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Biz Buzz shares business tidbits from across the tri-state area. This edition highlights developments in Dubuque and Bellevue, Iowa.
A Dubuque bar is under new ownership.
The Southend Tap, 55 Locust St., is now owned by Tom Besler and Justin Rainey. The two took over ownership on Sunday from John Ohnesorge, who bought the bar in September 2019. The bar reopened as The Southend Tap in 2018, after formerly being known as Murph’s South End Tap.
“We’re excited,” Rainey said. “The same group of people come in all the time. We have cheap drinks, lots of TVs for the sports fans, a lot of events.”
Both Besler and Rainey have tended bar for years and started working at The Southend Tap soon after Ohnesorge took over the establishment. Besler became a minority owner in 2021, and Rainey became another minority owner in 2022.
The new owners plan to continue having karaoke on Thursdays and live music for patrons to enjoy, as well as to keep using the bar’s beloved popcorn machine.
“Nothing is really going to change much,” Besler said. “It will be pretty much business as usual.”
Ohnesorge said he now plans to develop property on Central Avenue to take part in the plan to revitalize the roadway.
Since owning the establishment, Ohnesorge said, there have been several challenges, including shutting down at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The bar also sustained major damage in October 2021 when an allegedly intoxicated driver slammed into one of its walls.
“But I love this bar,” he said. “I loved this bar before I bought it, and I wanted to see it do more. It was enjoyable coming here for years.”
The Southend Tap is open at 3 p.m. on weekdays and 1 p.m. on weekends, though the bar typically opens at 11 a.m. on Saturday or Sunday if football games are on earlier in the day. The bar can be reached at 563-207-8028.
New chiropractic office opens in Dubuque
A chiropractor has opened a new office in Dubuque.
Katrina Canevello opened Home Team Chiropractic on Dec. 19 at 2255 John F. Kennedy Road, Suite 300, near Anytime Fitness.
“The phrase ‘home court advantage,’ I wanted to bring that feeling into my office,” Canevello said. “I want people to feel comfortable and know you have the home team advantage and that you are the priority.”
Canevello, who went to Loras College, moved back to Dubuque in 2020 from Chicago and planned to open a chiropractic office then. However, once the COVID-19 pandemic began, she was unable to get her license in Iowa right away. She then worked at Be Rooted Chiropractic & Wellness in Benton, Wis., for a year and a half.
“It was always my plan to make the move to Dubuque, where the population base is I want to work with,” she said.
Canevello specializes in the Gonstead system of chiropractic, where a chiropractor establishes exactly where the nerve dysfunction and issues are located before administering treatment. Canevello said the system allows her to see a wide variety of patients, including babies and pregnant women.
Her patients also can see her border collie, Giana, when visiting the office.
“Giana tends to frequent the office with me,” she said with a laugh. “She gets a lot of attention from people walking by.”
Home Team Chiropractic is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. The office can be reached at 563-239-9797 and found online at hometeamchiropractic.com.
Bellevue inn owner opening chocolate shop, bakery
A Bellevue inn owner plans to open a bakery and chocolate shop in the community.
Chris Baker, who owns Mont Rest Inn, will open Field of Chocolate Dreams at 106 S. Riverview St., next to Riverview Hotel.
Baker plans to have a soft opening of the store before Valentine’s Day. People currently can place phone orders for items being made in the Mont Rest kitchen as finishing touches are completed on the chocolate shop, which Baker said is being done in a late-Victorian French style.
“I’ve spent a lot of time renovating the store, and I’m pretty proud of what I’ve done,” she said. “This has been one of my most fun projects. I have loved helping bring downtown Bellevue to life. There’s been a lot of energy in Bellevue in the last few years.”
Baker started making chocolates in the early 1980s when she wanted good chocolate truffles in all of the guest rooms at Mont Rest.
“It was a natural progression of guests wanting to take a few home, and we would sell them some to take home,” she said. “We got to the point of having quite a little chocolate business on top of the inn business.”
Baker said she decided to open up the new store after meeting the store’s baker and manager, Charity Starbuck, at Mont Rest several months ago. Starbuck also will be the new chef at Mont Rest.
Field of Chocolate Dreams will sell homemade chocolates, caramels, toffee, flavored popcorn, pastries, fudge and a selection of local wines. Plans call for it to be open seven days per week.
“The chocolate we make is gourmet chocolate for the American palate,” she said. “It’s been a dream of mine to have a chocolate factory, my own Willy Wonka chocolate factory, and I wanted it to be Iowan. Field of Chocolate Dreams encompasses it all.”
Those interested in placing an order with Field of Chocolate Dreams can make an appointment for pickup at 563-542-8550. More information and a contact form also can be found at fieldofchocolatedreams.com.