BVU Entrepreneur Intent on Serving Her Hometown
Tresa Hussong joins husband, Jim, in creating and renovating restaurants in Lakefield, Minn.
Tresa (Sherack) Hussong, a 2000 Buena Vista University graduate, retired two years ago, then picked up a job—or a passion—that requires 13-hour days. Not that she’s complaining. She and her husband, Jim Hussong, love working to help boost Lakefield, Minn., their hometown, and the region surrounding it.
“The day I graduated from BVU, I said that I would never work another late-night or weekend,” Tresa says. “I was so excited to have a nine-to-five career position. Now that I’ve retired? Well, I’m working nights, weekends, and 13-hour days.
“And I love it!”
Jim and Tresa were high school sweethearts in the southwest Minnesota community of Lakefield, population 1,600. One year out of high school, Jim joined his father, Dudley Hussong, at Kozy Heat Fireplaces, the manufacturing firm Dudley cofounded in 1976. Jim and his father joined others in growing Kozy Heat into a leading manufacturer, distributor, and retailer of gas, electric, and wood-burning stoves across the US and Canada. Some 650 dealers help serve a corporation fueled by the work of 200 employees at the plant on Lakefield’s southern edge.
Tresa attended Worthington Community College in Worthington, Minn., to earn her associate degree. After taking time away from school to raise their children, she returned to Buena Vista University and graduated with a degree in management and entrepreneurship. Tresa spent the following 23 years serving Iowa Lakes Electrical Cooperative, retiring two years ago from her position of Vice President of Customer and Corporate Relations.
“We are working to keep our city strong and to give something back to our hometown.” -Tresa Hussong, 2000 BVU graduate.
“We bought the Dudley’s Garage site in Lakefield in 2020, as it was for sale and we wanted to maintain a presence downtown for the people in our hometown,” Tresa says. “We were afraid that if it went away, we’d never get it back.”
Dudley’s Garage Restaurant & Bowling, which is named for Jim’s father, the former Mayor of Lakefield, features a full menu of burgers, steaks, salads, pasta, and more in a fully renovated site on the southern edge of the downtown district. A bowling alley, named Betty’s Bowling in honor of Jim’s late mother, Betty, hosts local men’s and women’s leagues on most nights has also been wholly refurbished.
“Dudley’s was known as Hage Oil for years,” Jim says. “It was a gas station and a bowling alley, and the kitchen was their house.”
Dewayne Hage, who represented the third generation of his family in the Hage Oil trade, turned the site into a café.
“We didn’t intend to be in the restaurant business, but we enjoy it,” Tresa says. “We employ 160 people as we have two shifts for much of the week, expanding to three shifts on Saturday.”
Prep work for food served at the locally-famous Hi-Lo Supper Club & Catering on Highway 86 just south of Lakefield occurs at Dudley’s. The Hussongs purchased the Hi-Lo in September 2021 and opened on New Year’s Eve in 2022.
“The Hi-Lo is where Jim and I went on our first date,” Tresa says. “The Hi-Lo catered our wedding. The restaurant has a special place for so many people here.”
The Hi-Lo Supper Club has a different vibe than Dudley’s. The couple continues to renovate the Hi-Lo site, adding a speakeasy in the basement. A patio serves as a place for outdoor music entertainment.
In addition to all their work with Kozy Heat and two restaurants, Jim manages Hussong Classic Cars in Milford, and serves as Mayor of Arnolds Park. He has served on the Arnolds Park City Council for 10 years.
The couple also hosts BVU students who attend the Okoboji Entrepreneurial Institute in the Iowa Great Lakes. Nick Amundson, a 2018 BVU graduate, stayed with the Hussongs during his week of participation in the Okoboji Entrepreneurial Institute, which also involves students from the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, the University of Northern Iowa, and Iowa Lakes Community College. Amundson has since started his own business, Lakes Appliance Repairs, in Spirit Lake.
“We’ve invested in some of the companies started by OEI students,” Jim says. “They teach us as much as we can share with them during their stay.”
The Hussongs see their OEI involvement much in the way they see their restaurant investments and gifts of time and energy to civic causes. They are working to ensure the future of their community and region.
“We are working to keep our city strong and to give something back to our hometown,” Tresa concludes. “It is rewarding to see the number of people we can employ and serve. And since we’ve started doing what we can with Dudley’s Garage and the Hi-Lo, we’ve seen others who feel more comfortable about investing in their businesses.”