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Dixon shop owner prides herself on helping customers look their best and feel their best Where there’s smoke, there’s a busy businessman in Rock Falls Whatever kind of bread you’re looking for, a Mount Morris shop rises to to occasion

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Sauk Valley Business Journal

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Summer 2020

INSIDE

Welcome

to the summer 2020 issue of

Sauk Valley

SOMETHING UP THEIR SLEEVES

Business Journal A

PUBLICATION

Publisher: Don T. Bricker General Manager/Advertising Director: Jennifer Heintzelman Published by: Sauk Valley Media 113 S. Peoria Ave. | Dixon, IL 61021 815-284-2222 Articles and advertisements are the property of Sauk Valley Media. No portion of Sauk Valley Business Journal may be reproduced without written consent of the publisher. Ad content is not the responsibility of Sauk Valley Media. Sauk Valley Media cannot and will not be held liable for the quality or performance of goods and services provided by advertisers listed in any portion of this publication.

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If you dig the past, there’s an UnderGround movement in Clinton that’ll take people on a trip down memory lane, accompanied by the soundtrack of their lives Pages 3-6

IT FITS JUST RIGHT A Dixon shop owner prides herself on helping every customer not only look their best, but feel their best Pages 7-8

WATCH HIS SMOKE This busy businessman runs a restaurant, tobacco shop, sells cars, and now he’s working on turning a former restaurant into a new home for his car lot Pages 9-10

COMFORT FOOD No matter what kind of bread you’re looking for, a Mount Morris shop owner rises to the occasion Page 11

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g n i x a W ic g l a t s n he dig t an u o If y here’s ,t past erground Und ment in e mov n, and its o Clint is to take trip a goal n le o y peop memor ed i n dow compan ck ac ra lane, e soundt s by th their live of

BRANDON LONG

For Sauk Valley Business Journal

CLINTON, Iowa – Where do you go if you want to dig up pieces of the past? Why, Underground of course.

That’s where you’ll find records, knick-knacks, collectibles and a host of other items with a little bit of history in them.

If you need help finding your way there, just look for the building with a wall-sized picture of rock band Kiss taking a spin while an Alice in Wonderland caterpillar puffs on a Snoop-Dog hookah. And if you feel the need for speed on memory lane, the wall knows all – as long as that speed is 33 1/3 or 45. The words “I need vinyl” beckon customers to the purveyors of platters in downtown Clinton.

UNDERGROUND cont’d on page 4

Sauk Valley Business Journal

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Summer 2020 UNDERGROUND cont’d from page 3

Brandon Long/Sauk Valley Business Journal

The UnderGround owners Keith Rixen and Missy Peterson put their own spin on downtown Clinton at their records and collectibles shop, The Underground. The business started with the formation of R’Flippin Way, where the couple would sell antiques and collectibles and repurpose items for resale.

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Gazing at the mural emblazoned across the building, The Underground owners Keith Rixen and Missy Peterson recently reflected on their 3-year journey from flea market finds to opening their own music and collectibles shop. “You reach a point in life when you’re unsatisfied doing a job,� Rixen said. “You just stumble into a career path and you do it because that’s part of life.�

But Rixen was getting tired of stumbling. He knew he could have more fun if he tripped the life fantastic instead.

Realizing it was time for a change, he parted ways with his operations management career of 15 years. While searching for a new direction, the Clinton native and his girlfriend, Peterson, spent the 2016 holiday season making Christmas presents rather than spending money on gifts. That sparked an idea, which served as a catalyst for their business venture, R’Flippin Way. Putting their creativity to work, the couple began frequenting auctions, buying items to transform and sell. In addition to repurposing their purchases, they began collecting assorted antiques.

Before long, their collection took on a life of its own.

Looking to expand their business, the collectors set up shop at Pickers Paradise, a flea market located a block away from Antique Archaeology, home base for “American Pickers� in LeClaire, Iowa.

Forming a friendship with a fellow merchant interested in vinyl, Rixen began focusing his attention on records, too.

UNDERGROUND cont’d on page 5

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UNDERGROUND cont’d from page 4 “I was trying to help him out,” Rixen said. “I intended to sell to him for what I paid, but he declined. He stopped selling vinyl. We were now stuck with about 600 records along with so many other antiques and collectibles.”

As Pickers Paradise closed for the winter season, Rixen and Peterson found a steady market of buyers through Facebook. It wasn’t until spring when the couple sold what remained of their collection at auction.

Reinvesting their money, Rixen continued to accumulate vinyl from various auctions, yard sales and out-of-state deals, including a trip to Virginia where he bought a collection of 16,000 records.

After their second season in LeClaire, Rixen and Peterson decided it was time to take the next step, into their own store.

