“I was extremely anti-social, so I was scared to death to even deliver a pizza out to the table,” Saalfeld recalled. “I thought people would be looking at me or would stop to talk to me, and I did not like talking to people.”
Of course, that’s funny to Saalfeld now and many people who know her today. She embodies the spirit of Rosie the Riveter, having become a highly successful entrepreneur of two local businesses, while helping at another, being a community advocate, a wife, and mother of two.
“I’ve seen her develop into a face of Columbus. I’m very proud,” said Boulevard Lanes/Sahara Lounge owner Jeff Thiele, who hired Saalfeld and has watched her evolve from a quiet teen into a community leader. “She’s a success, No. 1, because she’s a good person. She cares about everyone. She’s just a good one.”
Growing up in Columbus
Saalfeld grew up on a rural acreage just north of Columbus with her parents and three younger sisters. She was exposed to hard work early on in life as her father was an entrepreneur. She described her father as a “jack-of-all-trades,” noting he was an electrician and welder, among other things. He now lives in Minnesota and continues to run his highly successful business, Frauendorfer Contracting, which offers filtration, building and repair services to livestock farmers.
“I saw how hard he worked and what he did to provide for the family” Saalfeld said.
“I did enjoy working, so I just made sure I was always doing something I loved,” she said.
After graduating from Scotus Central Catholic High School in 2004, Saalfeld elected to go to Central Community College to pursue her interest in becoming an orthodontist. She took numerous necessary science classes to earn her degree, but quickly realized she no longer wanted to pursue that profession. As a result, she got an associate degree in arts because it was admittedly the easiest way to earning the degree based on the classes she had taken.
Saalfeld then moved to Omaha for a few years and took some courses at Metropolitan Community College, but ironically, a conversation with her younger sister brought her back to Columbus.
Pursuing a passion
One afternoon in 2011, Saalfeld and her sister, Amy Soulliere, got to talking about Plato’s Closet, a national retailer that buys and sells gently-used clothing for teens and adults. They saw an opportunity to take that concept and put their own spin on it by opening up their own local resale store.
Fabulous Forever, 2508 13th St., opened its doors in February 2012, and has taken off. Its success has resulted in the store expanding from just offering women’s clothing to now kids’ and men’s items.
“We have lots of people coming from other towns,” she said, citing places like Norfolk, David City, Shelby, Humphrey and Fremont. “Ironically, it’s the places a lot of Columbus people go and people from those towns are coming to us. I don’t think people in Columbus realize just how much this town has to offer.”
In 2018, Saalfeld opened up her own bar, Cork & Barrel, in the lower level of the Park Plaza building at 1354 27th Ave. in downtown Columbus. The spot offers a variety of wines, domestic and craft beers, as well as its signature cocktails and some food items.
The response to the venue has been tremendous, she said. Saalfeld had to deal with a flood after a water service line broke back in November, but persevered through it.
“In the end, when you create something you can be proud of and people enjoy, that’s a whole different level,” she said. “It’s a good feeling.”
Drive to succeed
Although Saalfeld has two successful businesses of her own and continues to help out with the marketing and communications at Boulevard Lanes/Sahara Lounge, work is hardly what defines her. She relishes spending time with her husband, Vince (owner of Saalfeld Trucking) and their two children: 11-year-old son Jack, and daughter Paisley, 4.
Article Credit: journalstar