Tom Skold will be calling Decorah home after 18 years as chef at the critically acclaimed Harbor View Café in Pepin, Wisconsin. The city of Decorah, which touts in their slogan “the good life,” is without a doubt prepping some “great food” in the near future, placing Hotel Winneshiek’s Albert’s Restaurant and Pub on the map.

Decorah was recently noted in Midwest Living Magazine as “One of the Midwest’s Top 100 Small Town Getaways.” “The town is quickly becoming visible to a sophisticated audience in regards to food and travel,” said Chuck Paton, President of Rebound Hospitality, which manages Hotel Winneshiek. Paton welcomes Skold to the chef position and notes his thoughtfulness in food preparation and high interest in hospitality as fitting for the renowned Midwest hotel and company’s overall mission. Skold’s reputation offers an unsurpassable experience when it comes to exquisite taste and fine dining.

In reference to the strategic career move, the chef — who brings 25 plus years of cooking experience to the table — said sourcing local producers will definitely be a part of the culinary plan. “We are hoping to have guests choose us as a destination; we want our menu to be in the spirit of that, so people feel like they’ve arrived somewhere,” said Skold. “We believe in supporting and sustaining small producers and view them as partners.”

For the customer-centric chef, it’s not just an industry … it’s a ministry. “Everyone here at Hotel Winneshiek really extends themselves to their guests. I think when people make a decision to go some place, they are looking for that sense of belonging.”

Skold will continue his outreach teaching cooking classes at a variety of venues, bridging the gap not only through geographic locations like the Twin Cities and extended southern Minnesota regions, but also in the public sector where he often works with unprivileged and underserved people.

Paton adds, “I think the expression of how Tom feels about his work goes beyond the customer at the table — to people who can benefit vocationally and avocationally in both understanding and developing their passion for food.”

Hotel Winneshiek is located in Decorah, Iowa. The 107 year old hotel offers guest rooms & suites with full amenities, Albert’s Restaurant, the Tap Room, Steyer Opera House and conference center and recreation access nestled in the scenic river valley of Northeast Iowa.

Hotel Winneshiek
Contact: Terri Mozzone
104 East Water Street
Decorah, IA 52101
(563) 382-4164

The Hotel was contacted by White House staff two weeks prior to the President’s visit.  Preparations were immediately launched in tandem with the Secret Service, White House staff and Hotel staff to assure that available guest, press, boardroom & conference rooms were secured and properly prepared.

Created in recognition of Joseph Lee Heywood who was killed while defending the First National Bank during the robbery attempt by Jesse James and his gang in 1876, the award honors a Northfield resident who has exemplified the commitment to public service in the Northfield community.

Reese received the award at the Heywood Award Banquet held at the Northfield Ballroom on September 7, 2011.

Read the full story from Northfield Patch.

Click here to read the historic journey of the Archer House River Inn.

(Picture above: the Archer House about 1890, historic photo courtesy of Northfield Historical Society)

Built in 1877, the iconic French Second Empire building stands as the oldest hotel in Northfield today and is one of the longest continuously operating hotels in the state of Minnesota.

“I felt it was important to bring back the grace and romance of this storied inn,” said Archer House General Manager Todd Byhre. “Part of the reward of this major renovation is how it gives back to the community and helps to revitalize the town.” The Archer House has long served as an anchor to the downtown’s historic district.

The Inn also includes several independently owned businesses, consisting of restaurants, a coffee shop, tearoom, music lounge, and distinct shops. “The reason people visit the Archer House is for the whole
experience,” shared Byhre. Renovations began with the public spaces and basic infrastructure; then individual attention was given to the inn’s charming 36 guest rooms and suites. The sub-contracted work was sourced locally.

Original features like tin ceilings and resurfaced claw foot tubs were restored in addition to selecting period-inspired colors, textile, lighting and furniture. “I think we have recaptured the magic that guests would have experienced back then,” said Byhre. A few high-tech amenities were added to accommodate the modern traveler. “We mixed antique furniture with today’s pieces for just the right feel,” added Byhre.

“Todd had a terrific vision for amplifying the historic character for the Archer House, while introducing services and amenities expected by business and leisure travelers today,” commented Chuck Paton, President of Rebound Hospitality.

The over one million dollar renovation project was initiated by Rebound Hospitality, part of Rebound Enterprises, an investment services and holding company in Northfield that specializes in manufacturing, real estate, hospitality and financial services.

“The inn is a tremendous community asset,” said Brett Reese, Managing Principal of Rebound Hospitality. “When you think of Northfield, you think of the colleges, the nice downtown, the great school system, and you think of the Archer House, too. You find these places and you want to preserve them for the community.”

