Relations between local government and the business community were closely watched this year, while efforts were made to increase local child care availability.

Restaurants came and went — including one establishment that opened and then closed within eight months — and national retailers either arrived in Dubuque or were poised to enter the marketplace.

Meanwhile, a low-cost carrier arrived to serve Dubuque’s airport with a single destination, then added a second before announcing plans to terminate the expansion due to low demand and increasing travel costs.

Those developments were among the Top 10 local business stories of 2023 listed below, as determined by the Telegraph Herald’s editorial staff.

Government, developers work to fix relations

Meetings were held to mend the relationship between local developers and the city of Dubuque.

Dubuque business owners and developers, city of Dubuque staff and economic development officials began holding monthly meetings to address a relationship many of those developers said was strained.

Local developer John Gronen originally proposed the meetings in a spring letter to city officials.

Gronen’s letter was one of several sent to Dubuque City Council members — and signed by developers and business owners — that expressed concern about the city’s attitude toward the business community.

Among the communications was a May 10 letter signed by 26 business owners, developers and business officials. The letter claimed that business owners and developers had faced intimidation, use of leverage to shift costs onto developers and delay tactics on the part of the city for potential projects. The alleged issues resulted in several business developments being delayed or canceled, some of the letter signatories claimed.

The inaugural roundtable to address those — and other — issues was held in late July. By November, the meetings reportedly began to make progress in mending the relationship between the city and the local business community, although local officials contended that more work remained.

A developers’ roundtable isn’t a novel concept in Dubuque. Such a communication mechanism was in place for years before being discontinued in 2010 due to a lack of interest from business owners.

The resurrection of the roundtable this year was seen as a step toward a better relationship between the city and local businesses.

Area invests in child care initiatives

Several efforts this year attempted to address a lack of capacity at local child care providers, an issue that economic development officials identified as a serious obstacle to recruiting and retaining the workforce needed by area employers.

In November, crews demolished the former Joliet Event Center on Locust Street to make way for the construction of Cottingham & Butler’s planned child care facility, with construction set to begin in spring 2024.

The planned two-story child care center will include space for 182 children — for both Cottingham & Butler employees’ children and those from the general public — and will be staffed by 20 employees.

In August, backers of a new child care center in a Dyersville, Iowa, industrial park announced the public phase of a fundraising campaign for the facility, which will be named the Michael and Jean Knepper Child Care Center.

The planned facility at 20 West Industrial Park will encompass 17,560 square feet and be licensed for up to 250 children.

Toward the close of the year, a state grant of up to $840,000 was awarded to a Dubuque nonprofit with the goal of increasing the wages of tri-state area child care professionals.

Greater Dubuque Development Corp. worked with Dubuque Initiatives to secure the grant. The state will provide up to $560,000, with a local match of $280,000 required to receive the funds.

Avelo Airlines adds Dubuque service, shuffles flight schedule

A low-cost airline offered commercial flights to two destinations out of Dubuque’s airport, then announced the termination of service to one of the destinations.

Dubuque Regional Airport had been without commercial air service since the departure of American Airlines in September 2022.

Low-cost carrier Avelo Airlines brought service back to Dubuque in March, offering flights connecting Dubuque with Orlando, Fla.

The carrier added air service from Dubuque to Las Vegas, Nev. in September, but announced those flights would terminate after Jan. 6, 2027,, citing low demand and increasing air travel costs.

While Avelo’s flight schedule debuted, grew, and then shrank, Dubuque’s airport received a $1.5 million grant to support efforts to return daily commercial air service to the city.

Variety of housing projects underway

Housing remained a local development priority.

Dubuque officials noted in October that nearly 2,200 new housing units are currently under development in the city. Dubuque City Council in August approved an expansion of tax increment financing housing incentives to developers that officials hope will spur even more development in the downtown area for years to come.

Among the ongoing projects is 1,200 new market-rate rental units, such as the planned Fox Hills apartment project, which, when completed, will create 390 new rental units at the northern end of Plaza Drive.

The construction of a major housing development in Dubuque kicked off in July, as officials with Switch Homes broke ground on The Farm, a 105-unit subdivision located off the Northwest Arterial, just east of John F. Kennedy Road.

The project is scheduled to be developed in three phases over several years, with a total investment ranging from $35 million to $40 million.

Developers also eyed former downtown manufacturing facilities in the Millwork District for future housing. Among them was the former Farley & Loetscher building at 801 Jackson St., which developers plan on renovating into more than 120 new market-rate apartments and commercial space.

Peosta, Iowa, saw the first tenants moving into Merit Development’s Peosta Square — located at 8411 Peosta Commercial Court, near the Northeast Iowa Community College campus and Peosta Industrial Park. The city also made headlines in May when Peosta City Council changed a zoning ordinance to restrict development of future apartment buildings — even for those already planned.

$80 million revamp begins for Q casino

Plans were announced this year to transform a Dubuque gaming facility. Q Casino officials in October kicked off a planned $80 million project to completely revamp the complex.

The five-phase project is set to include a completely renovated casino space, a family entertainment zone, an eight-story boutique hotel tower with a rooftop restaurant and exterior renovations.

