A year in review: Business

Dec. 29—Union County welcomed a host of new businesses in 2022 from restaurants to stores and salons.

"I think as a whole, considering everything that went on in the economy, we should be very happy with what's happening in Creston," Creston Chamber of Commerce Director Ellen Gerharz said. "We are very fortunate. It says a lot too, not only about the business owners, but also the locals, the shoppers, that they've continued to support the merchants."

Rocking T Western Store

Rocking T Western Store joined a host of businesses on East Taylor Street in Creston with a ribbon cutting on March 24.

The store is owned by Jamie Travis, long-time Creston resident. As a little boy, Travis and his family would frequently stop at Jim McGrath's western store in his basement. He was always amazed at the product McGrath carried, and loved the smell of leather that greeted everyone who walked through the doors.

McGrath passed a few years ago, and the family had to resort to traveling at least an hour to the nearest western store. Seeing the need for a quality tack store in the area, Travis decided to open his own. He named it The Rocking T after the brand that identifies the horses the Travis family rides.

The store has a wide range of horse supplies, leather items from Gordon Bolton such as, scabbards, phone cases for saddles, wallets, money clips and belts. They also have Travis Quarter Horse merchandise, earrings, home decorations and Totals Feeds as well.

Paisley Rose Boutique

Paisley Rose Boutique, located on Pine Street in Creston, held its ribbon cutting on May 24 after more than a year of running the business online.

The store is owned by 20-year-old Alison Travis, who began the business from her home when she was 18. Ever since she was little, Alison dreamed of having a clothing store and being her own boss.

The Paisley Rose Boutique Mission is "to help you feel beautiful in your own skin. Clothing found here is made for real women like you. Express yourself through the clothing you wear — be brave, be wild! Our goal is to provide beautiful women like you with affordable and fashionable clothing right at your fingertips."

The store offers various clothing styles for women — western, contemporary, modern.

Benson Hill

After purchasing the soybean processing facility from ZFS in January, Benson Hill held an open house and ribbon cutting July 28.

Benson Hill CEO Matt Crisp said the objective for the company is to "link the farmers to the consumers" and "set a pace of innovation" to create healthy and sustainable products.

The Creston facility converts soybeans to soy meal and oil, as well as food-grade soy white flake, flour and grits which can be marketed as ingredients or used as raw material for further production of concentrates, isolates and textured protein products.

Adams Street Salon and Spa

A joining of two salons created the Adams Street Salon and Spa in August.

Curl Up N Dye, owned by Colleen Custer, and Perfections by Jen, owned by Jennifer Mullin, held a ribbon cutting on Aug. 3 at their location on the corner of Adams and Maple streets.

Both businesses offer a variety of beauty services. Custer, a full-time cosmetologist, has been in the business for 13 years. She offers hair and nail services as well as lash lifts and tints.

Mullin, also a cosmetologist, is a lash tech and offers lash lifts, tints and extensions as well as brow laminations, hair services and waxes.

Beggin' for an Eggin'

On Aug. 24, Beggin' for an Eggin' held a ribbon cutting at their location on Taylor Street, and they brought a new to go food option to Creston.

The owners, Ryan and Bre Elliott, have about 30 years of restaurant experience between the two of them prior to their breakfast venture.

Their experience in CrossFit showed them a lack of fast, healthy food in town. Their mission statement is "We're here to change the narrative that breakfast needs to be consumed in the morning by offering fast, fresh and healthy breakfast options for lunch and dinner."

While the couple originally planned to own a food truck one day, their utilization of online ordering and the drive through has made this the perfect location.

The restaurant offers a variety of items including protein bowls, omelets, breakfast sandwiches, smoothies and protein bars.

Polished at the Salon

A new space on North Pine Street called The Salon, features both a familiar and a new face.

On Oct. 4, Billie Fogle, 21, opened up her business, Polished, in The Salon with her older sister Hannah, who has owned H&Co. on Adams Street since 2020.

While H&Co. will continue to offer hair and makeup services at the new location, Polished focuses on nails.

As a licensed nail technician, Billie offers services including dip, gel and acrylic nails.

Lucky's Car Wash

On Oct. 22, Lucky's Car Wash began serving customers on the corner of South Sumner and East Taylor streets.

The business features a soft touch machine which takes a roller on the vehicle, wheel scrubbers and two touch-free bays.

All three options are automatic, and the facility includes three vacuum stations.

Crill Real Estate

No stranger to running a business, Michelle Crill held a ribbon cutting for Crill Real Estate on Nov. 2 at her location on New York Avenue.

The real estate brokerage specializes in farm, commercial and residential properties in western Iowa. They also try to tie the real estate to their auction business — Todd Crill Auctions, if someone needs to get rid of items in the home.

The mission of Crill Real Estate is "to provide friendly, professional services to clients enabling them to make educated major life decisions in a stress-free environment."

Champion Steaks and Champion Show Feed

Champion Steaks and Champion Show Feeds, located on Highway 34 west of Creston, celebrated a grand opening and ribbon cutting Nov. 4.

Champion Steaks is a collaboration between Chad and Amy Rieck, Kyle and Ashley Weaver, Dave Rieck and Wayne Lents. Chad Rieck said Champion Steaks initially started as a way to market their show cattle.

Rieck said the Creston store features a "made in Iowa" section carries locally made products like seasoned pretzels made by a student in Mount Ayr and will eventually carry snack mix from another local youth entrepreneur.

Champion Steaks is a farm-to-plate business specializing in raising beef that is a "winner every time" on the dinner plate, and Champion Show Feeds is where those champions start.

Farwest Country Store

Lorimor's Far West Mexican restaurant owner Fernando Galaviz just held a grand opening for the Far West Country Store on Dec. 27.

The restaurant has been open for a bit longer than two years and Galaviz said it has been so well received he had thought about expanding the restaurant into the vacant space on the west side of the building.

The reality was, expanding the restaurant wasn't the right move. Instead, the Far West Country Store was born.

The strategy will be to have a little bit of all the common daily needs. While the store will be traditional in many ways, they also offer a selection of ready-to-eat items and fresh squeezed orange juice.