Biz Buzz shares business tidbits from across the tri-states. This edition highlights developments in Dyersville, Iowa; Dubuque; and Shullsburg, Wis.

A local couple looks to bring something new to Dyersville with the launch of a new wine bar.

The Cellar at Millwork recently opened at 210 Second St. NE next to Millwork Creamery. The bar serves a variety of domestic and international wine, as well as a small selection of beer and other beverages.

“We wanted to do something unique for Dyersville,” said co-owner Jerry Gebhard, who runs the bar with his wife, Robin. “I hope it’s going to be one of those places that people want to check out and stay a while.”

Jerry and Robin also run Millwork Creamery, which operates in another portion of the Second Street building. The wine bar sits adjacent to the creamery and is connected through a set of interior doors, though it also has its own street entrance.

The couple opened the creamery last year with the knowledge there was room to grow in the building and eventually settled on opening a wine bar to complement the structure’s historic layout and background.

The wine bar now takes up a portion of the main floor and the building’s basement, which Jerry said will be beneficial for the live performances planned for the space.

“The benefit of having two levels is that we can have music down in the cellar for people to enjoy, but then we’ll have the upstairs where people can still have a comfortable conversation,” he said. “You won’t have to yell (over the music) or anything.”

The wine bar is arranged to facilitate comfort and relaxation, the couple added. There are different seating options for various group sizes, as well as a fireplace in the basement for use during the fall and winter.

The menu already includes some crossovers with the Gebhards’ creamery, such as the “Millwork Rouge,” which combines vanilla bean gelato with red wine. In the future, the Gebhards also hope to add a menu of appetizers and desserts.

“I’m just so proud of the space and how it turned out,” Robin said. “And I’m proud that Dyersville has something like this, because I think it’s very different from the kinds of things we’ve seen here in the past.”

The Cellar at Millwork is open 4 to 9 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Additional information about the business can be found at The Cellar at Millwork Facebook page.

Dubuque bakery relocates production facility

A popular Dubuque bakery has relocated its production facility as the search continues for a retail location.

Millwork Bakery recently relocated to a 4,250-square-foot building on South John Deere Road. The bakery makes a variety of European-style pastries and breads for wholesale and direct-to-consumer sales.

“The building I was in before was sold … so it was time to get moving,” said owner Georgia Mihalakis. “This (new) building has lots of space and everything I need — which mainly was a lot of room and three-phase power — so it seemed like a good fit.”

Millwork Bakery is well known for its popular booth at the Dubuque Farmers Market, where Mihalakis sells fresh bread, cinnamon rolls, cookies and other sweets to a mix of dedicated regulars and curious first-time customers.

The bakery took a brief break from the market while the production facility was being relocated, though it is now back up and running each Saturday. Mihalakis also sells her products to area retailers such as Hartig Drug.

Once things are settled at the new facility, Mihalakis said the focus will shift to finding a brick-and-mortar location in town to complement her Saturday sales.

“My customers keep asking me when I’m going to open a retail location,” she said. “That’s something that I’m very excited about, but it’s going to mean we have everything ready (at the production facility) to fill those shelves.”

New thrift store opens in Shullsburg

A new secondhand store has opened in southwest Wisconsin with a focus on affordable fashion.

Rayvn’s Thrifty Finds recently opened at 250 W. Water St. in the former Brooke Rose Designs building. The store offers a wide variety of secondhand clothing, accessories and small decor at discounted prices.

“I love a good deal, and I know that you can find high-quality items at a decent price,” said owner Rayvn Wilson. “That was really my intention with opening the store. I wanted to help people find nicer items that they like but make it more affordable.”

Wilson, of Gratiot, has been thrifting for years and always hoped to open her own store, but she didn’t realize how soon she would reach that goal. She started the business online earlier this year, and it quickly took off.

Bolstered by that success, she started looking for a retail location to display her merchandise. The Water Street building became available this spring with the relocation of Brooke Rose Designs, and Wilson said it seemed like the ideal fit.

“I knew it would be the perfect location,” said Wilson, a Shullsburg native. “I grew up here. I know the gist of the town, so it was a big thing for me to be able to come back here and start this business.”

The store now offers a wide variety of items, and its merchandise changes frequently as items are sold.

The majority of available clothing is for women, Wilson said, though there is a sizable collection of children’s clothes. The store also features a small section of menswear and a selection of small- to medium-sized home decor.

Wilson said many of her items come from community donations, though she reviews items prior to sale to ensure their quality. That’s allowed her to offer a good mix of styles and sizes.

“It’s been really interesting just to see all the different people that come in here and all their different styles,” she said. “One person might hate something that another person falls in love with, so it’s been really interesting seeing what people pick up.”

Rayvn’s Thrifty Finds is open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Items also are sold through the Rayvn’s Thrifty Finds Facebook page, where Wilson said she will post pop-up hours when she has extra time to visit the store.