080110-Past Times - Times Republican

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timesrepublican.com Times-Republican | Past Times | August 2010 | 4 Stone’s Restaurant By MIKE DONAHEY TIMES-REPUBLICAN “Under the Viaduct ... Down by the Vinegar Works.” Marshalltownians and many Central Iowans know the slogan, created about 94 years ago, as directions to Stone’s Restaurant at 508 S. Third Ave. According to the Continuing History of Marshall County, Iowa 1997, the phrase was created Revived by Anna and George Stone, the second generation owners and managers of the eatery which is a Marshalltown landmark. Necessity is the mother of invention and the wording was created to offset the 1916 opening of the the Third Avenue viaduct. Automobile traffic was now above the restaurant and the Stones wanted to promote the business to drivers and to local residents. Additionally, the number of passenger trains were decreasing. The trains, with hungry crews and passengers, along with others in a bustling railroad district with freight houses, depots, machine shops and roundhouses, were a critical part of the restaurant’s customer base. “The Stones were known among train crews for their thick roast beef and ham sandwiches and quarters of pie, each of which cost 10 cents. Pint jars of coffee with cream sold for five cents. Sometimes orders were telegraphed ahead so food world be ready when the trainmen arrived,” according to the Continuing History book. The viaduct opening would be only one of many challenges to face the business in the years to come. Now made of concrete instead of iron, four lanes instead of two and carrying much, much, more traffic, the viaduct is still above Stone’s Restaurant. Northbound drivers can easily see the Stone’s sign, located on the eatery’s roof, day or night. However, the Vinegar Works, originally located one block east of the restaurant and the passenger trains is long gone. The railroad depot, a remaining symbol of passenger train history, burned to the ground a number of years ago. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Shown is a one cent postcard depicting Stone’s dining room and the restaurant viewed near the Third Avenue viaduct from the collection of Marshalltown’s Jay Carollo. “Under the Viaduct...Down by the Vinegar Works “ in the card’s upper right was a tag line created by the Stone family to familiarize customers with its location after the viaduct was installed. While the viaduct’s location obstructed the restaurant’s exposure, it also brought significant automobile traffic from the Lincoln Highway, later named Highway 30. The Iowa Central, Great Western and Chicago and North Western Rail Road Companies, once cornerstones of the railroad district, eventually merged with other railroads and are gone. Yet there is still a railroad presence. Mile long freight and coal trains still rumble past Stone’s Restaurant, where customers sitting in the dining room can leisurely watch the east and westbound Union Pacific Rail
Road trains go by. Opened in 1887 by Canadian Ebson Weed Stone, the restaurant, like any business 123 years of age, has weathered shifting customer bases, a Great Depression, numerous economic downturns, two World Wars, viaduct construction and other challenges. According to local historian Dorothy Apgar, it has not been open continuously for 123 years. Most recently, it had been closed for two years before Steve Badger, a local businessman, purchased it, remodeled and reopened it August 31, 2009. Badger, with no restaurant management experience, said keeping the restaurant’s heritage alive was an important part in his decision to re-open the business. He also said that heritage alone could not carry the restaurant and it would have to make a profit. According to Badger, much of the restaurant’s success since are byproducts of loyalty from employees and customers. Thanks to both, he is fast approaching his first anniversary as owner. Another important anniversary is taking place. “This year is the 100th anniversary of the business being located at 508 S. Third Ave.,” said Badger. “It is the oldest wood frame commercial building in Marshalltown.” While standing in the building’s entrance, he pointed to the area outside the front door, now part of the restaurant’s parking lot and shaded by the viaduct. “It was once known as Station Street,” he said. “Carriages, which had stopped at the train depot to pick up passengers, would drive by here on the way to the Pilgrim Hotel, located up at Third Avenue and Main Streets.” That motivated the family to set up boarding rooms upstairs in this building.” The viaduct not only brought local customers and Central Iowans close to the door, it connected Stone’s Restaurant to the historic Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental highway across the United States. “Stone’s received nationwide attention when Duncan Hines, a famous restaurant connoisseur, included Stone’s in his book ‘Adventures in Good Eating.’ Anna put up a large neon sign on the restaurant’s roof to make sure motorists found the historic place and she maintained her customer base in spite of rationing in World War II and the rerouting of Highway 30 (formerly the Lincoln Highway) south of the city,” according to the Continuing History book. Anna was not only responsible for the sign, also a local landmark, but for the restaurant’s most famous dessert, the “mile high lemon chiffon pie.” She passed her knowledge on to Queenie Wier, a Stone’s employee who became a notable pastry cook. Weir worked for the Stones more than 20 years, then set up a home based business specializing in pastries. She retired in 1984 and moved to Florida to live with a sister. Another long-time employee with 38 years of service was Marshalltown’s Elaine Furneau. She worked under Anna, became head waitress and then managed the business for the family corporation. She has been employed as a hostess by the Tremont On Main, a Marshalltown restaurant, since departing Stone’s Restaurant. “I think Steve is doing just fine,” she said. “After all, it’s had a great reputation since 1887.” Local historians Apgar and Barb Scafferi also commended Badger for his efforts. “Stone’s was a big part of my life while growing up,” Scafferi said. “I remember eating cinnamon rolls there with my friend, Helen. There is a great deal of history connected with the restaurant. The author of “Showboat,” signed the register there as did Duncan Hines. I haven’t had the chance to go back, but I’ve heard good comments about the way Steve remodeled it and the tenderloin sandwiches they serve.” Apgar had reciprocal comments. “I admire Steve for reopening understanding it is a risk and the business must carry itself,” she said. “I have gone back and do feel at home.” Badger said employees have made a major contribution to the restaurant’s success since its re-opening. “They are extremely loyal and dedicated to Stone’s and seeing that is successful,” he said. “That to me is a tremendous reward in doing it, is my relationship with these employees.” He also cited the many loyal customers who have returned and their stories about the restaurant. “It seems like everybody that comes here has a story about their prior relationship with us that goes back even into the 1930s,” he said. “We have one couple who still come for lunch who have celebrated 72 out of 74 wedding anniversary’s here and they have the longevity record for going back. We had a guest who had not been here T-R PHOTO BY MIKE DONAHEY Glen Barritt, near left, of Marshalltown, Shane Strand, far left, of Granger and Craig Hawkins of of Laurel are shown having lunch at Stone’s Restaurant recently. A dish of the restaurant’s trademark cornbread is seen in the table’s middle. Fittingly, the business was once called Stone’s Lunch Room for 70 years and came back for lunch. That’s the heritage of Stone’s and the importance of Stone’s.” The heritage applies to the menu as well. “Everything is homemade,” Badger said. Badger said their breaded tenderloin, corn bread, their hot beef sandwich, which he called the “best in town,” pan fried chicken, pot roast dinner and a chicken casserole, a holdover from the original Stone’s, are some of the more traditional and popular menu items. Stones is open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Thursday, Friday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday from 4 to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. ——— Reporter Contact:Contact Mike Donahey at 641-753-6611 or mdonahey@timesrepublican.com 5 | August 2010 | Past Times | Times-Republican timesrepublican.com
Page 1 and 2: past August 2010 times CENTRAL IOWA
Page 3: do you remember? — Barb Scafferi
Page 7 and 8: Scafferi CONTINUED | FROM 6 $50 bil

080110-Past Times - Times Republican

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