CL Enterprises doing ‘big things in small towns’

Design plans for rehabbing a historic hotel, building two brewpubs and redeveloping two vacant department store buildings adorn cubicle walls inside CL Enterprises in LaSalle.

Co-owners Peter Limberger and Inga Carus have made it their mission to do “big things in small towns” in part because of a belief that downtowns are untapped economic engines. They see the resurgence of once-bustling downtowns in places such as LaSalle, where people once would make the estimated 100-mile trip from Chicago, stay in the Kaskaskia Hotel and take in the local atmosphere.

“And there’s no reason why it cannot be back to that situation,” Limberger said. “Under a little bit different circumstances because the world has changed, but actually even better because the world has changed and people are looking for different things.”

Carus and Limberger plan to invest about $150 million in LaSalle and Ottawa with what they consider “transformational” projects not only for the cities, but also for Starved Rock Country and beyond.

As communities such as Ottawa, LaSalle, Streator and Princeton continue to focus on revitalizing their downtown districts, the developers believe the efforts are a sign of progress for economic development in the region.

In Starved Rock Country, it starts with tourism. Starved Rock State Park and Mattheissen State Park attract millions of visitors every year, building a broader awareness of the area that could lead to yet more growth.

“Where there is a good lifestyle, this will attract business,” Limberger said.

CL Enterprises beginnings

Carus and Limberger’s business – and their relationship – began after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989.

Previously government-owned businesses in the former East Germany were being sold off or closed, and the German-born Limberger was looking to buy. He wound up connecting with Carus Chemical in LaSalle as he gathered information.

Limberger met with Inga’s father, Blouke, before Inga teamed up with Limberger in 1996 to make two bids to the German government. Both were rejected, and the two parted ways.

Limberger assisted Carus Chemical over the years with international expansion, but he and Inga would not reconnect until 2005, when Inga was on a sales trip to Berlin.

“We had no clue where to stay, and I thought ‘[Peter] will know where to stay. And if we’re lucky, he’ll invite us to dinner.’ And all of that happened,” Inga said with a smile.

The two married in 2007, and Limberger initially stayed in Germany to watch over his manufacturing businesses in automation and robotics systems. The family, including Inga’s adopted children, 19-year-old Nicola and 17-year-old Mariana, eventually moved back to the area, and Limberger joined them after selling his businesses.

What small towns offer

The two discussed starting a business together in America. That idea ultimately became CL Enterprises.

“I thought it was a wonderful idea,” Inga said. “It was exciting to me because I had never started a business before.”

As Limberger and Carus scouted communities to invest in, they kept coming back to the Midwest and Starved Rock Country.

“The Midwest is, from my view coming from another country, a good place to operate a business because of the stability of people, the attitude and the prototypical hardworking Midwesterner,” Limberger said. “Solid people with their feet on the ground.”

Limberger’s experience with running businesses in Germany was seen as an asset by others, and Limberger further learned more about what the area had to offer.

“In business, sometimes you start something and then you get scared because you know it’s going to be an uphill battle,” Limberger said. “I can safely say – even in very ambitious projects like the Kaskaskia project – the more we do, the more confident we get.”

Limberger credited Blouke with gaining a sense of that potential early on, with the purchase of the Kaskaskia Hotel and Conference Center, as well as an interest in restoring the historic building and returning it to its former glory.

The former six-story hotel closed in 2001, but CL Enterprises plans to reopen 100 elegant rooms, a restaurant and historic Side Bar, as well as introduce a rooftop event space for up to 100 guests and a state-of-the-art conference center.

To the east in Ottawa, they’re invested in restoring the city’s downtown Carson and Woolworth buildings to feature a 12,500-square-foot rooftop space and retail shopping on the ground floor, and potentially open access on the north side, where visitors can spill out onto West Jackson Street and, by extension, into Ottawa’s Washington Square.

Limberger said he remains in “good contact” with the city regarding the development and hopes to have an agreement with city officials soon, similar to the one he has received from the city of LaSalle regarding the Kaskaskia project.

The couple also has increased their investment in Ottawa by planning to build a boutique hotel along Ottawa’s riverfront as the city prepares to develop the area to include a harbor and amphitheater.

Originally, they discussed ideas for a bakery or chocolate manufacturing company, but they instead invested in Tangled Roots Brewing Co., which opened in Ottawa in 2016, along with the brewpub The Lone Buffalo at 812 LaSalle St. This venture will expand to include Lockport and LaSalle brewpubs.

Limberger and Carus also invested in Starved Rock Wood Products in Mendota, formerly Illinois Valley Mill Works, which grew from 15 employees to 120 and has become the most modern and advanced woodwork business in Illinois.

“We firmly believe the best social program one can create politically,” Limberger said, “but also from a business point of view, is to create more jobs.”