Insula Restaurant

This building was constructed in 1917 (about) by John Kovall Senior. It covers two lots. John Senior built it to expand the grocery and clothing business he had purchased in 1915 from the Saritori family located in the building next door to the west. His sons, John Junior and Steven, joined him as partners in the new business, “Kovall and Sons”.

The building is amazing, constructed with 4x12 inch floor joists set 12 inches apart. The walls are brick to avoid fire, which was an early risk in Ely.  A building like this could support a family business for generations. But that is not what happened.  

John Senior came to the United States from Austria/Hungary in 1889 and began his career working in the mines. He sent his son Steven to St John’s University to take business courses and by 1917 Steven had returned to join his father and brother, John, in running the Kovall and Sons Grocery and Meat Market at this site. 

Although the building would last, as John Senior had hoped, fate did not favor the family business. John Senior died in 1922, followed by Steven in 1925.

The deaths of John Senior and Steven were catastrophic for the family. Without family workers, John Junior initially took on a partner, John Rikhus, but eventually sold his part of the business in 1928 to Matt Vertin and went to work at the Ely Water Plant.

And when Steven died in 1925, he left a wife and seven children. There were few options at that time for families in these circumstances. John (Steven’s brother) already had seven children of his own and there were no safety net programs.  And so, Steven’s seven children were dispersed to family and friends in the Ely and Chisholm area.

The Steven Kovall story does end happily. In 2016, the youngest of Steven’s daughters, Alice Ann, passed away in Grass Valley California at the age of 99. Her obituary tells how the family survived the loss of their father. Several years after Steven had died and the children were dispersed, Mrs. Kovall (Margaret Staresinisch), married a widower, Mr. Chelesnik. They moved to a farm outside of Ely and she gathered all her children back to her, as well as Mr. Chelesnik’s children.

The Rikhus-Vertin History: In 1928 the building and business were owned and managed by Matt (Grandpa) Vertin and John Rikhus.  

Matt Vertin was a Slovenian immigrant who started his career as a clerk at Lozar’s Table Supply (two blocks west on Sheridan).  John Rikhus, a first generation American of Norwegian descent, had begun his career as a farm laborer in Becker County, where his family lived. In 1928 the two men had partnered in the meat and grocery store business on this site. In 1938 they licensed their grocery business under the Piggly Wiggly name, which remained for many years. Interestingly, Piggly Wiggly was the first grocery store chain to allow self-service shopping using the concepts of grocery carts and checkout lanes. Until that time, grocery stores operated somewhat like jewelry stores do today. If the customer came in, they would request items and the grocer would gather them and package them. 

The grocery partnership ended by 1940.  John Rikhus took sole proprietorship of this business.  It included Rik’s Inn Restaurant and the Piggly Wiggly Grocery Store and Bakery. Matt Vertin ran Vertin’s Cafe in the Moose building, located further west on Sheridan Street. In 1948, Matt Vertin moved his restaurant to the Forest Hotel building where it remained for almost 20 years. 

Mr. Rikhus died in 1965 and Rik’s Inn and the Piggly Wiggly closed soon after.   

In 1967 the Forest Hotel, which housed Mr. Vertin’s restaurant, was tragically destroyed by fire. Mr. Vertin and his son Matt Jr (Sonny) moved their business, Vertin’s Café, to this location – 145 East Sheridan.  

Grandpa Vertin was a fixture here well into the 1980s and was loved and respected by all who met him. It was said that Grandpa Vertin was always ready to help. He would make malts, bus tables, ring up sales checks – whatever needed to be done, he would do. He was a partner to his employees and a gracious host to his guests. 

In 1984 Sonny Vertin sold the business. Subsequent manager/owners of the restaurant included Jo Jo Gerzin, Greg Hutar, Mike Rice and Jeff Potter. Vertins closed to the public in 2009, but after a spectacular renovation, re-opened in 2015 under the name “Insula”. The restaurant is now under the management of Dan and Sarah Vollum.  

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1900 – Grocery Store (east side) and Butcher Shop (west side)

1906 – John Bartol Butcher Shop

1914 – both buildings are vacant to expand

1917 (about) – John Kovall and Sons build this building opening Kovall and Sons Grocery and Meat Market

1928 – Grocery, Meats and Bakery – Rikhus and Vertin

1940 – Piggly Wiggly Grocery and Bakery – John Rikhus proprietor

1954 – (about) Piggly Wiggly, Bakery, Cafe and Greyhound Bus Depot – John Rikhus

1968 – Vertin’s Café – Grandpa and Sonny Vertin

1984 – Vertin’s Café – Jo Jo Gerzin

1987 – Vertin’s Café – Greg Hutar

1995 – Vertin’s Café – Mike Rice

2001 – Vertin’s Café through 2009 – Jeff Potter

2015 – Insula Restaurant – Dan and Sarah Vollom

Ancestry.com. Accessed April 4th 2022.

Ely, Since 1888 (The Blue Book). Ely, Minnesota. The Ely Echo, 1988.

The Ely Miner, Ely Mn

The Ely Echo, Ely, Mn (April 27th 2013).

Ely Phone Directories from 1949 to 2020 (available at the Ely-Winton HIstorical Society).

Information from David Kess.