The Braun Property

The Braun Property. 212 South Main. , This historic building, known officially as Tax Lot 2 in Block 8 of Waterloo, dates back to the year 1845 and has served many purposes throughout the years. Unfortunately, we have no record of what it was used for in its earliest years, other than one picture from the late 1800's that reads “S. Ruegheimer Grocery,” which is pictured at right. What we do know, through deed records, is the property was first given to James Burk by John Morrison in 1845 and then three years later was transferred to Jolus Morrison. Morrison kept the property for six years, then sold it to Henry Beadelier in 1854. Bedelier quickly got rid of the property, only owning it for five days before selling it to Valentine Christman. Christman did not keep the property long either, selling it after about three months to George Scmidtt. Schmidtt held on to the property for six years and then sold it to John Braun in 1860. Braun owned the property the longest out of any owner, possessing it for nearly 45 years., In 1899, John Braun got a loan for 5600 from Herman Koch and put the deed for this property, along with 200 other acres, up for collateral. The loan was to be paid off over two years at 5 percent interest. However, the Brauns did not pay any of the $600 and Herman Koch filed a lawsuit in 1901, which resulted in Koch receiving the property. Herman Koch gave the building to his son, Edward Koch in 1929. During his ownership the building was home to Goeddel Tire Co., operated by Al Goeddel. In 1932, Al’s son, Kermit Goeddel, bought the property and opened Kermie's Grocery Store. Kermie had a truck route selling groceries in the country and he would bring back fresh produce, mostly eggs, to sell in his store. Goeddel owned the building for twenty-four years before selling it to Albert Rehmer in 1956., There were many businesses located here under Albert Rehmer's ownership. First, it was Reimer's Luncheonette. In 1959, it became Miller’s Luncheonette, operated by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Miller.Two years later, it was Mom and Pop's Luncheonette and then between 1964 through 1968 was known as Donna's Cafe. In 1969, the building housed Willie's Meat Shop. We aren't sure of the year, but a short time later this building changed from a restaurant to a retail space, becoming home to Burmeister Shoe store and then to The Shoe Box, which caught fire in 1976., Albert Rehmer sold the property to his son, Randy Rehmer in March of 1977. In the early 1980s, The Electric Outlet Family Arcade was in business here. Myrtle Voris was the next owner, purchasing the building from Rehmer in 1983 and owning it until 1993 when it was sold to Robert Voris and Jean Jost. They only owned it for six months and the property was sold to David and Cecelia Miller. Just a year later, the Millers sold it to Shawn Wilson. From 1990 through the year 2000 the building was used as an Edward Jones office, first for financial advisor David Reed and then for Ted Kirkpatrick. In October 2001, Gregory and Heather Kipping bought the building and remodeled it for Heather to operate a nail salon, called The Nail Nook., Most recently, the building was bought by the Schmidt family and completely renovated, stripped down to its original brick walls to become the Vintage Wine Bar., Recorded by Gibault Students Veronica Southworth and Brock Vonderheide , Placed by the Waterloo Beautification Committee 2017