Middleton Review 511
Wednesday, June 3, 2026
In this issue:
Community:
Middleton VFW Auxiliary hosts ‘America@250 Community Conversation’ civic engagement event
Middleton Optimist Club 2025/2026 scholarship winner: Kavya Kashyap
Business:
Support your local business – vote early, vote often (no, really)
Vanilla Bean moving to Middleton
Community
Middleton VFW Auxiliary hosts ‘America@250 Community Conversation’ civic engagement event
On Sunday, May 17, community members, local leaders and residents gathered on at VFW Post 8216 for its Auxiliary’s ‘America@250 Community Conversation’ civic engagement event. The initiative was designed by PBS Wisconsin to encourage meaningful dialogue, reflection, and collaboration as the nation approaches its 250th anniversary. Through structured small-group discussions, participants had the opportunity to engage with fellow residents and consider how civic values align across groups. The VFW Auxiliary selected the theme ‘Spirit of Service’, highlighting the importance of service to community and country.
About forty people took part in the event, including six members of the Auxiliary and five members of VFW Post 8216. The gathering featured remarks from Mary Bechtol, secretary of the Auxiliary, who organized and hosted the program. She welcomed participants and spoke about the mission of the Auxiliary and its role within the Middleton community.
Additional remarks were delivered by John Bechtol, president-elect of VFW Post 8216, who reflected on the significance of William ‘Sonny’ Simon in the Middleton community. He also paid tribute to Sonny, who was killed in action during World War II and whose remains were brought to rest through the UW MIA Recovery and Identification Project in March 2023.
PBS Wisconsin’s America@250 initiative seeks to inspire communities nationwide to commemorate the country’s semiquincentennial through dialogue, education, and civic participation.
Link: America@250
(Text submitted by VFW Auxiliary to William ‘Sonny’ Simon VFW Post 8216, Middleton)
Middleton Optimist Club 2025/2026 scholarship winner: Kavya Kashyap
This remarkable young woman completed her course work at Middleton High School while also conducting research on the UW-Madison campus. Kavya’s student activities included the marching band as a section leader, book club, forensics (speech and debate), science club and others. Recognition came to her in the form of the Presidential Scholar program, the National Merit Scholarship candidacy, first-place standings in the Wisconsin HOSA competition for Pharmacology and CPR/First Aid and as a Science Olympiad in the Model UN event.
Lalitha Kashyap, Kavya’s. mother, describes her as “a very good planner, coordinator, communicator and leader”. She considers the Optimist Club scholarship as “validation of the incredible work that Kavya put in”. Kavya heads to UW-Madison in the fall to study microbiology and global health. She has already been admitted to the International Scholars program on campus.
Kavya Kashyap is in the middle of the photo with mom (Lalitha Kashyap) to her right.
(Text and photo submitted by Middleton Optimist Club)
Business
Support your local business – vote early, vote often (no, really)
Twenty five Middleton businesses have been nominated for Madison Magazine ‘Best of Madison’ awards: Allen Boulevard Laundry (in the ‘dry cleaner/laundromat’ category), Amber Indian Cuisine (‘South Asian’ restaurant), ANiU Salon & Spa (‘hair salon’, ‘nail salon’, ‘spa’), Auto Color (‘auto body repair’), Ball Body Shop (‘auto body repair’), The Bruce Company (‘outdoor living and services’), Caliber Collision (‘auto body repair’), Cardinal View Senior Living (‘assisted living’, ‘memory care’, ‘retirement community’), Chalmers Jewelers (‘jeweler’), Clasen’s European Bakery (‘bakery/bread’), Cool Hand Customs (‘independent automotive services’), Craftsman Table & Tap (‘fried cheese curds’), Dhaba Indian Bistro (‘South Asian’ restaurant), Dream House Dream Kitchens (‘kitchen and bath design’), Harbor Athletic Club (‘fitness center’), Hubbard Avenue Diner (‘breakfast/brunch), Imperial Garden (‘East Asian’ restaurant), Middleton Ford (‘dealer auto service shop’, ‘domestic auto dealer’, ‘used car dealer’), Middleton Jewelers (‘jeweler‘), National Mustard Museum (‘museum’, ‘place for family fun’, ‘gift shop/specialty store’, ‘place for a first date’), Nonn’s (‘flooring’, ‘kitchen and bath design’), Paul’s Neighborhood Bar (‘salad bar’), Pleasant View Golf Course (‘golf course’), Ruth’s Chris Steak House (‘steakhouse’), Spencer Real Estate Group (‘real estate company’).
To vote for them, follow this link: Best of Madison
Vanilla Bean moving to Middleton
According to articles in the Capital Times and the Wisconsin State Journal, baking supply store Vanilla Bean, which is closing at its current location on Odana Road in Madison on June 11, will reopen under new ownership on Hubbard Avenue in downtown Middleton. The new owners are Kate and Chuck Teasdale, who owned the Riley Tavern from 2019 to 2025. Vanilla Bean is expected to open in Middleton in the fall of this year. The exact location has not been revealed yet in order to give the current occupant the opportunity to announce their departure in their own time.
Link: Capital Times article