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Cafe, store in former Kozelka's

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Kelly Milbert, Pam Ritchie and Jon Scherbring stand in the former Kozelka’s building.

 

Cafe, adult day care, furniture and 

decorating store to fill former Kozelka’s building

By Ted Pennekamp

 

There’s good news for the former Kozelka’s Men’s Wear building. It will soon be occupied by three new entities. 

The Opportunity Center owns the building and will open a cafe and an adult day care center in the north half. In the south half, the Opportunity Center will lease 6,200 square feet to a furniture and decorating store. 

“To have this building empty would be a shame,” said Opportunity Center Director Pam Ritchie. “We need to maintain retail services here to help keep Prairie du Chien’s downtown thriving and alive.” 

Ritchie said that the front part of the north half will house Cafe Hope which will be owned and operated by the Opportunity Center’s Sharing Spaces Kitchen. 

“Cafe Hope will be an extension of Sharing Spaces Kitchen and the Opportunity Center,” said Ritchie. “Not many of us have lived without being touched by someone with a disability. It is our mission to ensure that people with disabilities have opportunities to reach their full potential in society. Through local food, we are creating employment and integration opportunities that bring our community together in support of people with disabilities, as we recognize the ability in everyone.” 

Cafe Hope will feature soups, salads, pizza and sandwiches with ingredients sourced from local producers, including the Sharing Spaces Kitchen and Greenhouse. Ritchie said that one of the noteworthy items at Cafe Hope will be a variety of delicious crepes made fresh onsite. She said the crepes have a range of flavors from sweet to savory and were a big hit at the recent Best of Region event at the Barn Restaurant. “The people just loved them,” she said.

Hope Cafe will have a retail area were customers can purchase the fresh, local products developed and made from scratch at Sharing Spaces Kitchen, as well as from other local entrepreneurs. There will also be seating for up to about 40 people at Cafe Hope.

Catering will also be available. “We have options for all occasions and budgets including graduations, weddings, reunions or showers,” she said. “Any occasion that gathers food and people together won’t be complete without catering from our kitchen.”

Ritchie noted that interested persons can check for updates at www.facebook.com/sharingspaceskitchen/.

The back part of the north side of the former Kozelka’s building will house an adult day care for frail elders as well as adults with disabilities.

Ritchie said that the adult day care will have a small kitchen and will offer meals to be enjoyed in a dining area. There will also be a living room, a reading area, an art room, an exercise area, a showering service for those who need assistance, restrooms, personal care rooms, and a sensory room. The sensory room, said Ritchie, is a comforting room which has certain types of lights, colors and textures.

“We needed to expand our day care services,” said Ritchie. “Plus, this is more centrally located within the community.”

Ritchie said that Sutton Architecture of Madison is the architectural firm hired by the Opportunity Center. John Sutton and family are originally from Prairie du Chien and contributed significantly to the creation of the Opportunity Center.

Once the architectural work is completed, a general contractor will be chosen to complete the extensive renovations. Ritchie said that it is hoped that Cafe Hope and the adult daycare can be open by August or September. 

“It’s going to be really nice,” said Ritchie. “We’re excited. It’ll be good for the community. It will fill a need for a building that was an anchor in our community. It’s all coming together.”

Ritchie noted that the former Kozelka’s building has 15,000 square feet on the main floor and another 7,500 square feet in the basement. She said that the basement may be utilized in the future, but for now their concentrating on the main floor. “It is a beautiful, dry, usable basement,” she said.

Jon Scherbring and Kelly Milbert will be the co-owners of Ideal Decorating Inc., which will be in the south half of the former Kozelka’s building. 

Ideal Decorating will offer a variety of furniture, lighting, accessories, rugs, artwork and mattresses. In the future, they may also sell flooring.

Some of the brand names for furniture will be Rowe, Southern Motion, Coaster, Riverside and Liberty. The mattresses will be Spring Air. Two of the well known brand names for rugs will be Karastan and Loloi.

Scherbring said that the goal is to have the grand opening for Ideal Decorating by June 1, with a soft opening prior.

“We’re super excited,” said Scherbring. “We love this little river town.” 

Scherbring and Milbert said that they had been looking for a location in Prairie du Chien when they found the former Kozelka’s building with the help of the Prairie du Chien Economic Development Corporation who put them in touch with Pam Ritchie of the Opportunity Center. 

“We’re happy to partner with the Opportunity Center and make this happen,” said Scherbring who noted that Ideal Decorating has stores in Guttenberg and Dyersville.

“Having this nice-sized building house businesses again will be great for our community,” said Ritchie.

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