042024_RV_E01_c_Business

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SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2024 THE N'WEST IOWA REVIEW/SHELDON, IA E8 BUSINESS Fritz and Buzzard keep The Hideout alive and well CHICKEN Continued from page E1 Budweiser and Coors signs line the walls with Christmas lights hanging above them. A rubber chicken hangs over the bar next to a dozen chicken-shaped ceramics, a parrot stuffy and a gnome. Most of the decor Fritz said she inherited. “They came with the place,” she said. The restaurant profession was not on Fritz’s mind until it had to be. She worked at the Beef Specialists of Iowa processing plant in Hartley for 15 years. When it closed in 1997, Fritz woke up every morning at 4 to catch a bus from Hartley to the plant’s new location in Windom, MN. She would finish her shift, get home around 9 p.m., and do the same thing the next day. Fritz took that bus for four weeks before Monte Puhrmann, The Hideout owner at the time, reached out wanting to sell. “Somebody offered me the job of running this place, and I said, ‘Eight miles is better than 88 miles any day of the week,’” Fritz said. She took over the restaurant with her “second half,” Mike Rabe, in 2005. Restaurant-goers call him “Buzzard.” They have lived together for the last 34 years south of Paullina. The Hideout, however, is where Fritz and Buzzard split ways. Fritz makes her home in the kitchen, a small side room with enough space for one cook. Hamburgers, cheese balls, steak and shrimp all come out of The Hideout kitchen. However, Fritz’s renowned chicken is what gets people in the door from around the world. Fritz has served visitors from Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas and China — to name a few. “I just bread it and drop it in my broaster,” she said. “It’s got a timer that’s set, cooks for so many minutes, and it’s cooked under pressure.” Buzzard settles in front of the bar where he is a creative partymaker; one look at the ceiling proves it. Dozens of crumpled dollar bills hang from the ceiling that will never come down. Fritz said she does not know for sure but assumes Buzzard started it. “It’s a dollar and you put a thumb tack through it, put a quarter behind it, twist the dollar around the quarter, see if you can get it to stick on the first try,” Fritz said. Weekends “can be pretty busy,” according to Fritz. She usually bumps her staff up to two bartenders Friday and Saturday nights. While Fritz has strict cooking hours, her bartenders have more leeway. “Somebody offered me the job of running this place, and I said, ‘Eight miles is better than 88 miles any day of the week.” NADINE “FRITZ” STULL, THE HIDEOUT OWNER AT A GLANCE: <strong>Business</strong>: The Hideout Owners: Nadine “Fritz” Stull and Mike “Buzzard” Rabe Address: 4811 Oak Hill Ave., Germantown Hours: 5-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday Phone: 712-448-2033 “The kitchen’s open from 5-9 p.m.,” she said. “The bar can be open ’til 2 a.m. or whenever.” The Hideout serves margaritas; however, Fritz does not know how much they cost be - cause she said she’s “never out here.” Beers range from $3.50 to $4. Fritz’s famous broasted chicken starts at $4.25. New customers can recognize The Hideout by the 5-foot-wide baseball cap hanging above the entrance. Fritz to this day is unsure of the meaning. “I don’t know; it came with the place. It had a duck on it when I first started. Somebody took it down and borrowed it and put it back, painted it, and I put a chicken on it rather than a duck,” Fritz said. There is a map of the United States nailed to the north wall. The map is covered in pins with green ribbons. Every pin represents a customer. While the Midwest has the most concentrated amount of green, pins line both coasts and into Mexico. Fritz said pins stuck off the map were hung by people coming from outside of the country. Germantown, an unincorporated community settled in 1882, has no public infrastructure beyond St. John’s Lutheran Church. Still, people travel from around the world to visit Fritz and Buzzard’s rural bar and grill. When asked why the restaurant is named, “The Hideout,” Fritz said she did not know — it came with the place. “Just a little hole-in-the-wall out in the middle of nowhere,” she said. The bar is in the center of The Hideout restaurant in Germantown. Equipped with hot and cold cups, M&M’s and playing cards, customers are welcomed to get comfortable and enjoy a plate of Fritz’s famous chicken. Many of the decorations are ones Fritz inherited from previous owners. The Hideout is a small-town restaurant and bar located in Germantown southern O’Brien County. People have visited the restaurant from all over the world, finding out about it primarily through word-of-mouth. The eatery is most famous for its broasted chicken. Photos by Mikaela Mackey
SATURDAY, APRIL 20, 2024 THE N'WEST IOWA REVIEW/SHELDON, IA E9 HARTLEY Contact the City for more information E-mail: hartley@tcaexpress.net 712-928-2240 | www.hartleyiowa.com In the HEART of Progress! SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD Highway 18 Industrial Park GRADUATION STATIONERY PACKAGE Get all of this for only $ 129 99 *Sales tax not included • 75 Custom Double-Sided Invites *45 minutes of design time included • 75 Pre-designed Envelopes with School Logo & Colors • FREE Matching Tear-Off pad with 75 sheets *30 minutes of design time included *Additional design time $40/hour Sale Ends April 26 To place your order, contact us at: 712-324-5347 printshop@iowainformation.com Or stop in at either of our locations: 227 Ninth St., Sheldon, IA 67 Third St. NE, Sioux Center, IA It is going to be a busy spring and summer. Let Hy-Vee CATER TO YOU! MEETINGS, OFFICE EVENTS AND PARTIES, FAMILY MEALS OR OPEN HOUSES - LET US DO THE WORK! Sit down to a complete meal in our café area Get a full menu catered to your business or any gathering Find the freshest produce, quality meat and everything you need for every meal Fast, fun food and meals at your local Hy-Vee Fast and Fresh gas stations SHELDON, IA STORE: 1989 Park St • 712-324-2516 GAS: 1999 Park St • 712-324-9827 hy-vee.com SIOUX CENTER, IA STORE: 1951 South Main Ave • 712-722-2601 GAS: 1953 Main Street • 712-722-2620
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