Hayes Scriven, Executive Director of the Northfield Historical Society and Board Member of the Northfield Convention and Visitors Bureau commented, “To have a business owner, specifically a hotel owner, invest money in a historic property has a huge impact on Northfield. It just makes downtown Northfield more vibrant and active having all these people visiting and staying at the Archer House.”

About Rebound Hospitality:
Rebound Hospitality invests in distinct properties. The investment group also owns Hotel Winneshiek in Decorah, Iowa and Lost Lake Lodge in the Brainerd Lakes area near Nisswa. Rebound Hospitality’s vision is to add to its collection with 10-15 historic boutique inns and distinct properties over the next 5-10 years.

Mr. Ibsen has over 25 years of leadership experience in general management, business development, and marketing in the U.S. market and internationally. He has lived in and built businesses in China, India and Europe. Mr. Ibsen is currently a principal of Rebound Enterprises, a diversified holding company with investments in manufacturing, real estate and hospitality in the Upper Midwest. His prior experience includes serving as president of Pricer AB, a Swedish, publicly listed company that makes electronic price and information systems for retailers. In his over 14 years with the Maytag Corporation, he served as vice president and general manager of the Amana Commercial Division and the Jade Products Company. Mr. Ibsen has a B.A. from Luther College and an M.B.A. from Drake University.

About LFE Capital:
LFE Capital believes that superior investment opportunities can be found in smaller companies, where the commitment to innovation and the opportunity to create significant value drive performance. Based in Minneapolis, LFE is a private equity fund manager that invests $2-5 million in companies with strong growth prospects. A relationship with LFE brings expansion or buyout capital and an operations oriented investor who will dedicate the time and resources required to help management build successful businesses.

And, in Northfield, Minnesota, Bud Martinson – Director of Sales for NTFE-America, a Rebound Enterprises company – began his career in the spiral freezing industry.

“In many ways, it just doesn’t seem that long ago,” said Martinson with a smile. “But in other ways, it seems like an eternity.”

It was a connection to Bill Cowles – then owner and president of Northfield Freezing Systems – and his brother Tim Cowles that brought Martinson into the industry. He was hired as a national sales representative and charged with helping to develop new accounts and manage existing accounts.

“Early on, there were only a few of us involved in the sales process, and we did it all,” said Martinson. “We managed the entire sales process, including all of the applications work, and even some of the after-sale coordination and project management.”

While Martinson hesitates to talk about himself as an applications “engineer,” it’s clear that a broad and deep understanding of the systems he was selling and the markets he served was required. “Because I handled many of the technical details from an applications standpoint, I really got to know the equipment from top to bottom, inside and out,” said Martinson. “And over time it became clear that my customers really appreciated that level of understanding and technical knowledge. It gave me the ability to discuss their needs and then come up with the best solution to meet those needs.”

“The late 80s and 90s were a great time to be in the industry,” he continued. “Our sales volume was solid, I was learning a ton about the food processing industry, and I really enjoyed the company and the customers. Northfield Freezing Systems was a private, reasonably sized company… We all worked closely together and sold a product that we understood and believed in.”

Martinson remained with Northfield Freezing Systems after it was purchased by York International (York Food Systems) in 1995. “Being acquired by a competitor can create challenges. We’re a fairly small industry and all of us at Northfield knew many of the York guys… we grew up in the industry together. This helped a lot in the transition,” said Martinson. “There were the expected changes – especially from a company culture perspective – that took some getting used to once we moved from a private company to a public one.”

A major change was the fact that York brought additional product lines to the table – an IQF Tunnel Freezer, Contact Freezer, Impingement Freezer, Trolley Freezer, and others – all of which allowed Martinson to become acquainted with a wider range of freezing applications. York’s sales set-up also included separate sales and applications functions, a configuration that allowed sales reps to hand off the applications portion of the work if necessary.

“My approach had always been to be fully involved in the entire sales process, including the applications work,” said Martinson. “So this separation between the two components was a shift for me. Fortunately I was able to remain involved and use the applications group as a resource rather than in a ‘hand-it-off-to-them’ scenario. This gave me a chance to deepen my understanding of customer needs, and to also learn about the additional product lines that York offered.”

Martinson remained with Northfield Freezing Systems/York throughout the remainder of the 1990s. In 2000, the company was acquired by FMC Corporation and Northfield Freezing Systems became a part of the FMC FoodTech Division (later renamed JBT FoodTech). The Northfield company name was dropped, although remnants of it remained as a product line.

The FMC acquisition was similar to the earlier York acquisition in that the main interest was the well established and highly regarded Northfield low-tension spiral product line… a line which would serve to nicely complement the existing product lines of the acquiring company.

“The FMC acquisition brought additional food processing equipment to our product portfolio,” said Martinson. “We now had portioning, coating, cooking and freezing equipment which allowed us to look at entire processing lines. Having daily access to this new equipment was a great way to further my knowledge of the food processing industry in areas where I had not been previously exposed. This enabled me to discuss applications in much more detail and to be aware of how other pieces of equipment in a processing line had an impact on the operation and performance of the freezers.”

