Open for Business: Wiemken Tax Service

Address: 318 W. First St., Dixon.

Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, and after hours by appointment.

Phone number: 815-288-2888.

Email address: bwiemken@gmail.com

What are your main services? Right now, we’re doing income tax preparation, but we will also be doing payrolls, payroll tax returns and bookkeeping.

What’s new? The business has been remodeled with a more homey look. It’s now being run by Howard and Barb Wiemken, the son and daughter-in-law of the previous owner, Fern, who was a tax preparer for more than 40 years. But Inga Washelesky is still at the front desk.

What makes your business special? Personal touch and contact. A lot of the clients like to come in and see who’s doing the return. They like to talk to you even if they’re just dropping off their tax returns. A lot of them will make appointments just to sit and chitchat.

How many do you employ? Four people. We are not hiring.

Who are you? I’m Barb Wiemken. I co-own Wiemken Tax Service with my husband, who worked for his mom for a couple years a while back. I spent more than 16 years with Wipfli LLP, which used to be Lindgren, Callihan, Van Osdol in Rockford and Dixon.

Tell us a little about yourselves. I am 47, Howard is 52. We live in Dixon. I’ve been here for 40 years. I’m originally from Chicago, but I graduated from Dixon High School in 1982. Howard graduated from Rock Falls High School in 1977. I enjoy shopping, and I sell Longaberger baskets. They’re all made by hand in America.

Tell us about your family. I have a stepdaughter, Gwen Wiemken, 23. She’s a registered nurse at KSB Hospital. I also have a son, Chad Bahr, 19, who is a sophomore at Northern Illinois University. He’s majoring in accounting.

Any additional comments? We hope Fern’s Tax clients will come back, and we hope to give them the same kind of service that Fern did. We want to carry on the family tradition. We’re hoping that someday Chad will take over.