Onalaska CCU office opening Wednesday
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Sunday, May 29, 2016
STEVE CAHALAN For the La Crosse Tribune
Co-op Credit Union based in Black River Falls will open its new Onalaska branch office on Wednesday. The new 4,300-squarefoot building at 100 French Road, just off Hwy. 16, has three drive-up lanes. It has four full-time and four part-time employees. Sue Jacobson, former president of the La Crosse Area Postal Credit Union, is branch manager. Lobby hours will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. Driveup hours will be 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7:30 a.m. to noon Saturday. The office has 24-hour ATM and night deposit. The Onalaska office will offer a full line of personal and business products. And CCU’s office in the La Crosse post office building will remain open. “This location, along with the downtown post office location, gives us the opportunity to serve members in convenient locations,” CCU President and CEO Eric Chrisinger said. “The Onalaska location on Hwy. 16 will be convenient for those traveling to and from work, school, medical appointments and shopping.” The new office’s grand opening will be June 15-18. For more information about the Onalaska office, call 1-800-258-0023 or visit www.coopcu.com or CCU’s Facebook page. La Crosse City/County Tavern League members voted to create Coulee Region Taxi, which began operating May 13 with three new six-passenger vans. “We’re a full-service taxi company” that serves the public, said Mike Brown, who manages the new La Crosse-based business and also is tavern league president and owner of The Logan Bar in La Crosse. The new taxi service’s hours are 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. seven days a week. Tavern league members felt Coulee Region Taxi was needed to ensure timely service under the league’s Saferide taxi service for those who have been drinking and need a ride home. Before it started, Brown said, there could be long waits for Saferide on Friday and Saturday nights and taxi service to outlying towns might not have been available on busy nights. Coulee Region Taxi serves La Crosse, French Island, Onalaska, Holmen, West Salem, Bangor, Coon Valley, Westby, Chaseburg, Stoddard, Genoa and De Soto. It also provides package delivery service. And it offers a tour of La Crosse with a professional guide from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The taxi company’s telephone number is 608881-2050, its website is www.crtaxi.com and it also is on Facebook. Mike Brown also said
The View Grill & Bar at
N3020 Hwy. 16 in the town of Medary closed May 1 and is for lease or sale. Brown and Steve Eide opened The View in 2011 in the former Knights of Columbus Hall, and Brown managed it. Brown said it closed because he has had some health problems. Barge Nutrition and Supply has moved to 305 Main
St. in Onalaska from 544 Second Ave. N. in that community. See CAHALAN, H2
ERIK DAILY, LA CROSSE TRIBUNE
The lobby of the new Fairfield Inn and Suites at 434 S. Third St., near the foot of the Cass Street Bridge.
‘Your room is ready’
Fairfield Inn & Suites opens Wednesday in downtown La Crosse STEVE CAHALAN For the La Crosse Tribune
A new four-story, 92-room Fairfield Inn & Suites La Crosse Downtown hotel is expected to open Wednesday at 434 S. Third St. It will be the third of four new downtown hotels that were slated to open within a year. The Charmant Hotel opened last September at 101 State St. and the Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton opened in December at 511 N. Third St. The current target for opening the Home2 Suites by Hilton hotel at 210 Jay St. is the week of July 11. The new Fairfield Inn’s 92 rooms include 20 suites, said Erin Kennedy, regional director of sales for InterMountain Management LLC, which manages the hotel and is based in Monroe, La. T h e h o te l h a s a b o u t 3 0 employees and is owned by 434 Holdings Inc., a La Crosse-based hotel investment firm created by Ronald and Beverly Brown of La Crosse. It was built by Wieser Brothers General Contractor Inc. of La Crescent, Minn. “We’re marketing to the business traveler during the week, as well as the leisure traveler on weekends,” Kennedy said. “La Crosse is home to so many summer as well as winter activities that attract the leisure traveler.” The new Fairfield Inn is within walking distance of many downtown attractions and businesses, Kennedy said. It offers a complimentary hot breakfast for its guests, as well as free parking for them in its own
ERIK DAILY, LA CROSSE TRIBUNE
The Fairfield Inn and Suites near the Cass St. Bridge. parking lot. And it has an indoor pool, fitness center, business center and free highspeed Internet. The hotel has a Co r n e r M a rket area that sells Frank Tenadu. refreshments, snacks, microwavable meals and various sundry items. Each room has a microwave oven, refrigerator, 43-inch highdefinition television and a coffee maker, said Frank Tenadu, the hotel’s general manager.
He joined the hotel after 3½ years as general manager of a Hilton Garden Inn in the Wisconsin Dells. Cynthia Ceresa is the hotel’s director of sales. The hotel is attractive, Tenadu said. “It definitely is a mix of contemporary design and décor, which provides great convenience and functionality,” he said. “We’re excited to be a part of the La Crosse community,” Tenadu said. “We’ve got an enthusiastic and very dedicated team (of employees) ready to exceed our guests’ expectations.”
FAIRFIELD INN WHAT: The new four-story, 92-room Fairfield Inn & Suites La Crosse Downtown is expected to open Wednesday. WHERE: 434 S. Third St. in downtown La Crosse. EMPLOYEES: The hotel has about 30 employees. MORE INFORMATION: Call the hotel at 608-782-1491 or visit www.marriott.com/lsefi. The hotel soon will be on Facebook.
Skogens seek ideas for use of building STEVE CAHALAN For the La Crosse Tribune
ONALASKA — A month before Festival Foods’ Onalaska support center moves to its new, larger location, Dave Skogen says he and his wife, Barb, are soliciting ideas for future uses of the current building at 237 Second Ave. S. In an interview last week, he described the current location as the “birthplace” of his family’s grocery business. H i s p a re n ts, Paul and Jane Skogen, opened their first grocery store Dave Skogen on the site in 1946. It was replaced by a new store – the current building – in 1958. Since 1998, the building has been used as a support center. The Skogen family owns 22 Festival Foods stores in Wisconsin, and three more will open by
“We’ve had all kinds of people sticking their toe into the water, but nothing concrete.” Dave Skogen
the end of this year. Dave Skogen is chairman of the family’s grocery business. He and his wife own the current support center building. The new support center, across Hwy. 16 from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, will have about 30,000 square feet of space, up from 12,000 square feet at the current location. The support center offices are expected to move to the new location on July 5 and 6, Skogen said. He, his brother Tom and perhaps a few others will continue to have offices in the current location for a while, Skogen said. “But hopefully within a year, we’ll have a new use for this place,” he said. Since plans for the new support
Dave Skogen and his wife are seeking ideas on what to do with the Festival Foods support center in downtown Onalaska after staff vacate the building in July to move to a new location. center were first announced last July, Onalaska residents have been “very generous” with suggestions for the current location, Skogen said. “We’ve heard everything from
a coffee shop to an ice cream parlor to co-work stations where people could use office spaces,” Skogen said. “We have another See SKOGENS, H2