“We were originally looking at a Victorian house attached to a three-story brick building,” Rixen said.

Added Peterson: “We wanted to turn that into a bed and breakfast where everything’s for sale. That’s our long-term goal.”

But as one potential location after another fell through, an opportunity presented itself, leading the couple to purchase their current location at 210 Sixth Ave S. in downtown Clinton. With an attached living space the former florist shop is the best of both worlds for the couple, giving them a

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Brandon Long/Sauk Valley Business Journal

ABOVE: The Underground owners wear their love of pop culture proudly, like this T-shirt promoting their shop, with a logo inspired by the legendary film “The Godfather.” INSET: Bowie, The Beatles and more – if it’s vinyl and it spins, you’ll likely find it at The UnderGround. place to live (along with their German Shepherd mix Atticus) and make a living.

As they settled into the building in February 2019, Rixen and Peterson remodeled in preparation for The Underground’s grand opening a few months later, on Memorial

Day. That included building a stage, using wood repurposed from an Aurora high school gym floor, where Rixen and Peterson hope to eventually host live music.

UNDERGROUND cont’d on page 6

Sauk Valley Business Journal

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Summer 2020

UNDEDRGROUND cont’d from page 5 The shop stocks thousands of vinyl albums, both new and vintage, that they find at flea markets, online, auctions and estate sales. From rock and roll to rhythm, the classics to classical, blues, jazz, and more, music lovers can find it at The Underground.

Packed with music memorabilia, vinyl, assorted collectibles and rarities, The UnderGround is chocked full of nostalgia and nuggets, and the occasional hard-to-find item – like a mint condition antique Chicago View camera and tripod, which sold for $875. Other higher valued items include an Andy Warhol record and a circa 1930s Structo toy tank, which now sits in a Cambridge, Illinois, toy museum.

MORE INFO While turning a profit on higher-end items The Underground is always nice for the business, Rixen said the 210 Sixth Ave. S. UnderGround offers plenty of stuff people can Hours: 11 a.m. to dig at prices they can afford. Then there are 6 p.m. Thursday things at the shop that you just can’t but a through Monday price tag on, like memories.

Online: Find The “The other day, we had a customer ask if I Underground 210 had any Dr. Hook albums,” Rixen said. “Coincion Facebook dentally, I had just put one in the turntable. I dropped the needle and the guy instantly started crying. His dad, who recently passed away, use to play it for him. Those weren’t tears of sadness.

Those were tears of joy as the album brought back all those memories he had with his father.”

“We want to connect people with nostalgia that brings back positive memories,” Peterson said. “That’s what it’s all about.” n

She’s got Bette Davis eyes, and she’s looking at the eclectic mix of items at The Underground, including a sombrero, an antique camera, a mid-century radio, a turntable, vintage fans, and a lot more.

Brandon Long/Sauk Valley Business Journal

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BY MELISSA RUBALCABA RISKE Sauk Valley Business Journal

IT S T I F

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Growing her business was as easy as 123 – West First St., that is – for a Dixon shop owner who prides herself on helping every customer not only look their best, but feel their best

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DIXON – A cute window display and racks of clothes may draw shoppers in, but Jenny Koch said it’s more than the style that has customers returning to j boutique time and again.

“It’s the community we have built inside here,” she said.

That community has helped the business grow, and sustained it during hard times, like the recent pandemic that forced many business to shut their doors during the shelter-in-place order – but Koch kept the business going, even behind closed doors. The shop offered curbside pickup, and Koch kept busy filling online orders, some of which were delivered by boutique staff to loyal local customers who continue to support the Dixon native and her dream business.

“I have been swamped over the last month,” Koch said from her store in April, where she was busy filling online and phone-in orders.

Koch grew up in Dixon and started her career as a certified public accountant, but said that in her heart, she knew her ambition was to manage her own business. She said her father encouraged her to pursue her dream and offered her some sound fatherly advice: dedication to work would help her find success.

BOUTIQUE cont’d on page 8

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Sauk Valley Business Journal

Submitted

J boutique owner Jenny Koch said she and her staff thrive on the personal connections they make with their customers. “I want you to walk out looking good and feeling good,” she said. From left, the j boutique staff: Lindsey Kerley, Paula Sherman, Koch, and Kelli Aurand.

Summer 2020

appropriate safeguards in place. And as always, customers are still welcome to order online for either delivery or curbside pickup.

In announcing the reopening on the store’s Facebook page, Koch said “We are so excited we can hardly contain ourselves!!!!”

“Being locked down ... after opening our new, larger location was quite scary. But your support never wavered. We were busy the ENTIRE time and that was all thanks to you and your loyalty.”

Koch said she and her staff thrive on the personal connections they make with their customers.

