Diner Matthew Hull shows off a plate of lumpia, a Filipino specialty now being served up at Pinoy Cafe in NewBo City Market. Pinoy Cafe is run by Blanche Vega (background).
After getting a warm reception at AsiaFest in Cedar Rapids, Blanche Vega is bringing the flavors of her Philippines homeland to NewBo City Market.
Ms. Vega opened Pinoy Cafe this month in a small stall at the City Market. Her most popular dish is lumpia, a traditional Filipino dish with pork and chicken in an eggroll-like wrapper. It's only $8.50 for a plate of six. Although her City Market setup doesn't allow her to make the pancit noodles that traditionally go with lumpia, she said many customers are satisfied with rice instead.
"A lot of American people like egg rolls, so why not sell our (Filipino) eggroll?" Ms. Vega explained.
Sweet Dynamite, a stuffed sweet bell pepper with a spicy sour sauce, is an American variation of a Filipino favorite that is made from jalapeno peppers stuffed with cheese, Ms. Vega said. The original is a little too intense for most American palates.
Desserts and snacks at Pinoy include fried bananas topped with ice cream and syrup, and a ice cream sandwich-like mango float made with whipped cream, graham cracker and frozen mango.
"Everything's Philippine except the bubble tea, and it's Asian," Ms. Vega said.
Ms. Vega was educated in hotel and restaurant management in the Philippines before moving to the United States about six years ago and deciding to give business a shot. She said her mother-in-law, Juliet Miller, has been helping out, and her two children are good taste-testers. She'd like to expand to a larger stall and a larger menu once the business is established.
The word "Pinoy" is slang for the Philippines in her home country, Ms. Vega explained.
Former law enforcement official Duane Johnson is channeling his years of experience and passion for giving back to the community into a new business venture with the opening of There's No Quit Kickboxing & Self Defense.
The studio will celebrate its grand opening tomorrow with a ribbon cutting at 5:30 p.m. The business is located inside The Phillips Center, 1317 Seventh Ave, Suite A in Marion.
Mr. Johnson spent 15 years in law enforcement in Marion and Florida before retiring. His time in Florida was spent as a criminal investigator working with victims and their families. He said he's using knowledge learned as a defensive tactics instructor, ground fighting instructor, and kickboxing instructor to do good in the community.
"I kept thinking if only these victims had learned some sort of self-defense skills, maybe the wouldn't have been a victim,' Mr. Johnson said in a release. "Now I'm able to give the community the opportunity to prepare today for something that might happen tomorrow."
Mr. Johnson said the phrase "There's No Quit" has inspired him throughout his adult life to get through whatever has been thrown his way. He ends each kickboxing class with this reminder: "They may see us struggle, but they'll never see us quit!"
In addition to self-defense and kickboxing for individuals, Johnson also caters to businesses, offering self-defense classes for specific occupations as well as active shooter training.
The public is invited to stop by the open house. Learn more by visiting
theresnoquit.com.
This week's CBJ: Hispanic entrepreneurs flock to West Liberty
Elena and Jesus Ocampo, shown at their West Liberty shop, El n' J's Coffee House.
WEST LIBERTY-There's hardly a vacant storefront - much less a parking spot - to be found in downtown West Liberty these days. Well-tended plants hang from period lampposts fronting the business district's mostly 19th and early 20th century buildings. American flags flutter on every block in this town just east of Iowa City, said to be the first minority-majority community in the state.
A puppet festival filled the town during a recent visit in September, but J.J. Garcia, vice president of West Liberty State Bank, says the bustle is not unusual. The downtown "has always thrived," said Mr. Garcia, a native of the community whose grandfather was one of the first Mexicans recruited to work in what was then the Louis Rich turkey packing plant. The business names may have changed, but most downtown buildings have been continuously occupied for decades, he said.
West Liberty's population was 3,737 in 2016, per the U.S. Census Bureau, with Latinos comprising 49.8 percent, whites 45.8 percent, and Asians 2.57 percent. Hispanic businesses, including restaurants, a coffee shop, a beauty shop and a construction company, fill many spaces along East Third Street, the town's main business district.
