Fourth Street in Algoma is State Highway 42 — the same road that carries the Lake Michigan Circle Tour north toward Sturgeon Bay and the rest of Door County. Plenty of people drive past 625 Fourth Street on the way somewhere else. What’s at that address is a formalwear store that sells prom gowns, rents tuxedos and does the alterations on site.
Start with the detail that will change how you plan the trip: this shop works by appointment. Its posted hours are Monday through Friday from 10 to 5, and Saturday from 9 to noon, with a note on its own site to call ahead and book a time. The Saturday noon close is the one that catches families driving up from Green Bay on a weekend.
What’s on the racks
Four prom labels list Tina Marie’s on their own retailer locators: Jovani, Alyce Paris, Dave & Johnny and Colette. The store’s prom page puts the size range at 00 to 32, which in a town this size matters more than the brand names do — it is the difference between shopping at home and driving an hour to be told to try somewhere else.
The rest of the operation is the reason a store like this survives in a city of about 3,200. Menswear is under the same roof: it’s a Jim’s Formal Wear affiliate, with tuxedos and suits available to rent or buy, so a couple can be measured and fitted in one stop instead of two towns. Alterations and custom tailoring are done in house. So are undergarment fittings, which is not something most prom shoppers think about until the dress is already bought. The shop also runs bridal, mothers’, bridesmaid, homecoming and quinceañera racks, and takes dry cleaning drop-off. Its own About page says Tina Marie and her staff have been at this for more than thirty years.
Whose prom this is
Algoma High School is a block-and-a-half world away on Division Street, serving grades 7 through 12 with roughly 280 students total. That is a senior class small enough that a shop three blocks from the school can plausibly dress a good share of it, and small enough that two girls in the same gown is a real risk worth raising when you book.
Beyond Algoma, the trade area is the Packerland Conference map and the county line. Kewaunee County has three public districts — Algoma, Kewaunee and Luxemburg-Casco. North on 42 are Southern Door, Sturgeon Bay, Sevastopol and Gibraltar, the Door County schools Algoma plays in Packerland. For a family in Sturgeon Bay, Algoma is about sixteen miles down the lakeshore. For one in Fish Creek, it is the far end of the peninsula but still a straighter shot than crossing to Green Bay.
The drive, and the alternative to it
Green Bay is roughly 35 miles west, about 40 minutes, and that is where the chain stores and the larger independents are. That drive is the comparison every family in Wisconsin’s lakeshore counties is actually making: one appointment ten minutes from home against a Saturday in Ashwaubenon. The case for Algoma is the alterations counter — a hem you can come back for on a Tuesday afternoon without burning half a day.
If you are driving in from out of county, the lakefront is a few blocks east of the store: the Algoma Pierhead Lighthouse and the half-mile Crescent Beach boardwalk, both within walking distance of downtown, and both places people end up with a camera in May.
Before you call
- Appointment required. The phone number is (920) 487-3711.
- Monday–Friday 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m.–noon. Closed Sunday.
- Ask about alteration turnaround when you book, not after you buy.