“I want you to walk out looking good and feeling good,” Koch said. “I’ve met a lot of women I didn’t know before and I’m genuinely interested in making every one of them feel good.”

Whether it’s helping customer find a look for a special occasion or just an outfit they can feel confident in, Koch and her team enjoy the ability to connect with each customer and make them feel special.

“I know it’s not just the clothes,” Koch said. “I take pride in knowing people are coming here because of the community that me and my employees have built.” n

j boutique 123 W. First St., Dixon.

815-440-0733 Online: jboutiqueil. com/and, J Boutique on Facebook, follow it on Instagram at @ jboutiqueil Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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BOUTIQUE cont’d from page 7 In December 2017 she launched j boutique as on online store from a spare bedroom in her Dixon home and it didn’t take long for her cute graphic T-shirts and fun accessories to click with her customers. Less than a year later, Koch took a big step – out of her spare bedroom and into a storefront in downtown Dixon, at 115 S. Hennepin. It didn’t take long to fill the 1,000-square-foot of retail space with clothes and customers. Business continued to grow and this past February she took another step, this time to a bigger store just down the road, at 123 W. First St. The store’s new home is 3 times the size of her former location.

The store caters to women of all shapes and sizes, carrying sizes small through 3X, as well as shoes, accessories and jewelry. For Koch and her staff, the goal isn’t to just find clothing that fits, but clothing that makes customers feel confident and happy.

“I have something for everyone,” Koch said. “I take pride that we have customers of all different ages and social statuses coming here. I and my staff love to help them look good.”

Koch said she’s had tremendous support from her staff and her family, especially from husband Gary and their two daughters, Karly and Kacey, who’ve all helped out at the shop.

Of course, she wouldn’t have been able to do any of it without the support of her customers – people who continued to shop even after Koch was forced to close her shop not long after it opened.

Just a few weeks after the new location opened, the governor issued an order requiring all non-essential businesses to close to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. Koch said she was nervous at first, but it didn’t take long for business to pick up again, thanks to online orders.

For Koch, it was like she was right back where she started, filling online orders – but this time those online orders were throwing her shop a lifeline until the store could reopen, which it did May 30, with

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“I don’t like to fail; I’m just not set up for that,” he said.

That attitude comes in handy when you’re running three distinctly different businesses – a car lot, a restaurant, and now, a smoke shop.

Abduli, 32, of Prophetstown, is the owner of Jet’s Smoke Shop, which opened Feb. 1 at 1118 West U.S. Route 30. He also owns JT Motors, a used car dealer at 815 First Ave., and Prophet Family Restaurant at 344 Washington St. in Prophetstown, where he’s worked since he was 12.

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Summer 2020

SMOKE cont’d from page 9 “We’re going to have to do a lot of work,” Abduli said of the building that once housed a restaurant and gas station. “It’s going to need a new roof. It’s already gutted all inside, but there’s patching that needs done.”

Jet’s Smoke Shop is on the east side of a building that was once home to a Norco gas station, and most recently Royal Smoke Shop. The rest of the building housed the Dutch Pantry and later the Friendship House restaurant, which closed several years ago.

He hopes to move JT Motors there by the end of the summer.

Abduli bought the building for $80,000 in August 2018 and the Royal Smoke Shop moved to 107 W. Second St. in November.

Shelly Lynn, 48, of Sterling worked at Royal and talked with Abduli about opening a new smoke shop at the same location.

“He thought about opening one of his own, and I told him that it can be a pain, but it can be fun,” she said. “He said, ‘If I open my own, will you help me?’ I said that I’d do what I can, but I’m not a pro at it. We just started it up from there.”

Lynn now is manager of the store, which carries bagged tobacco as well as smokes of all shapes, flavors and kinds. Central to the store is its humidor, which holds brands such as Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real, Macaundo Inspirado, Brick House Mighty Mighty Maduro, and Esteli la Gloria Cubana.

The Brick House and Cohiba Red Dot have been popular sellers so far, Lynn said, and she plans to add Drew Estate cigars in the near future.

“It’s pretty interesting, some of the stuff is,” Abduli said. “We’re learning as we’re going.”

Another thing he’s learning is how interested people are in seeing what’s going on at the former Friendship House. Abduli said he and Lynn have heard a lot of customers talk about what’s going on at the old restaurant, and he’s even had to correct some occasional misinformation.

“I don’t want another restaurant, because I already have one,” Abduli said. “The location is a prime spot, the parking is what I need. [At JT Motors] there’s just one entrance, and it’s hard to get in and get out.”

Have a cigar Jet’s Smoke Shop 1118 West U.S. Route 30, Rock Falls Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Monday through Saturday.

Find it on Facebook or call 815716-8338 for more information.

