The Hammes family enjoy an evening on the rooftop deck.
husband has three siblings, and they all have families— prompted her to look for something larger.
Local short-term rental rules in Brown County generally cap occupancy in residential properties at around 10 guests. Because the Barn Burner property is zoned for commercial use, those residential limits do not apply, allowing it to accommodate large groups under a single booking. In 2018, the couple bought the Barnyard Shops property, two derelict buildings that had been vacant for many years. They tore down the structures. The new building holds four self-contained units: two three-bedroom, two-bath units upstairs, plus a two-bedroom and a one-bedroom unit on the ground floor. Each has a kitchen, laundry and private entrance, but Hammes said about 75 % of
guests rent the entire space, including the shared rooftop deck and event space.
Hammes and her husband handled much of the Barn Burner’ s design themselves, focusing on how large groups actually use a house: dining together, cooking in bulk and staying in shared spaces rather than sitting separately in small hotel rooms.
“ I know how hard it is to find a place that’ s been set up with the idea of a group in mind, not just,‘ Oh well, there’ s technically enough beds or enough space on the floor for all of us, but there’ s not enough forks,” Hammes said. The Barn Burner is“ designed with the mind of the people that are coming here, because that’ s how we travel.”
The couple also wanted to make sure the design avoids the interchangeable look of many short-term rentals.
“ It’ s a new space that still feels like it fits in Brown County. That was important to me,” Hammes said. While the couple’ s timing on the project was less than ideal— they closed on the loan March 11, 2020, days before the COVID-19 pandemic hit— Hammes said as they were ready to go, they already had locked in prices for materials. They opened the business a few months before payments on the $ 1.7 million construction loan began and have been able to cover all expenses since then.
Continued on 47
Barn Burner west unit’ s dining / kitchen / living area.
May / June 2026 Our Brown County 45