Some of those might otherwise be vacant, Mr. Garcia said, if it wasn't for the town's welcoming nature. "Hispanics are what makes things work in this town."
Upper floor apartment rentals in the downtown commercial buildings, often to some of the 900 mostly Latino employees of West Liberty Foods, provide downtown business owners additional cash flow that helps their businesses go, he noted.
One of those Hispanic entrepreneurs is Maria Soriano, proprietor of Maria's Mangolandia, a restaurant serving Mexican and American food in a former bank building.
Ms. Soriano emigrated with her family from Mexico to Chicago at age 11, then came to Iowa a few years ago for a factory job. After injuring her arm, she decided the production line was too hard on her body and opened Mangolandia to give West Liberty "a taste of Chicago."
Read the full members-first story in this week's print or digital edition of the CBJ.
Iowa small business owners and entrepreneurs hoping grow their businesses can now apply for the Goldman Sachs "10,000 Small Businesses Program."
The program, which is free to Iowa businesses, kicks off in January 2019 with curriculum developed by Babson College - recently named No. 1 for Entrepreneurship by U.S. News & World Report for the 22nd year in a row.
"Small business owners drive our state's economy, and their companies are the heart and soul of our communities," Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a release. "I encourage all Iowa small businesses to apply to this exciting program. As Iowa small businesses grow and thrive, the entire state benefits."
Accepted applicants receive hands-on education for business growth, access to highly-trained, small business professionals and an expanded peer network of small business owners from across the country.
Eligible businesses will have been in business for at least two years, have at least $100,000 in revenue and employ at least two employees (including the business owner).
Applications are due by Monday, October 15, 2018.
Participants may also learn more through online information sessions offered Oct. 3 and Oct. 9. To register, visit: www.tinyurl.com/10kSBIowa.
Consulting: Can you afford not to train your employees?
In this week's consulting spotlight, Brenda LaMarche of BRL HR Consulting discusses how training improves employee productivity and retention.
Employee retention is always at top of mind for any employer. It is important to think about what employees want and need in order to stay and grow with your company. If you don't already have a well-developed training program, you can boost retention and productivity by developing one for your team.
The "Workforce of the Future" study by PwC showed that employees find "opportunities for career progression" and "excellent training/development programs" to be among the top three factors that make a company attractive. Training makes employees feel valued, as well as more competent and confident. Untrained employees can flounder until they lose interest and move on. For long-term employees, training keeps them up to date on trends and skills, which facilitates innovation and employee engagement.
What happens when you don't train employees? Most employees like to have a sense of pride and confidence in their work. They want to get ahead in their careers, but they cannot succeed if they don't have proper training. A lack of training often produces low morale and can result in higher turnover.
Another effect of not training is low productivity. When workers lack confidence, they may spend too much time figuring out solutions. It is not enough to rely on employees to ask questions about what they don't know.
Performance and skills gaps can lead to unsafe working environments and product quality issues. According to OSHA, untrained workers are more susceptible to on-the-job injuries, which end up costing companies billions of dollars annually. With poorly trained employees, poor-quality products and services often result in an unrecoverable loss of customers.
Hiring managers and human resources professionals know that training and retaining existing employees costs less than hiring new employees. Hiring a new worker can cost up to 30 percent of the job's salary, and we all know how frustrating and time consuming it can be to find qualified candidates.
Today's training programs can be more tailored to employee and business needs than the week-long conferences or eight-hour lectures of the past. Longer formats may still be required in some instances, but shorter, online courses may be available. They are often just as effective and less demanding of employees' time.
Forward the FREE, weekly CBJ on Small Business newsletter to your friends and colleagues, and share the feeling of being informed! Use our fast, one-minute subscription to the CBJ's newsletters
here, or check out our other subscription options
here.
See something we missed? Send tips, leads, corrections, etc. to [email protected].
