Coffee perks up legendary bank site

HOLSTEIN, Iowa -- Jeff Nechkash and Bobbi Jo Clausen live in the only loft in Holstein, the one topping CornerHaus 101, Clausen's coffee shop that's breathing life into the 1896 Holstein Savings Bank building in the heart of downtown.

The 101 in the CornerHaus name comes from its street address, 101 South Main. Haus, of course, is German for house.

"We knew the town needed a coffee shop as there wasn't anyplace to get a good latte or cup of coffee," said Nechkash, a 26-year veteran of the U.S. Postal Service. "We figured it would work and it's gone over real well."

Michael Breyfogle, a Holstein native who now resides in Minnesota, poured a lot of himself into rehabbing the brick bank structure before selling it to Nechkash and Clausen, who went to work in finishing the site.

"It's a four-brick building, which means it's four bricks thick," Nechkash said. "It is self-standing with three slots added for business to the south and one slot added for a business to the west."

In examining documents pertaining to the building, Nechkash learned that the bank kept operating as such until late in the Depression, 1938, when the owner, apparently, skipped town with some of the funds, never to be found.

"I found that out by looking at the abstract and talking to people who had ties to the building and some older farmers who lost money," Nechkash said. "I'm not aware if he was caught. I do know that it took until 1945 to sell the banks assets and pay off the original bonds that built the building."

Nechkash said the bank was constructed for $9,000 some 122 years ago.

Clausen operates without a menu, opting instead to make, for example, two different soups on a certain day, each of which will then fill a 10-quart pot. She'll post the soups, or whatever creation she's done, on the CornerHaus 101 Facebook and sell until it's gone.

Clausen also makes cinnamon rolls, mini muffins and scones, on occasion.

Additionally, she and Nechkash brew fresh coffee, which comes from Coffee King in Sioux City. "The beans we have are fresh, less than two weeks old," he said. "We get them fresh roasted because we don't have room for our own roaster. I went all over Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska and Minnesota and tried 18 different roasters of coffee and ended up going back to Coffee King in Sioux City because I liked theirs the best."

CornerHaus 101 also buys espresso beans from Coffee King, beans they feed to Emily, the espresso machine they've named.

The business, which also has a liquor license, opens on special occasions for birthday parties, bridal showers and the like. Otherwise, CornerHaus 101 is open six days per week (not on Sunday).

"I'm a sucker for history," Nechkash continued, noting how the old bank still has two vaults, one directly atop the other. There's also a stained glass window looking out from beneath a brick arch to offers a view of Main Street.

"The outside of the building's foundation, even though it's brick in the basement, is faced with limestone," he said. "The building has a lot of character. It would have been a shame to see it fall apart."

Thanks to Breyfogle and CornerHaus 101's current operators, the stately old bank still stands, and stays busy, keeping pace in the heart of downtown Holstein.