The car lot’s current location holds 11 cars, with another seven rotated in on occasion, and the driveway is small, so rolling out his entire stock can cause parking issues. Abduli won’t have to worry about that much longer.

Abduli is from Macedonia and came to America in 2000. He worked under his father, Frank, as a “DJ” – in this case, a ”dish jockey” – at Prophet Family Restaurant before taking it over 12 years ago. Frank now owns a restaurant in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, not too far from Wisconsin Dells.

Keeping Dad proud is a big thing for Abduli, and he wants to do things the right way, he said.

“I’ve worked since I was 12 years old, worked with my father and started doing dishes,” he said. “I had to make him proud. There’s no way I was going to fail. I’m happy. I’ve done well enough in there, and will continue to do good.” n

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Summer 2020

Page 11

Jennifer Koertner, the Jen behind Jen’s Artisan Breads.

Whatever kind of bread you’re looking for – hearty or fruity, savory or sweet, and always fresh – a Mount Morris shop owner always rises to occasion KELSEY HEAD

Sauk Valley Business Journal MOUNT MORRIS – Every small business owner likes to think their products are the best thing since sliced bread.

Jennifer Koertner’s products really are.

Koertner has honed a hobby into a fine art at her Mount Morris shop, Jen’s Artisan Breads, where she sells fresh-baked artisan breads, pastries, biscotti, coffee and more.

Owning a bread shop is the culmination of a long-time search for Jen, one that began as a child and took her around the world and back home again in a quest for the perfect loaf of bread. She’s always loved to bake and grew up in house where everything was homemade.

“I can hear my father’s voice – ‘Nothing comes out of a box,’” she said.

While serving in the Army for 3 years, including a stint in Desert Storm, she discovered European breads, a substantial bread with a crusty exterior and chewy crumb “That is the bread I try to emulate, and the pastry as well,” she said.

After returning stateside, she took a job cleaning houses while her kids went to school. One of her clients gave her a book on bread and some baking tools. “I just started reading a lot, and started baking bread. I loved the product I was getting,” she said. She also got a good response from friends who sampled her baked goods.

She started peddling her product on a small scale in 2013 and opened a her shop at Pinecrest Grove Community Center 5 years later.

Business grew and she eventually found

MORE INFO Jen’s Artisan Breads 500 Evergreen Lane, Mount Morris Note: As of press time, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Jen’s has set up a Square site (jensbread.square.site) where customers can order bread online, and the shop is offering curbside pickup for customers. Check the shop’s Facebook page for updates.

Contact: 815-978-3185 or jenkcreate8@yahoo.com Online: jensbread.com or find Jen’s Artisan Breads on Facebook Instagram: jens_artisan_breads a fellow baker who shared her passion for the perfect bread.

Sarah Meacham joined Koertner in the kitchen, and like Koertner, she’s selftaught.

“I have always had a love for bread. It was always a part of our family meals growing up,” she said on the business’ website.

“My family went on a vacation to Disney World. Every day we ate a different meal at Epcot. My favorite part was the bread that they would bring out before the meal. One place had particularly good bread. I was afraid we wouldn’t have it again, so I filled my pocket with bread. After that I was the bread girl.” Like Koertner, she also fell in love with European breads while on a trip to France.

After discovering Koertner’s bread at the Oregon farmers market, Meacham started following Jen’s Breads on Facebook, and became a steady customer. When Koertner decided to bring in a second baker, she

didn’t have to look far.

The dynamic dough duo are always researching and learning more to hone their craft.

The bread baked at Jen’s can be described as old-world, rustic, and hearty.

The shop sources as many local ingredients as possible for their products. Their coffee comes from One Cup Roasters in Minnesota, Koertner’s home state.

A typical day of breadmaking starts at 4 a.m. The bread is slow fermented, using high quality flour, filtered water, and fresh ingredients.

The shop offers many varieties and flavors – savory garlic cheddar bread and fruity cherry walnut bread to name just a few – and specialty items such as, biscotti, pastries, bread bowls, high-octane bars, honey butter, and pizza dough.

It offers some good old standbys, too, such as baguettes, sourdough, and multigrain bread. One customer favorite is cinnamon rolls. The sweet treats are also one of Koertner’s favorites, because she remembers her mother making cinnamon rolls.

The breads also can be found at Sunshine Bakery in Rochelle, Hazel’s Cafe in Oregon, Polo Fresh Food Market in Polo, and Curate Kitchen in Dixon. Breads are also sold at the community events and farmers markets.

Koertner said she sees her shop as more than just a place where people can go for dough – “We believe bread can be comforting and life giving,” she says on her website – but a place where she can promote the community and make friends.

A good place, she hopes, where people can come and break bread.

Page 12

Sauk Valley Business Journal

Summer 2020

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