Biz Buzz shares business tidbits from across the tri-states. This edition highlights developments in Galena, Ill.; Fennimore, Wis.; and Maquoketa, Iowa.

GALENA, Ill. — A new antique store has opened in Galena with a focus on offering eclectic, one-of-a-kind finds.

White Rooster Antiques recently opened on the first floor of Hotel Galena at 324 Spring St. The store offers a variety of unique antiques and collectibles including old signage, metalware, paper products and more.

“Our concept is that we specialize in one-of-a-kind unique items that you won’t see at your average antique store,” said co-owner Becky Loske. “We’ve always been on the watch for little treasures that we can add to the collection.”

Loske runs White Rooster Antiques with her husband, Clifford Blanck. The pair previously ran an antique store under the same name in St. Charles, Ill., prior to their move to Galena late last year.

The couple searched for a storefront for several months before finding the location on Spring Street. The shop is easily accessed off U.S. 20, Loske said, and is within walking distance of Galena’s iconic Main Street.

The couple opened the space to customers earlier this month, Loske said, after working to bolster and relocate the inventory.

“We were excited to get the store going because our house has been filling up with boxes and boxes of all this stuff,” Loske said. “We were very ready to move some of that out of our house and onto the shelves.”

White Rooster Antiques visitors are immediately greeted by Nick Danger, a full-sized taxidermy bison. Other notable items include a skeleton previously used as a hospital teaching tool and an original FBI wanted poster from the 1960s.

The store stocks antiques from across several areas of U.S. history, as well as a selection of Galena-related items such as a bust of former President Ulysses S. Grant that matches the one that sits in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington.

“This year, we’ve been hunting for a lot of Galena-related items,” Loske said. “Everyone has that one thing that they’re looking for, and we want to be able to help them find it.”

White Rooster Antiques is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. Work is ongoing to create a web presence for the store, but the business now can be contacted by phone at 630-999-9771.

Fennimore dance studio under new ownership

A southwest Wisconsin dance studio is gearing up for its first season under new ownership.

Hayley Bender recently assumed ownership of Evolve Dance Company at 1130 Lincoln Ave. in Fennimore. The studio previously operated as Dance Elite under the ownership of longtime owner Holly Johnson.

Bender assumed ownership this summer after starting her own dance journey at the studio as a student nearly two decades ago. For the past five years, she’s worked there as a dance teacher.

“When I took it over, I had this huge list of possible names, and I ended up going with Evolve Dance because I think it represents where we’re at as a studio,” Bender said. “We have those pieces of what the studio was and we’re growing into what it can be.”

Evolve Dance Company offers a variety of recreational and competitive dance classes for youth ages 3 and up. Those offerings range anywhere from lyrical and ballet classes to tap and jazz for soloists and groups.

Bender said she intends to maintain many of the offerings former Dance Elite families are used to while also implementing her own improvements and additions, and she already is pondering possibilities for new class types.

“I think there’s a lot that dance can teach kids,” Bender said. “We talk about time commitments and responsibility, and we focus a lot on professionalism.”

Registration is now open for Evolve Dance Company’s upcoming season with practices beginning Sept. 2. Additional information and registration guidelines can be found online at evolvedancecompanyllc.com.

Maquoketa theater reopens after renovations

An iconic downtown movie theater has reopened under new ownership in Maquoketa.

Voy 2 Theatres recently reopened at 207 S. Main St. under the ownership of longtime employee Taylor Casel. The two-screen theater had been closed since June to allow for the ownership transition and related renovations.

“I have a lot of history here, and the community has a lot of history here,” Casel said of the theater. “It’s been really exciting these last few weekends being able to bring people back in now that things are up and running.”

The theater previously was owned and operated by Dennis Voy, who first purchased the business in 1973. At the time, the downtown theater had only one screen, but Voy would eventually expand it to three.

Voy developed health issues in recent years that prompted him to sell the downtown theaters to Casel, a Maquoketa native who worked at the theater for nearly 10 years prior to purchasing the business.

Casel bought two of the three screens to continue operating at Voy Theaters while the building holding the third screen was sold separately. The Voy family continues to operate Voy 61 Drive-In Theatre near Delmar, Iowa.

“We’ve kept a lot of the theater’s same historical vibe,” Casel said. “I think there was a lot of worry that we were going to change the aesthetic of the space, but that’s not what we wanted at all. We just wanted to update and maintain things for our customers.”

As part of those updates, Casel doubled the size of the concessions menu that includes nachos, slushies, soda, a wide variety of candy and more. She also had the restrooms updated and repainted portions of the theater in need of rehabilitation.

Customers also can book private screenings for birthday parties and other events, and in the future, she hopes to expand the Voy Theatres experience even further to include an arcade.

“I have children myself and I know that when I go places, I like to look for something with a variety of things for my boys to choose from,” Casel said. “… There’s some things that I would still like to continue to expand on here, but it’s going to take some time and money first.”

Voy 2 Theatres will have showings at 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and at 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The theater will open 30 minutes prior to each show, and the list of current screenings can be found online at facebook.com/voytheatres.