Reservation Manager

Biz Buzz: Ice cream shop near Dubuque's fourth Street Elevator reopens; Dubuque Phillips 66 adds partnership with U-Haul; Latin American grocery store opens in Dubuque. business tips sought Do you have a story idea or update to share about a local business? Ideas can be shared with reporter Thomas Gleason at [email protected] or 563-588-5647. Biz Buzz shares business tidbits from the tri-state area. This edition highlights businesses in Dubuque. The ice cream shop near the bottom of Dubuque's Fenelon Place Elevator reopened under new ownership on Saturday. Dubuque Ice Cream Shoppe, 454 W. Fourth St., offers ice cream, candy by the pound, popcorn, sodas and more. "Ice cream is very nostalgic," said Joie Booth, who owns the shop with her two sons, Carter and Graham Booth. "It's very romantic. It's very family." The Booths buy the ice cream from Ludington, Mich.-based Ashby's Sterling Ice Cream. "It is 14% butterfat, which makes it the most incredible flavor ever," Booth said. The shop offers cones and dishes of eight flavors and carries a range of soft drinks and sparkling water. "We do root beer floats and orange floats," Booth said. "We can make a float out of just about everything." Customers can also purchase a large Pepsi glass to use for their float and keep the glass. Eventually, the glasses will be uniquely shaped and engraved with the shop's name. The shop also sells bags of Cedar Creek Popcorn and souvenirs, including Dubuque-themed T-shirts, shot glasses and mugs. The Booths plan to add more ice cream flavors, souvenirs and candy to the store soon. They also hope to renovate the kitchen in the back of the shop. "I would like to make some of the things here - make the toffee, make the fudge, make some of the popcorn balls," Booth said. They hope to keep the shop open year-round. "We're hoping to come up with some creative ideas to have it going pretty strong through the fall and winter," Booth said. Joie Booth has always been self-employed and thought an ice cream shop would be a cool business to own, she said. In May, the opportunity to buy the business came about, and she jumped at it. She brought her two sons into the process, and they whipped the shop into shape quickly to avoid missing the entire summer season. The family members painted the shop with the "historical watercolors of Dubuque," and added their own flair with a new countertop near the front window, Booth said. "Midwest summers are so hot," she said. "We want this to feel like a place where a family can sit down and just enjoy some air conditioning for a few minutes." Dubuque Ice Cream Shoppe is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. For more information, visit its Facebook page at tinyurl.com/dbqicecreamshoppe. Dubuque Phillips 66 adds partnership with U-Haul. Phillips 66 on John F. Kennedy Road added U-Haul services this month. The gas station serves as a place to rent and return U-Haul trucks. "It's just to make it easier for customers that are moving or need to load something for convenience's sake," said Phillips 66 owner Charan Singh. The gas station keeps a 10-foot truck, 15-foot truck and 20-foot truck in-house, which means that the trucks must be returned to it after being rented. It carries other U-Haul trucks on a rotational basis, depending on reservations and where trucks are located. "If you need something in a few days, make a reservation with us right away," Singh said. U-Haul's traffic department can help secure the trucks needed for the reservation even if Phillips 66 does not have the truck when the reservation was made, he said. The gas station is not renting out trailers because it does not have the staff to accommodate the service. "We're trying to manage it with the staff we have," Singh said. "If it keeps growing, we'll hire someone to just work the U-Hauls." Singh approached U-Haul about partnering with the company because the gas station includes a large parking lot that was not being utilized. "One of the biggest things I was looking for was how to grow the business," Singh said. "Why not take advantage of the space and have a win-win situation?" Two other U-Haul locations in the city are in the Point and the North End. "This side of Dubuque didn't have one," Singh said. Phillips 66's U-Haul service is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Customers can also utilize an app for after-hours drop-offs and pickups. For more information, visit uhaul.com. Latin American grocery store opens in Dubuque. A Latin American grocery store opened in Dubuque this month. El Mercadito Nicas Market, located at 233 Main St., offers a diverse range of products. "We have good service, and we have nostalgic products from our country and Colombia, Venezuela, Honduras, Mexico - things that you can't find here," said Patricia Báez, who owns the store with her husband, Denis Martínez. The store is filled with snacks, candy, drinks and fresh produce, including plantains, onions, tomatoes and avocados. "It's an opportunity for another different business on Main Street," Báez said. The husband and wife are natives of Nicaragua and moved to the United States about nine years ago. They started Nicas Market in Platteville, Wis., over three years ago. They secure their products directly from Latin American producers. One of Báez's favorite products is Avena Mosh en hojeulas, a cereal made from oats by Mexican company El Caracol. Báez and her family lived in front of the company's manufacturing plant in Nicaragua, and her uncle worked there. Other products she likes are Nicaragua-made Tiste corn meal, a drink served cold; Callejas Guava Jelly, a fruit spread; and Milca, a raspberry soda. People asked the couple to open a location in Dubuque because there is a lack of Latin stores in the city, Báez said. They took over the lease on the space about two months ago. The couple brought in two refrigerators for some of their drinks and produce, built shelves to install throughout the space and built the cashier space with a counter and shelves behind it. They plan to continue adding more products to the store in the future. El Mercadito Nicas Market is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day. For more information, visit its Facebook page at tinyurl.com/ elmercaditonm.

U-Haul Holding Company schedules fourth quarter fiscal year end 2026 financial results release and investor webcast. May 13, 2026 RENO, Nev.-(BUSINESS WIRE)- U-Haul Holding Company (NYSE: UHAL, UHAL.B), the parent company of U-Haul International, Inc., Oxford Life Insurance Company, Repwest Insurance Company and Amerco Real Estate Company, plans to report its fourth quarter fiscal 2026 financial results after the close of market trading on Wednesday, May 27, 2026. The Company is scheduled to conduct its fourth quarter investor conference call and webcast at 8 a.m. Arizona Time (11 a.m. ET) on Thursday, May 28, 2026. The conference call and webcast may include forward-looking statements. If you are unable to participate during the live webcast, the call will be archived for one year at investors.uhaul.com. About U-Haul Holding Company U-Haul Holding Company is the parent company of U-Haul International, Inc., Oxford Life Insurance Company, Repwest Insurance Company and Amerco Real Estate Company. U-Haul is in the shared use business and was founded on the fundamental philosophy that the division of use and specialization of ownership is good for both U-Haul customers and the environment. About U-Haul Since 1945, U-Haul has been the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers, with a network of nearly 25,000 locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 offers secure access to U-Haul trucks every hour of every day through the customer dispatch option on their smartphones and its patented Live Verify technology. Its customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to approximately 203,800 trucks, 137,400 trailers and 45,900 towing devices. U-Haul is the third largest self-storage operator in North America and offers 1,126,800 rentable storage units and 98.0 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed facilities. U-Haul is the largest retailer of propane in the U.S., and continues to be the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry. U-Haul has been recognized repeatedly as a leading "Best for Vets" employer and was recently named one of the 15 Healthiest Workplaces in America. Sebastien Reyes Director of Investor Relations U-Haul Holding Company (602) 263-6601 [email protected]