Client Corner

This client was featured in July 2002. The information in this profile was accurate at the time of writing. Please contact us if you believe something should be changed.

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Elaine Keister
The Keister Bun Company
Waterloo, Iowa

Sometimes it is all in the name. Elaine Keister didn't set out to open a bakery/cafe in Waterloo, she actually came to the Regional Business Center to obtain help in expanding her home based graphic design business.

Elaine enrolled in the nationally acclaimed Fast Trac comprehensive entrepreneurship class at the RBC in September of 1999 to develop new service strategies. Her classroom goal was to package her design services differently to increase the average sale and improve repeat graphic design business.

But it was in that class that Elaine began to think. And think. Soon, she began working on a second business plan in tandem with the first- one that incorporated her other passion- baking.

Elaine had a way with cinnamon buns. She had astounded friends and family with her unique frostings and fillings, but she had not thought about those buns as a business until she realized she had the perfect name within her own- "Keister Buns". Elaine toyed with that name for weeks. Would people 'get it'? Was it really cute- or simply tacky? She tried the name out on a logo. Looked good. She crafted a menu that began the day with her buns and ended the afternoon with specialty coffees and sandwiches. It fit.

Business plan in hand, Elaine applied to the Targeted Small Business program at the Iowa Department of Economic Development and the Black Hawk Economic Development Corp. to fill a gap between her equity and a commercial loan at Community National Bank. In June of 2000 Keister Buns opened in Waterloo.

Elaine has carved out a corner in the famous Black's Building in downtown Waterloo, remodeling a section of the main floor to resemble a cross between a Paris cafe and a New York bistro. Kiester Buns caters to downtown professionals- and today serves an expanded array of luncheon items to augment her breakfast bun business.