. “I committed to keeping all of the staff and keeping them paid even though the doors weren’t open. … The beauty of being so small is you can flex and be nimble. That’s a good thing. If you’re a big behemoth, you have a much harder time turning that ship around.”
McDonald repeatedly stressed that the decision to shutter Mod Gen had nothing to do with finances. “Business has been great,” he said. “If you look at it from the pandemic to now, there’s certainly been a lot of swings, but being down here in the Third Ward with the tourist traffic, we’ve certainly been happy with all of that.”
Although grateful for the opportunity to lead Mod Gen, McDonald said he’s completely at peace with the decision to step away.
“This is all about being in a grateful space and having gratitude that we’ve been able to do it this long,” he said. “We had a community that supported us. … It feels good.”
