"Historic bank makes change into bistro By Meredith Hines-Dochterman The Gazette LADORA: Brad Erickson had to chain the doors closed at Ladora Savings Bank to get some work done. "I would be up on scaffolding, look down and there would be people standing there," he said. The impromptu visits led to walks down memory lane. Some even brought mementos. Erickson was happy to listen to their stories - a 90-year-old building has a lot of history - but he was in a time crunch. "I could not get things finished," Erickson, 46, said. His solution worked and the Ladora Savings Bank, now the Ladora Bank Bistro , opened its doors Friday - nearly four years after Erickson purchased the building from Lois Randolph. "We decided maybe it was time to chase the dream," said Colleen Klainert, Erickson's fiance and business partner. That dream began with a motorcycle ride. Erickson, a motorcycle enthusiast from Grinnell, came across the Ladora Savings Bank on one of his excursions. The building's Greek Revival architecture captured his eye. "It was boarded-up, every window was broken, but you could see how beautiful it was," he said. Erickson drove by the bank several times, peeking through windows and asking local residents questions. He arranged a tour with Randolph, and ignoring the leaking roof and snakes in the basement, focused instead on the building's marble interior. He bought the bank in October 2004. His family, Erickson said, thought he was crazy. It wasn't the first time Erickson branched out on his own. He built a wireless retail enterprise with stores throughout the Midwest, owned an industrial engraving business and is a partner in a decorative concrete business. He owned two cafes near Waterloo and thought the bank was the perfect setting for a wine bar. Then he met Klainert, a certified wine specialist. "It was fate," he said. The couple worked on the building sporadically over the years before deciding to make a full-time go of things"
d," Erickson, 46, said. His solution worked and the Ladora Savings Bank, now the Ladora Bank Bistro , opened its doors Friday - nearly four years after Erickson purchased the building from Lois Randolph. "We decided maybe it was time to chase the dream," said Colleen Klainert, Erickson's fiance and business partner. That dream began with a motorcycle ride. Erickson, a motorcycle enthusiast from Grinnell, came across the Ladora Savings Bank on one of his excursions. The building's Greek Revival architecture captured his eye. "It was boarded-up, every window was broken, but you could see how beautiful it was," he said. Erickson drove by the bank several times, peeking through windows and asking local residents questions. He arranged a tour with Randolph, and ignoring the leaking roof and snakes in the basement, focused instead on the building's marble interior. He bought the bank in October 2004. His family, Erickson said, thought he was crazy. It wasn't the first time Erickson branched out on his own. He built a wireless retail enterprise with stores throughout the Midwest, owned an industrial engraving business and is a partner in a decorative concrete business. He owned two cafes near Waterloo and thought the bank was the perfect setting for a wine bar. Then he met Klainert, a certified wine specialist. "It was fate," he said. The couple worked on the building sporadically over the years before deciding to make a full-time go of things"