Biz Buzz shares business tidbits from around the tri-state area. This week, we highlight developments in Dyersville, Edgewood and Maquoketa, Iowa.
A “first of its kind” professional building in Dyersville recently welcomed its first employees.
The facility at 980 Field of Dreams Way will house two more tenants and dozens of additional workers in the months ahead.
Mark Roling, senior vice president of the transportation group at Dubuque-based company Cottingham & Butler, said six employees from that firm recently started working in the multi-tenant structure in Dyersville. Within the next two or three months, he expects another eight to join them.
The new Dyersville digs are a way for the company to attract more skilled workers.
“We’re growing rapidly, and we are always looking to add more talent,” Roling explained. “Our bet is that we can find more talented people who wouldn’t travel to Dubuque, but would love to work for us if they could be closer to home.”
Cottingham & Butler is the 25th-largest insurance broker in the U.S., according to the company’s website. Workers in Dyersville are part of the firm’s transportation group, which provides insurance and risk management for trucking companies across the nation.
Cottingham & Butler has leased multiple spaces in the building and has enough room for 68 workers. It expects to have at least 30 working there by the end of 2020.
Jacque Rahe, executive director of Dyersville Economic Development Corp., is elated by how fast the professional building is filling up.
“This means additional employees that are coming to our community every day,” she said. “They are eating here, buying gas here and becoming a part of our vibrant, growing community.”
Regional Medical Center, of Manchester, Iowa, is poised to open a family health clinic within the professional building in early 2020, Rahe said. Investment company Edward Jones also will fill a space in the facility.
Rahe noted that most of Dyersville’s office space is located within smaller structures or downtown buildings. The newly constructed, 10,000-square-foot, multi-tenant building brings something new to the community.
“This is really the first of its kind in Dyersville,” she said.
PIE BUSINESS OPENS
An Edgewood native returned to her hometown and opened a coffee and dessert shop with an “old-fashioned” approach.
Pie-Eyed & Flakey recently opened for business at 110 N. Washington St. Owner Marge Rhines said the business had a few “soft openings” in late October but only started offering regular hours last week.
Rhines said her pies are all homemade and crafted with natural ingredients.
“Not a lot of people make pie the old-fashioned way anymore,” she said. “We’re using fresh ingredients without any preservatives and using recipes my mom used back in the ’50s and ’60s.”
Rhines was raised on a farm just south of Edgewood but left the small community when she went to college. She most recently lived in the Chicago area but decided it was time to return to her roots.
Rhines came back to Edgewood in March and started helping out at Cafe Rose, a business owned by her sister Rose Totman. She started making pies there and quickly learned that her creations were popular among local residents and tourists.
Pie-Eyed & Flakey is located across the street from Cafe Rose.
“I am appreciative of all the support this town has given me,” Rhines said. “I have been selling out almost every day.”
Pie-Eyed & Flakey is open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. It can be reached at 563-928-7458.
BANK COMING TO MAQUOKETA
An Iowa bank with more than a century of history under its belt will open a new branch in Maquoketa.
Citizens State Bank plans to open a facility at 102 E. Carlisle St. in September or October, according to president and CEO Jim Thines. He emphasized it will be a “full-service branch” with four employees, an ATM and a drive-thru.
It will be the fourth branch operated by the Wyoming, Iowa-based bank.
“We already have numerous customers in the Maquoketa area and Jackson County,” said Thines. “This new branch will enhance our ability to service their needs and also help us expand our business platform with new customers.”
Construction of the new facility should commence in the spring, Thines said.
Citizens Bank began operations in 1893 and was renamed Citizens State Bank two decades later. It opened a second branch in Oxford Junction in 1937 and acquired one in Olin in 1997.
Thines believes the Maquoketa branch is a good fit for the bank and its customers alike.
“We felt there was a need in the market, and it was a good fit for us as we continue to grow,” he said.