Martinson continued, “While the exposure to the portioning, coating and cooking applications was a great learning experience, I still found myself with a real preference for food-freezing applications, and over time I began to miss the culture and set-up we’d had back in the Northfield Freezing days.”

In early 2009 – after Martinson had left JBT – he began hearing rumbles about the company that would ultimately become NTFE-America. “This industry is in many ways a small one,” said Martinson. “There were rumors that something was cooking, but I didn’t really know the details or the people involved.”

Over the course of 2009, it became clear to Martinson that the rumors were true, and had real substance to them. The group that would become NTFE-America was moving along in the process of setting up the company and working with its China-based counterparts. It became clear to Martinson that this new company could utilize his background and knowledge. “Once I knew that Bill and Tim Cowles would be involved, my interest grew,” said Martinson. He officially joined the team in late 2009.

“Joining NTFE-America was about staying in an industry that I knew and loved, and about working with a product line that I understand,” he said. “I’ve always enjoyed working in a small team environment and I like the company culture that the Cowles and (company president) Craig Ibsen have set-up.”

“We’ve got a great story to tell, and a great product,” he continued. “Our freezers are manufactured in China by one of the world-leaders in spiral freezer manufacturing (NTFE). We took the experience and expertise we’d gained during our time at Northfield Freezing Systems and helped improve an already stellar product.”

Working alongside H.J. “Sco” Scofield – another former member of Northfield Freezing Systems – and engineer Mark Loftus, the NTFE-America team “put the Northfield imprint” on the NTFE freezer, helping to get it ready for sales in the North American marketplace. “NTFE already has more than 1600 spiral systems out there,” said Martinson, “which is one of the reasons we’re so excited about this partnership. Yes, we’re a ‘start-up company,’ but we’re a start-up with an impressive history of delivering high-quality spirals to satisfied customers around the world.”

Martinson points to his technical experience as a real asset to the NTFE-America team. “The fact is that we most often deal with plant engineers and project engineers… people who are highly technical. I think they appreciate my – and our – knowledge of the intricacies of our equipment and of the food processing industry.”

“I really like our story,” Martinson continued. “I like our product and I like our team. For me, 25 years in, I still feel energized and excited about what I do. I really feel fortunate to have wound up here, with NTFE-America. While the names have changed, in many ways I feel like I’ve come full circle. In fact, I’m back in the original building where I started with Northfield Freezing Systems. And I’m back with a great product that I really believe in.”

NTFE-America is a Rebound Manufacturing company. Founded in 1986, NTFE is the largest and fastest growing industrial freezer manufacturer in the world. Possessing 32 patents and boasting more than 500 employees – including 156 engineers and technicians – NTFE exports freezing products to more than 40 countries around the world. Through NTFE-America, this world-class design and unsurpassed value is now available in America. For more information about NTFE-America or its spiral freezing systems, please call +1.507.786.9494 or e-mail info@ntfe-america.com.

Brett Reese, managing principal for Rebound Enterprises and longtime supporter of Laura Baker Services, said, “We are so pleased to have played a leadership role in the success of this year’s tournament. Laura Baker Services is a wonderful organization that has a deep history in Northfield. It’s truly our pleasure to be associated with such a highly regarded community asset.”

With a focus on the historic boutique inn niche, Rebound Enterprises and Rebound Hospitality – which includes The Archer House River Inn in Northfield and Hotel Winneshiek in Decorah, Iowa – are committed to providing philanthropic leadership in the communities in which the company is involved. Rebound Hospitality has been a partner with Laura Baker Services for a number of years.

Jane Fenton, director of community relations at Laura Baker Services, said, “This year our roster topped 110 golfers and we raised a great deal of money to support our general operating budget. These dollars are critical to helping us fulfill our mission. It’s clear that Rebound Enterprises and Managing Principal Brett Reese have a heart for Northfield organizations like Laura Baker Services, and we’re extraordinarily grateful the support.”

Said Rebound Hospitality spokesperson Todd Byhre, “Laura Baker Services and The Archer House River Inn are both Northfield institutions with long and storied histories in the area. It’s an honor to be a part of helping Laura Baker Services raise funds to help them continue their amazing work and remain a strong, positive presence in Northfield.”

Rebound Hospitality is a division of Rebound Enterprises. Rebound Hospitality invests in historic boutique inns that fit a number of key criteria and complement the overall portfolio of investments. Rebound Enterprises provides investment and strategic advisory services to a range of clients with focuses in the hospitality, real estate, manufacturing and financial services industries. The company and its management team seek to acquire and assist companies with their growth or turnaround strategies where there is a synergy of philosophy and operations.