LE CLAIRE, Iowa — LeClaire's retail sector is growing with the addition of four new stores just off the downtown strip.
A LeClaire couple recently bought the century-old red brick building at 423 Cody Road and restored it for businesses to move into the new suites.
The building was originally built in 1895 as a house before later expanding to become a general store, hardware store and most recently, Ewoldt's Appliance and TV and Great River Antiques.
"Actually this wasn't for sale," developer Rodney Collier said. "We looked at this building, we just said it needs to be more. And it's been underutilized for a number of years... I said, 'We really love LeClaire. We really don't want to see that project, that building like this for the next five to 10 years. Would you consider selling it?'"
He and his wife, Kimberly, began renovating it over the summer and reached out to business owners they knew who wanted to expand their businesses.
Buttercupp Candles, Nest and Cody Rose Flower Co. celebrated their grand openings on Thursday, while The Clothing Company will open later in November.
Tash Wahlig owns Cody Rose Flower Co. and said opening her own storefront has been a dream of hers. She's been working out of her kitchen for 12 years and was ready to expand.
The store features a bouquet bar where you can come learn and make your own flower bouquets, drink wine and shop for trinkets. She also plans to host parties for kids to paint their own vases and get hair accessories.
"I feel like (LeClaire's) becoming the next little Galena. It's just so exciting to be a part of that," Wahlig said. "I feel like it brings a little bit of youth to LeClaire... there is a need for maybe like a little bit trendy or something a little bit different that people haven't seen before in the area."
The four shops have sliding barn doors between them to make shopping easier. The owners already have ideas to host events together in the future.
"We feel like we're all really complementary businesses, so we're excited to kind of partner with them and collaborate, do different events together," said Jennifer Cupp, owner of Buttercupp Candles. "We're hoping to do some men's shopping events for Christmas, making it really easy for men to get their holiday shopping done. We're hoping to do some seasonal reveals, some sip and pours."
The new businesses will hopefully bring more visitors to the town, tourism manager Cindy Bruhn said. People will want to check out the new shops and in turn stay for what the town already has to offer, either for the day or for a few.
"When we have something new, it just reignites people's interest and so they want to come out and check that out," Bruhn said. "What I'm excited about these businesses is what makes them different. They're going to have some things where you can have activities, so kind of like little makers spots, and that's really popular with tourists and locals that want something to do."
The Colliers are hoping the new development will help encourage more growth in LeClaire.
"It's really going to start to bring the core of downtown together with phase two and bring shopping continued north," Rodney said. "I think we're going to see just the next few years is going to be great in LeClaire."
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