NOTE: Brick-by-Brick II: Final Countdown will be held 9-11 a.m. Saturday, July 26, 2025, at the J.E. Halvorson House, 606 Fifth Ave. SE. While supplies last, donors of $100 or more will receive a commemorative brick with a Czech connection – from the Sykora Bakery auction in Czech Village – to pay tribute to the building’s first owner, the son of Bohemian immigrants. The event coincides with a monthly salvage sale of vintage doors, windows and more, with proceeds benefiting the capital campaign, as well.

By Cindy Hadish/Save CR Heritage

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Cookie Vanous remembers the Luden’s cough drops her father would buy at the Zastera Pharmacy when she was just 4 years old.

Her brother, Bob Vanous, recalls the bar stools, soda fountain and hand-scooped ice cream at the pharmacy while the two lived with their family in the northwest Cedar Rapids “Time Check” neighborhood in the 1950s.

“It was a popular place,” Bob said of the storefront at 1135-1137 Ellis Boulevard NW, which also housed a grocery store during its early years, starting in 1921.

Both siblings, who are members of local Czech organizations, remember their father buying draft beer on tap when they would stop to visit the pharmacy, owned by Charles Zastera, the son of Bohemian immigrants.

Zastera independently operated the pharmacy from 1928 until his retirement in 1964 and the building went through a number of iterations in subsequent years, including as a barbershop and laundromat.

Used for storage since the unprecedented 2008 flood in Cedar Rapids, Save CR Heritage is in the final days of fundraising to purchase the historic building to return it to its roots as a community hub.

More: Plans will return Westside storefront to its roots

The nonprofit plans to use the building as a storefront to sell its architectural salvage materials, with community space for art displays, small meetings, pop-up shops and more.

Buoyed by a $100,000 grant from the Hall-Perrine Foundation and matching gift of $25,000 by a founding member of Save CR Heritage, Emily Meyer, of New Leaf Redevelopment Consulting, the group is down to the final $20,000 needed for the initial purchase price of $175,000, by Aug. 1, 2025.

Donations of any amount are appreciated and can be made online at: savecrheritage.org/donate

Checks can be mailed to:
Save Cedar Rapids Heritage
P.O. Box 1134
Cedar Rapids, IA 52406-1134
For donations of $100 and more, please indicate the name to be included on the donor wall.

Save CR Heritage volunteers have conducted community outreach with hundreds of residents, including members of Czech organizations who are interested in seeing the Czech origins of the building preserved for future generations.

The group plans to highlight the Zastera family, which included three brothers, all who owned Cedar Rapids pharmacies. One in Czech Village is also still standing, now used as the Czech Cottage gift shop.

At 102 years old, Mike Bisek, a World War II veteran, remembers getting haircuts when the pharmacy portion was later used as a barbershop.

Bisek, who has Czech heritage, was featured in a video about the project by filmmaker Will Roberts of brandnewextragood.com

CSA (Czechoslovak Society of America) Lodge Prokop Velky No. 137, a fraternal insurance association, voted to support the Zastera Pharmacy capital campaign, as it aligns with the group’s mission to promote fraternalism, volunteerism and the preservation of Czech heritage through its programs, said Phil Nejdl, treasurer of the group.

The lodge performs service projects, such as assisting at Czech National Cemetery in Cedar Rapids, providing gifts for seniors without families during the holidays and sponsoring summer Czech Plus band concerts in Czech Village, Nejdl said.

Similarly, the Federation of Czech Groups in Cedar Rapids made a generous donation to the capital campaign as a sign of its support to promote the building’s Czech roots, President Mike Papich said.

The group was founded in the 1930s with members of various Czech-American organizations participating to perpetuate the social and cultural life of Czechs in the community, and sharing information about their activities, Papich said.

Businessman Steve Ourecky, the editor and publisher of Czech Slavnosti, a Czech-American newspaper, and owner of the historic Fox Hole Tavern in Wilber, Nebraska, also contributed to the capital campaign, citing his interest in Czech history.

Wilber becomes the center of Czech activities during its annual Czech Festival, held this year from Aug. 1-3.

Other organizations, including the Cedar Rapids Sunrise Rotary are donating to the Zastera Pharmacy project. The service-based club meets Thursday mornings at NewBo City Market in Cedar Rapids.

Save CR Heritage also reached out to the Northwest Neighbors Neighborhood Association for ideas about the community portion of the building, which provided input for future uses. The neighborhood group is generously donating to the project.

A list of donors, including individuals, will be recognized on the Save CR Heritage website and social media after the campaign ends Aug. 1, and on the donor wall in the storefront.

Save CR Heritage has been raising awareness of at-risk historic properties in Cedar Rapids since 2012. Help continue this important educational and advocacy work by donating here. We can’t do it without you!