Streetwise: Tattoo shop upgrades on High Ave.

This week, a long-standing tattoo shop upgrades on High Avenue, the former Ponderosa building is poised to re-open as a medical clinic and a group of students will display their lean, mean, meat-grilling machine.

Oshkosh Tattoo and Good Girl Piercing on Tuesday will mark its first day in a new location down High Avenue in Oshkosh.

Kris Wilz, owner of this shop, said she had been mulling a move for five years, finally beginning the trek to 233 High Ave. last winter. Good Girl’s five tattoo artists shared three workstations at its prior storefront, 149 High Ave. Here at the new location, each artist will have their own desk.

This marks an expansion for this shop, which first opened 19 years ago, Wilz said. In the new space, Oshkosh Tattoo plans to install benches between tattoo stations so customers can bring their friends along while they get inked. New chandeliers hang from the ceiling and artwork adorns the walls.

"This is just so much better than where we were," Wilz said. "I knew I wanted to stay on High Avenue. This is my street."

Twisted Roots, 693 N. Main St., formerly St. Thomas Bar, will ring in its grand opening under a new moniker and new owners on June 25, clearing the parking lot adjacent to the tavern for bands and a DJ.

Brenda Stieg and her husband Jeff Stieg bought the business last fall from her mother Grace Brown and over the past few months have upgraded the TVs, game room and a whole lot else. A new sign went up about six weeks ago overlooking North Main.

After extensive remodeling, health care clinic Urgent Care Physicians, is poised to open June 13 at the former site of Ponderosa Steakhouse, 600 N. Koeller St.

The Ponderosa property decayed for months before Urgent Care in January began work on the property. Extensive is right: Urgent Care has overhauled this former eatery to meet the needs of a medical clinic.

At its new location, Urgent Care will staff a team of physicians to field walk-in visits. The clinic accepts all major insurance companies and keeps an X-Ray machine and other equipment on-site.

If you're itching to see a meat-cooking feat of engineering, mark your calendar for 1:30 p.m.,Tuesday for the unveiling of a grill-mobile built, designed and marketed by Oshkosh North High School student sat Washington Elementary School, 929 Winnebago Ave. During this program, part of Project G.R.I.L.L. (Growing Readiness in Learning and Leading), students partnered with Oshkosh Corp. to plan all aspects of this hot-coal hot rod.

Reach Nate Beck at 920-858-9657 or nbeck@gannett.com; on Twitter: @NateBeck9