Longtime Kenosha business LaMacchia Travel Agency opens new office

The business opened at its new location on Wednesday, April 24.

Owners and local couple Tom and Monica Karnes recently discussed the history of the nearly century-old business and the role of a local travel agency in the era of the internet.

According to family lore, Eugenio LaMacchia, Tom Karnes’ great grandfather, was an Italian immigrant who came to America in the late 1800s. He would start his own grocery store in town, and on the side assisted many fellow immigrants in coming to America by helping book transportation.

His son Edmund, Tom’s grandfather, would open LaMacchia Travel in the Columbus Park neighborhood in 1931.

Many of the Italian families in the region can trace their roots to the efforts of the LaMacchia family, Tom said.

In the 93 years since opening the local travel agency, numerous LaMacchias have taken the helm of the family business, and Tom has worked with many of them, including his grandmother and several uncles.

In 2008, he and Monica bought the business, becoming the fourth-generation owners.

“When Tom had the idea of going ahead and buying the family business, there was really not too much to say except ‘I’m with you,’” Monica said.

Since then, the business has continued to evolve. They started a national honeymoon and destination wedding business LovinAway in 2017, and during the pandemic they created LaMacchia Jet Stream, a host agency for travel agents that provides administration work.

Tom and Monica have three daughters, two of which the couple said are interested in the industry, and a third they’re working to convince, they joked.

Tom said they’d been at their previous location at 618 55th St. for 35 years, but it was at the “center” of future Downtown developments. They “tried various options to stay Downtown,” but none seemed to fit.

Rather than slow any developments, Tom said they decided to get a fresh start in a new location.

They spent “a good part of a year” looking at locations, settling on the 30th Avenue site. While it’s a new building, the couple said they hope to become a part of the area community as they were in their old building.

“We feel we can make this area home, we really hope we can make a difference here,” Tom said.

Tom has worked in the travel business for 40 years, and Monica about 15. They recalled the rise of the internet which, at the time, was seen as the end of travel agencies like theirs.

“There’s a lot of information out there on the internet, and a lot of people thought that was going to be problematic for travel agencies across the United States,” Tom said.

While that proved true for some companies, LaMacchia was “able to harness what was on the internet, incorporate our experience and knowledge and our real commitment to the client,” Tom said.

The huge amount of information and services online has actually pushed some to return to local services in recent years.

“In the last year, I get more people calling saying ‘I’ve never used an agency before. There’s too much information out on the internet, I’m getting overwhelmed,’” Monica said.

There are benefits to having a travel agent, the couple said, as they are able to help with any emergencies that might arise and draw from extensive experience. While a travel agent “isn’t for everybody,” Tom encouraged people to reach out and talk.

“We’re accountable to people directly, where most of the online players are not,” Tom said. “It does us no good to just take your money and sell you an average product.”

They are proud of their services and committed staff, Monica said, and the community work the company has done over the years.

“I’m very proud of that,” Monica said. “Expedia isn’t going to put money back into the Kenosha area.”

With just a few years before the company can mark a century in business, Tom said they are focused on today.

“It’s still seven years away, anything can happen. We don’t take any of this for granted,” Tom said. “We continue to commit ourselves to our clients.”