Biz Buzz shares business tidbits from across the tri-states. This edition highlights recent developments in Bellevue and Dubuque, Iowa, and Galena, Ill.

A historic rustic bohemian-themed event center and inn is nearing completion in Bellevue.

Potter’s Mill Inn & Event Center, 300 Potter Drive, will open July 11, after extensive renovations to the 9,500-square-foot space are complete.

“We acquired it around March and just started working on it,” co-owner Dan Blitgen said. “Since then, we’ve gotten the third floor just about complete — (modernization) updates, new furnishings — everything, a lot of cleanup and that sort of stuff, also the installation of new air-conditioning and heating units in all the rooms.”

Dan and his wife, Annie, are in the process of removing the venue’s commercial kitchen, a holdover from its former days as Flatted Fifth Blues & BBQ. In its place will go three large guest suites on the second floor.

“Those should be done here by mid-July, maybe late-July,” Dan Blitgen said.

The venue will offer eight guest suites in total by the end of July, able to host up to 24 people for extended stays. Three suites are available for booking online already at tinyurl.com/pottersmill.

The Blitgens will host monthly public events, including local musicians, food and bar service — another amenity of the mill. Private events including weddings, graduations, performances and more can be booked, as well.

“It’s not a 600-person capacity. It’s 150 at the max, so it’s more of an intimate setting,” Blitgen said. “It’s really something that’s unique to the area.”

Crystal chandeliers have been added to the event center on the main floor, and the space has all-new tables and chairs, seating up to 85. A side room where the old mill’s wheelhouse once was will be a meeting room for organizations, seating around 40.

“It’s got a kind of classiness, with the crystal and the exposed limestone,” Blitgen said. “But, really, the mill itself doesn’t need a whole lot of cosmetic change besides cleaning. The woodwork is phenomenal. They’re handmade wood beams throughout original wood floors — it’s just a beautiful setting, inside and out.”

The Blitgens also own the nearby River Rock Inn and Riverview RV Park. The whole complex will be called the Riverview Vacations Resort.

Building materials supplier to open Dubuque location

In a move that will put a building materials supplier under a Dubuque brand, Callahan Construction has purchased the Marion-based ReVosWel Truss & Lumber.

ReVosWel will open a branch in Dubuque on July 25 to serve area contractors, builders and homeowners.

“ReVosWel has always done extremely well with delivering and servicing the Dubuque area, even though it’s 90 miles away,” said Callahan Construction co-owner Logan Yager. “However, once we purchased it, we collectively made a decision to try and create more of a brand and hang a shingle over our head in Dubuque.”

ReVosWel has sold materials to Dubuque contractors for over 13 years, but the new local location, based in an existing Callahan facility at 4480 Dodge St., will improve the speed of service and simplify delivery.

ReVosWel produces engineered wood products and custom trusses, floor systems, wall panels, exterior windows and doors, vinyl and cement board siding, aluminum and vinyl soffit systems, door hardware and other materials to meet builders’ needs.

“I think that if there are some things local contractors run short on or that customers want to see in a showroom, this is something that can bridge the gap and make the service a little bit better and a lot more timely.” Yager said.

In addition to the approximately 40 people employed by ReVosWel already, the new location will bring on two new sales positions and “about five to six” new yard staff, Yager said.

Local contractors are invited to the grand opening of the new location at 11 a.m. July 25. More information is available at revoswel.com.

New ice cream truck rolls out in Galena

A new truck is bringing sweets to the streets of the Galena area, serving ice cream and snacks.

The crew at La Michoacana Irmanaju, a Mexican-style ice cream shop and restaurant at 110 S. Main St., has crafted something delicious as a family — and they would like the tri-state area to have a taste.

La Michoacana Irmanaju’s ice cream options number too many to list, but the owner’s favorites include the mangonada, which combines sweet mango and tart lime juice with a spicy, savory kick — a classic example of Mexican-style ice cream.

It’s accompanied by more than 70 ice pop flavors; numerous savory, spicy and sweet “botanas” — Mexican snacks traditionally enjoyed while watching televised sports; dairy-free sorbets (made of fruit puree or juice); and nearly 30 traditional ice cream flavors.

The truck will serve events within 30 minutes of Galena. Customers can track the truck via Facebook at tinyurl.com/Irmanaju.

The owners are actively pursuing a fully equipped food truck to offer the store’s entire menu.

The cuisine isn’t the only thing about La Michoacana Irmanaju that stands out. Family values have built the store from scratch.

“My husband and I both grew up working with our families — harvesting coffee, pepper, corn and other crops from a young age,” co-owner Maria Ayala wrote in an email to the Telegraph Herald. “When we decided to start La Michoacana (after some time in the food industry), we knew we wanted to carry on that same tradition (of) working side-by-side with our children and teaching them how to build something together.”

Her husband and co-owner, Mario Garcia, helps her innovate and expand the store’s offerings with new homemade ice creams, snacks and pastries.

Their youngest daughter and their nephew help out in the kitchen, while their two oldest children — now adults — handle the behind-the-scenes necessities of small business. Three other relatives clean, run orders and wait tables.

“It is a family operation in every sense,” Ayala wrote. “Before we opened the business, my husband, my two oldest and I were all working separate jobs. We barely had time for each other. The business (opening in 2021) gave us a way to be together — talking, planning, growing and just spending good, quality time as a family. We don’t have to ‘make time’ as a family anymore. We are already living and working together everyday. And that means everything to us.”

Inquiries about the truck can be sent to lamichoacanairmanaju@gmail.com.