By Anelia K. Dimitrova
Downtown Cedar Falls has been a magnet for Halloween happenings for many, many years.
Celebrating the ancient Celtic fest has become a tradition for the businesses and for the community.
So we decided to go downtown earlier in the day on Friday, ahead of the late-afternoon Halloween trick-or-treating event for the kids, and document how the businesses put their best decorative talent forward to make sure they match the spirit of the event.
Our goal was to take some environmental portraits of whoever happened to be in the business, leaving it to serendipity how this assignment would evolve.
As it often happens, some of those unscripted encounters yielded the best stories, as they emerged in candid interactions we believe capture the authenticity of the community. Put otherwise, these casual moments shine a light on what makes Cedar Falls a special place—its people.
In a small but perceptible way, this assignment also showed the resilience of the downtown merchants and their enterprising spirit.
So while intended as a Halloween portraiture, it turned out to be a vignette about the people and the places that make Cedar Falls one of a kind.
PeekaBoo Baby
At PeekaBoo Baby, 108 Main St., owner Whitney Mrozinski, had her purple wig and costume ready by her side and so did helper, Grace Feldman, even though it was barely midday.
“Pink is my favorite color,” Grace said, explaining her costume.
Whitney, who has kept the store going in this location since 1997, said her costume was intended to “bring joy to all the children with my purple hair.”
Funky Zebras Boutique of Cedar Falls
Just up the street at the Funky Zebras Boutique, 106 Main St., Peggy Johnson, a saleswoman with a kind heart and a soothing smile, welcomed us. Peggy has been at the store since it opened three and a half years ago, and she was excited about the upcoming Halloween main street party.
“Halloween is for the kids and I love to see the kids smile and have fun,” she said. “And to me, that’s what it’s all about, the younger generation.”
Omega Red Piercing & Tattoo
Further up the street, Wade Petersen, one of the owners of Omega Red Piercing & Tattoos, 110 Main St., hadn’t yet opened the store, but the door was unlocked, and once we entered, he was gracious to let us see his decorations. A big spiderweb behind the counter and other Halloween pieces set the mood for the scene.
“Halloween is just always a good time, it’s always nice to see the kids trick-or-treating,” he said.
The business has been in town for over 20 years, he told me, and on Main Street for almost seven years. Asked what adults get out of the celebration, he quipped:
“It’s an excuse for grownups to act as children for the night, so can’t argue with that,” he said.
Chocolaterie Stam
At the Chocolaterie Stam, 122 Main St., we ran into one of our students, Ainsley Miller, who said she enjoyed working at the store, where she has been since her freshman year.
“My boss is really nice, she is super kind,” Ainsley said. “It’s a small business feeling working for her.”
We know that our students are hard working in class, but when we run into them in their workplaces, we cherish these moments and praise them for their ability to juggle so many things. For us, it is a reminder about the true effort students put in while going to college – many of them applying themselves not just in the classroom, but also working one or two part-time jobs to pay the bills.
The Horny Toad American Bar and Grill
At The Horny Toad American Bar and Grill, 204 Main St., we met Jacob Stevenson, one of the servers. The father of two brimmed with personality, which was generous and captivating.
“I’m just a jailbird out for the night,” he beamed when asked about the meaning of his costume. “Halloween is spooky season so all the ghouls come out and everyone has a great time. You might as well hang out and scare some people.””
But then he gave us this more practical clue about his outfit.
“It’s technically just loose and it’s easy to move around while I am working,” he said.
World’s Window
At World’s Window, 214 Main St., we met Betsy Roling, who also owns the twin store next door called The Cob Mercantile. With her calming presence and willingness to chat, Betsy is the epitome of a business owner who stepped up to the plate when opportunity presented itself. When World’s Window, a treasured and longstanding store downtown, which offers “ethically sourced and certified Fair Trade products,” needed help, she was there to save it.
Betsy volunteered there but in 2022, when she started The Cob Mercantile, while she was managing at The World’s Widow, she realized that the volunteer-led store, which was formed to help communities in other regions of the world, might not survive as its founders were aging.
“We were down six volunteers and they were in their 80s and 90s and I just didn’t think it would survive,” she said.
So she bought it.
“I’m running both and it’s working out good,” she said. “I started out right out of the gate with twins.”
She said her costume was that of an eccentric hippie painter, an image accentuated by two small paint brushes keeping her hair in place, but it is her black walking shoes that revealed a small hiccup.
“I did have crazy shoes but had to take them off, my feet hurt, so they are in the back,” she said.
Betsy loves Halloween because she has items in the store about the Day of the Dead and work of Frida Kahlo, the Mexican painter whose self-portraits explore the soul.
“It’s fun to educate people that way,” she said.
Reader’s Cup
We moved on to the Reader’s Cup, 218 Main St., where one of the helpers, Cade Hadley, had put his talent to painting his face in a memorable way with some leftover body paint as a clown.
Cade said he had recently returned to Cedar Falls, after taking some time to live in Ames, but is now here to stay.
Halloween is a special time for Cade, so he got up early in the morning to work on his makeup.
“I have a lot of memories going trick-or-treating with my siblings,” he said. “I love the fall, it’s my favorite time of the year.”
The Pretty Good Co.
At The Pretty Good Co.,” a stationary and custom print shop, owner Annie Alvarado was wearing a Halloween-themed necklace. She kindly told us the story of the business she founded with her husband, Brandon. The two came to this corner location at 226 Main St. in 2022 and have since grown their business in this space where plants, and even a small tree, share the sunlight.
“I love scary movies,” she said.
Patton Diner
At the Patton Diner, 317 Main St., where we enjoy going for an occasional breakfast with friends, the tables were busy, but Lexi Hicks, one of the servers, had her environmental portrait taken.
“What’s special about Halloween is everyone having fun together,” she said.
George’s Local
Across the street at George’s Local, 108 E. Fourth St., we reconnected with Cici Daniels, the manager, and the barman, Craig Jirak. They gladly posed behind the bar at Rick’s request. Craig was dressed as a nerd and Cici as Wednesday Addams, the fictional character from the Addams Family cartoon and TV series. “She’s my favorite character,” Cici said.
Maid-Rite
Our last stop for this assignment was next door at Maid-Rite, 116 E. Fourth Street. There, we met Shannon Roelfesema, who, we later found out, was essential in helping Chad Koeppel keep the iconic Cedar Falls eatery in business after the passing of Chad’s mother and original owner, Penne Koeppel, in 2019.
Shannon’s co-corkers Delia Halverson and Emily Park told us they would be ready for a photo once they were done with an order for a customer who has been coming to the diner for 25 years and a family of four, sitting at the end of the counter.
Their costumes added to the vibrant interior, warmed by the sun coming through the south-facing windows, in the tight space between the counter and the door. Delia was dressed as a ’90s raver, Emily as an ’80s rocker chick and Shannon as a flower child of the ’60s, and Delia as a ’90s raver.
“Us girls like to dress up for a theme and this year, we decided to do “decades,” Shannon said.