The work is expected to be completed over the next two and a half years.

New bank opens, established bank moves

A new financial institution led by former area banking officials debuted in Dubuque in 2023, while a bank chartered 89 years ago moved into a new downtown location.

In 2022, brothers Tut and Thomas J. Fuller acquired a bank in Montezuma, Iowa, that previously operated as Peoples Savings Bank. This year, that institution, renamed Capra Bank, began operating at a Dubuque location at the corner of East Ninth and Washington streets – the former Dubuque Food Co-Op space.

In March, 15 people left their positions at Dubuque Bank & Trust and HTLF, the holding company for DB&T, to work at Capra Bank. Tut Fuller left HTLF last year after having served as Region 1 president of the company and as DB&T’s president and CEO before that.

Capra relocated the company’s headquarters from Montezuma to Dubuque this fall, while opening a branch location in Lubbock, Texas.

Dubuque Bank & Trust made news of its own. The bank, chartered in 1934, opened a new location at 700 Locust St. — the renovated former home of the Roshek Bros. Department Store — after moving from its longtime location at 1398 Central Ave.

Wisconsin employers announce layoffs

Layoffs began or were announced at three high-profile southwest Wisconsin entities during the last three months of the year.

University of Wisconsin-Platteville officials announced in October that they would eliminate 111 positions in an effort to address a budget deficit. The eliminated positions represent 12.2% of the college’s workforce.

Staff reductions at a goat-cheese manufacturing plant in Lafayette County began in November, ahead of the facility’s permanent closure planned for early next year. Saputo Cheese USA planned to lay off all 187 employees at its Belmont, Wis., plant.

The first layoff at Energizer Holdings Inc.’s manufacturing plant in Fennimore, Wis. occurred in December. Over the course of the next 10 months, all 172 employees will be laid off and the plant is expected to close in September 2024.

Dubuque manufacturer expands into Wisconsin

A Dubuque manufacturer launched a major project in southwest Wisconsin this year.

A 102-acre cornfield outside Dickeyville, Wis., will be transformed into a 360,000-square-foot brass foundry after A.Y. McDonald Mfg. Co. broke ground on the facility in August.

Company officials said the facility will initially employ about 150 workers. The company’s CEO, Rob McDonald, said the project was a “nine-figure” investment.

Retail stores invest in Dubuque market

A second location of a national grocer opened in Dubuque this year, a retailer opened its first Iowa location in the city and a national homeware seller announced plans to occupy space at Kennedy Mall.

Aldi opened a second Dubuque store on Nov. 30 in Plaza 20. The Germany-based grocer has more than 2,000 U.S. stores, including one at 2160 Holliday Drive in Dubuque.

Sierra Trading Post opened Nov. 11 in Asbury Plaza. The 20,000-square-foot store sells variety of outdoor gear and activewear and occupies the space that previously housed Bed Bath & Beyond.

Dubuque’s store is one of 80 operated by the retailer nationwide and the first in Iowa.

In February, HomeGoods announced plans to establish a location at Kennedy Mall in early 2024.

HomeGoods operates more than 800 locations across the country, selling a wide variety of homeware, furniture and décor. It will open in a mall space formerly occupied by Books-A-Million — which moved to a different location in the mall — and four adjacent entities.

Restaurants find success, struggles

Restaurants came and went in Dubuque in 2023 — including an establishment that opened and closed within eight months.

The Dubuque location of a popular pizza chain closed in May. Gino’s East had been located in the Novelty Iron Works building after opening

A popular Dubuque doughnut shop announced its permanent closure in July. Donut Boy, 1646 Asbury Road, made the announcement on its Facebook page and said staffing challenges led to the decision.

Also in July, a Dubuque-based brewing company’s first foray into casual fine-dining debuted in Platteville, Wis. The Beastro Se7en restaurant is operated by 7 Hills Brewing Co., at 45 N. Second St.

In September, Birdie’s Bistro opened its doors at 1220 Iowa Street. The new eatery serves breakfast and lunch options from its location that the owners fell in love with while shopping at the Dubuque Farmers Market.

Just eight months after opening its doors, a restaurant in Dubuque’s Historic Millwork District restaurant closed in October. Bread & Vine Dubuque, 168 E. 10th St., had specialized in contemporary French cuisine with an American twist.

Operators of a local food truck opened a brick-and-mortar location in Dubuque’s North End in November. Versus 2.0 Authentic Asian Kitchen/Bar is located at 2364 Washington St., the former home of Buddy’s Clubhouse. The new restaurant offers a variety of authentic pan-Asian cuisine.

As 2023 drew to a close, a popular noodle restaurant opened in Dubuque. Noodles & Company is located at 800 Wacker Drive, the former Caribou Coffee location.

Other new establishments to open in the tri-state area included Kelly’s Café in the former The Point Café space; Nekter Juice Bar at 3415 Stoneman Road in Dubuque; Millwork Creamery in Dyersville, Iowa; Madison Street Steakhouse & Grill in Lancaster, Wis.; Prost in Bellevue, Iowa; and TJ Shooters in New Vienna, Iowa.