Biz Buzz shares business tidbits from across the tri-states. This edition highlights recent developments in Dubuque.
A new Dubuque cafe and gift shop seeks to cater to a late-night college crowd with a snack-filled lounge ideal for studying.
On entry, The Windmill Cafe & Gift Shop, 840 Locust St., is a hodgepodge carnival of fidget toys and tropics-themed neon decor, studded with bits of Dutch iconography and marinated in the easygoing vibes of Austin, Texas.
To owner LG Koen, it’s 30% soul music studio and 70% cafe — but 100% wish-fulfillment.
The inspirations behind the shop are as varied and well-traveled as Koen’s own life has been.
It’s between an Austin, Texas, coffee chain designed around helping students study and network in safe non-bar environments and literal windmill cafes Koen once frequented during his time in the Netherlands.
“I was shipped off to military school (from my home in Austin) at age 15 and, while I was there, I got a Rotary (International) scholarship to go study in the Netherlands,” Koen said. “I studied Spanish, but they had already found all the students they needed for every other country, so they went, ‘Do you want to study abroad? Here, go to the Netherlands.’ I said, well, I want to get out of military school. So I did that.”
Koen said he now speaks Dutch, French and Spanish. He said he worked as an informal writer for a major TV station and has an acting degree that saw him featured in a Sundance film before his show-business career was disrupted by the death of his father, a retinal surgeon who crashed in a plane of his own construction.
The result? The Windmill Cafe & Gift Shop.
“We’re a Dutch-inspired overnight cafe,” Koen said. “That means six days out of the week, we stay open 5 p.m. to midnight, hopefully 2 p.m. to 12 a.m. soon. … We’re a place where people can come and study, meet a friend, hang out in the back — even do a little open mic. … There’s a gift shop in the front and a lounge in the back. We’ve got hacky sacks; we got some little drum circles; we’ve got Erector sets and robots for the kids … just some fun thrift store type stuff.”
Koen says his concept is still in its “glorified 7-Eleven” stage, meaning all food items are packaged and not prepared on site. In the future, Koen hopes to expand to a new space with a kitchen, but in the meantime, he imports whatever seems interesting.
The shop packs several boutique drink brands and pastries from his one-time home, New York City, where he worked at MTV for 10 years.
“We bring in pastries from Brooklyn, and this week we’re getting pretzels from Pennsylvania,” he said.
For updates on the store, visit Koen’s Facebook page at tinyurl.com/windmillcafe.
Dubuque psychotherapy practice opens
A Dubuque provider is transitioning her traditional cognitive behavioral therapy practice into a somatic psychotherapy approach.
Owner-therapist Elizabeth Ramos is in the process of transitioning her practice, Ramos Therapy, into Somatic Intention. The new practice is in the former Ludovissy & Associates building at a newly renovated 787 W. Locust St.
“Ramos therapy was when I was in private practice alone. I now have two other providers (working) with me,” Ramos said. “(The other big change is) I’ve evolved into more of a somatic psychotherapy approach — moving towards bodywork.”
Ramos received a master’s degree in educational counseling from University of Wisconsin-Platteville. She has been a counselor in the private sector for over seven years.
“Cognitive therapy focuses mainly on our thoughts,” she said. “Somatic works more on the nervous system, which is where all of our trauma cycles and patterns are. … If we start with the body, through nervous system work we can actually change what our thought patterns are. It’s more of a bottom-up approach compared to top-down.”
Ramos says she’s the graduate of a three-year somatic experiencing course. She specializes in PTSD, complex trauma, depression and anxiety. Massage therapists and yoga instructors also often use somatic experiencing, she said. In the future, Somatic Intention will offer group therapy and yoga classes when the building and providers are ready.
“My goal is to bring somatic healing to Dubuque,” Ramos said. “It’s really where the healing happens.”
To make an appointment or learn more about Somatic Intention, visit somaticintention.com.
Dubuque campground gets new owner, renovations
A longtime RV campground near Dubuque is under new management.
Creek Valley Campground, at 1650 Middle Road, is couple Justin and Casey Heim’s second business. The campground previously was called Hoot Owl Hollow.
“We purchased it about two months ago, and we’ve (been) renovating it ever since,” Casey said. “It’s a nice campground close to town and all the amenities you get there, but it’s kind of in a hidden, secluded area that’s cozy and welcoming.”
With help from Justin, who owns Green Valley Landscaping & Excavating, Creek Valley Campground now has a heated pool, new firepits and picnic tables at each campsite, laundry facilities and renovated showers and restrooms with running water.
“We’re seeing people who were no longer customers start coming back and giving us another try,” Casey said. “We have about 35 seasonal (residents) here right now. We offer everything from a one-night stay to months at camp.”
An expansion of the campground store and an addition of horseshoe pits are soon to come.
“Eventually, we want to add year-round camping,” Casey said.
The campground also features a basketball court, a pavilion and walking trails that allow golf carts and UTVs.
The Heims host people of all walks of life, ranging from passing travelers to seasonal workers and recreational campers.
“We have a couple of guys that are working on the bridge here right now,” Justin said. “They’re here for a couple of months, and they’d rather go camp than have to go back to a hotel room at night.”
The campground also does holiday weekend events.
“On Memorial Day, we had a big weekend here,” Justin said. “(We had) a bag tournament and Beersbee. People just came, and everybody hung out like we’d known each other forever.”
Pricing and other information is available at creekvalleycampground.com.