Steve Cahalan: Gerrard-Hoeschler Realtors sold, NOM Sips & Eats to open Tuesday downtown

Gerrard-Hoeschler Realtors has a new owner, and NOM Sips & Eats opens Tuesday

I’ve got news this week about a new owner for Gerrard-Hoeschler Realtors, NOM Sips & Eats cafe opening in part of the Meringue Bakery’s storefront, plans for the Coulee Region’s first Circle K gas station/convenience store, and a new professional home inspection service, Diamond Dog Inspections, LLC.

Nancy Gerrard and Jay Hoeschler have sold their Gerrard-Hoeschler Realtors real estate company to Doug Billings, who has been its president since May 2021. The sale happened in February.

Billings told me this week that he will keep the real estate agency’s name and plans no major changes. With its headquarters at 1131 Main St. in Onalaska and another office at 601 N. Seventh St. in downtown La Crosse, the agency serves southwestern Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota.

Billings said he will strive to serve the evolving needs of the company’s clients and its “amazing” team of employees. “I look forward to this journey with the support of my wife, Rachele,” he said. She is a registered nurse at Gundersen Health System in La Crosse.

“Three years ago, we selected Doug to manage our company, recognizing he had the skills and experience in sales and marketing to lead the next generation of Gerrard-Hoeschler real estate professionals,” Hoeschler said. “In a short period of time, Doug has enhanced the quality and level of services started 74 years ago by our families.”

Before joining Gerrard-Hoeschler, Billings was vice president of sales and marketing at Empire Screen Printing for more than 19 years. He also serves on a number of boards in the area and has been an adjunct marketing instructor at Western Technical College for 23 years.

Gerrard will continue her work as a top agent with the company and Hoeschler will remain active in local real estate developments, which will be marketed by Gerrard-Hoeschler. They also are on a committee that Billings taps for real estate-related advice.

“We felt strongly about continuing the history and legacy of the company,” Billings said of his decision to buy it.

The business traces its origin to the founding of Hoeschler Realty by Jay’s father, Jake Hoeschler, in 1950; and Gerrard Realty by Nancy’s father, Bill Gerrard, in 1954. Jay and Nancy had owned Gerrard-Hoeschler Realtors since the two companies merged in 1991.

For more information, visit www.ghrealtors.com or Facebook.

Samantha “Sam” Sveum will officially open her new NOM Sips & Eats cafe Tuesday, May 21, in part of the Meringue Bakery’s storefront at 313 Main St. in downtown La Crosse.

Jen Barney’s bakery will remain in business there; the only major menu change is that the bakery no longer serves coffee beverages, because those are one focus of Sveum’s new business. Sveum took over the coffee side of things on Tuesday, May 14.

Sveum’s business will offer specialty coffee beverages, smoothies and superfood sorbet bowls that she calls Bliss Bowls. And in a few weeks, she will add more food items, such as Buddha bowls, breakfast paninis and avocado toast.

Sveum’s sorbet bowls are made with a variety of superfoods – a fairly new term referring to foods that offer maximum nutritional benefits. She offers several sorbet flavors. See today’s photo caption for some examples of bowl ingredients.

NOM’s hours will be 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to noon Sunday and closed Monday.

Sveum operated her Butternut Road Coffee Co. coffee truck and coffee delivery business for four years before closing it to start her new cafe.

For more information, visit the cafe’s Facebook page.

Look for the Circle K gas station/convenience store chain to build its first Coulee Region location in the coming months at 3002 Bicycle St., in the new South Pointe Business Park along Interstate 90 in Sparta. It will be built across Hwy. 27 from the Theisen’s Home Farm Auto store.

A site plan for the planned store was approved by the Sparta Planning Commission at its May 8 meeting. A construction timetable hasn’t been announced.

Circle K said in January that it plans to open 75 stores across Wisconsin in the next three years as part of a company initiative to open 500 new stores across the U.S. over the next five years.

Circle K is part of Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., a Canadian company that has more than 16,700 stores in 29 countries and territories. It says that with its well-known Couche-Tard and Circle K banners, it is one of the largest independent convenience store operators in the U.S.

For more information about Circle K, visit www.circlek.com.

Professional home inspector Jason Kane of Onalaska has started Diamond Dog Inspections LLC, which provides property inspections in the Coulee Region, including parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa.

“I opened in April,” said Kane, who is a certified professional inspector. “I am certified as a CPI through InterNACHI (the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors) and I also hold licensure as a home inspector in the state of Wisconsin; Minnesota and Iowa do not require licensing.”

Kane said he does inspections for people who are buying or selling a home. “I also offer drone service and individual inspections (like thermal imaging),” he said.

Diamond Dog offers a Move-In Certified pre-sale inspection that is helpful for sellers, Kane said. “A pre-sale inspection will uncover potential defects or problems with the home so they can be addressed before prospective buyers discover them and therefore avoid any negotiations or a deal falling through at the 11th hour,” he said. “Thermal imaging and a wood destroying organism inspection are included with any home inspection and are available as stand-alone services as well.”

For more information, call 608-871-2989 or visit Diamond Dog’s Facebook page and website.