Corridor Stocks
Short-Term Event Planner
Sept. 28
CBJ Manufacturing Conference, by Corridor Business Journal, 7:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., The Hotel at Kirkwood Center, 7725 Kirkwood Blvd. SW, Cedar Rapids. This one-day conference invites industry leaders to network, learn about best practices in the region, and build a stronger pipeline to engage the next generation. Tickets: $95 up to Sept. 21, $115 after; $950 for a table of 10, $1,150 after Sept. 21. To register, contact Ashley Levitt at
[email protected] or (319) 665-6397, ext. 311.
Ribbon Cutting: Optimae LifeServices, by Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce, 9 a.m., 1121 Shirken Drive, Iowa City. Help celebrate the opening of Optimae LifeServices' Iowa City office. Free.
Ribbon Cutting: There's No Quit Kickboxing, by Marion Chamber of Commerce, 5:30 p.m., 1317 Seventh Ave., Ste. A, Marion. Help celebrate the opening of There's No Quit Kickboxing & Self Defense in Uptown Marion. Free.
Oct. 1
Coralville Roundtable, by Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce, noon, Vesta, 849 Quarry Road, Coralville. Roundtables are social lunches over the noon hour. All are invited to network, keep up-to-date with chamber and community events and frequent a member restaurant or business. Free. For more information, call (319) 337-9637.
Oct. 2
Iowa City Roundtable, by Iowa City Area Chamber of Conference, noon, Mosley's, 525 S. Gilbert St., Iowa City. Roundtables are social lunches over the noon hour. All are invited to network, keep up-to-date with chamber and community events and frequent a member restaurant or business. Free. For more information call (319) 337-9637.
Headlines from CBS2/FOX 28
These news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28
No one was hurt after an SUV crashed into a Cedar Rapids restaurant Thursday morning.
It happened around 10:20 a.m. on 33rd Ave SW at the Metro Buffet. Police tell our CBS2/FOX28 News crew at the scene that the restaurant was not yet open. Police believe the driver accidentally hit the gas pedal instead of the brake pedal.
Once a popular sport, speed skating is not attracting a younger generation of athletes to the sport. Cedar Rapids used to be the center of one of the state's most beloved winter sports during the 60's and 70's. Home to the only sanctioned speed skating club in Iowa, the unique sport is working its way back.
"It's struggling and it's struggling nationwide," Jim Park, one of the instructors of a free speed skating class at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena said. "We need kids because that's where the program is going to develop that's your grassroots level. Mr. Park has been speed skating for 49 years. For him, it was a family tradition and he has also seen the lack of transformation in sport in front of his eyes. "We are attracted to the team sports and here you have to have that set of skills that maybe doesn't lend you to a team sports," he said. And that's exactly the kids Mr. Park hopes to come out to his classes. Speed skating became an Olympic sport in 1992. With speeds of up to 40 miles an hour it's exhilarating and exciting. Read the rest of the story here.
These news items are provided by CBS2/FOX 28
CBS2 Chief Meteorologist Terry Swails' Weather First Forecast
It's been feeling like fall lately, but we're going to get a dose of some November-like weather to start the weekend.
Clouds will be increasing today as a cold front approaches Eastern Iowa. Winds will pick up out of the southwest and it will be breezy. Temperatures will be a little warmer than yesterday, in the mid to upper 60s. The cold front comes in later on tonight and will bring some light rain showers into early Friday morning. Clouds will stay in overhead and winds will switch out of the northwest Friday morning as high pressure builds in. Very cold air will move into Eastern Iowa and temperatures will be held in the 50s Friday afternoon. Skies will clear and temperatures will drop down into the 30s Friday night into Saturday morning - the coldest morning in five months! Some patchy frost will be possible with the sub-40 temperatures. It will be cool once again on Saturday with temperatures in the mid to upper 50s in the afternoon. A warm front will be lifting north Saturday night into Sunday and will bring in some warmer air along with a chance for rain. A few showers will be possible Sunday and temperatures will be in the mid to upper 60s.
Pinoy brings Filipino flavor to NewBo City Market 
