 Renken, from Mason City, is a farmer and with his son operates an
electric business. Evers is a New Holland native and shop foreman at
Cross John Deere. They met at the dealership and over time became
friends who shared the same dream. Each man had visions of a bar and
restaurant where locals could enjoy themselves and eat a good meal;
where out-of-towners would feel welcome and do some of the same.
Their conversations would sometimes include commentary on a menu
item, entertainment or other features the imaginary bar would have.
And then it happened. Demolition of the old restaurant was going
to cost the village over $30,000 and it was money that could be
spent elsewhere. Renken and Evers approached the board about
purchasing the building and laid out a plan for what they wanted to
do. The men were asked to pay $1 for the official transaction. Deal.
"We paid too much," Renken joked as he talked about the damaged
building. He pulled out his phone and shared "before" pictures of
the interior. Ceiling tiles were falling; floor boards were rotted
out, creating gaping holes; and everything that was crumbling from
above had littered the bar and anything left standing.
"What we really need is a picture of our smiling faces right
before we turned the key and walked through door," Evers said,
"because then we were speechless. This place was a mess."
Cleanup took 90 days of gutting the interior, installing new
floors, sealing the roof and painting. In June local residents held
a volunteer day and pitched in to help.
"Townspeople have been very supportive," Evers said. "They helped
put it back together, and a lot of them have become customers. We
got to meet people and now are friends with people we had barely
known before that day. It wasn't our building, it was a town
project. Everyone came because they wanted to see this happen. It
would have taken us weeks to finish what everyone together did in
that one day."
New flooring was purchased from Dick Altman and installed by Gary
Zimmerman from Mason City. The new planked floor fits the building's
character perfectly. Renken plans to use salvaged floorboards as new
trim on the bar, where most customers eat a meal or drink their
favorite beverage and share conversation. A pool table is positioned
in the back of the long room. A rear dividing wall was removed from
the floor to about 4 feet from the ceiling to allow space for
decorations, which are now motorcycle artwork.
"We think this is the longest bar in Logan County," Renken
mentioned, "and the guy who thinks he owns a competitor for the
designation has become one of our regular customers. We'll have to
check on that when we have more time."
Materials and items that could be saved are being reused. There
are already several lengths of the former floorboards in place as
windowsills. The old round, revolving stools were removed, but are
in storage and waiting to be refurbished at a later date.
One of the old wooden booths that locals say lined the east side
of the main room was stripped and repainted. It is in the Wine Room,
where visitors to events and everyday diners can enjoy the fireplace
while the winter winds blow. A larger dining room accessible through
the Wine Room is a work in progress, but will be available for
receptions and parties, and extra seating on busy days.
The business encompasses three buildings connected years ago by
open doorways. The 18-inch door frames are evidence of the thick
brick walls between the original storefronts and businesses.
Jim Renken's girlfriend, Karen Duckworth, has also been a big
part of the renovation and management since the purchase. She
currently fills in behind the bar and helps out with day-to-day
operations.
"Karen's probably responsible for making this work as much as
anybody," Renken said. "It has taken so many people and so much
work, but now it seems worth it. Everybody is having a good time,
and we're having a good time playing with the menu, lining up
entertainment and spending time with the people who helped make it
happen."
Styles Lynn was hired to be the head cook and tend bar in the
evening. Erica Frakes is the daytime bartender and server. Lynn and
Renken took food sanitation classes and both are certified to handle
kitchen duty.
"For years, Andy and I both had been thinking about a place like
this," Renken said, "and once we became acquainted and starting
talking, the ideas just rolled together and we realized we wanted a
lot of the same things. It's made for an easy partnership."
Andy Evers and Jim Renken named the new establishment Slackers.
They had a quiet open house on Sept. 10 and officially opened on
Sept. 16. As they have time to experiment with the menu and receive
responses to some of their ideas, they will perfect an official
menu, but it will always be in flux.
"We made the menu the same way we created this business," Renken
said, "with ideas about how we would handle the items and the kind
of food we wanted to offer. First of all, no pre-frozen beef
patties. It doesn't take long to pat out a good hamburger patty.
Ours are about one-third-pound ground chuck. We do buy the fries
because we tried making our own and they didn't ever come out the
way we envisioned them. The ones we get come out nice and crisp, the
way you want them with a hamburger or under cheese on a horseshoe.
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"We had a hunters' breakfast today (Saturday), starting at 9 a.m.,"
Renken continued, "because the hunters among us said they liked
coming back in from their early morning hunt and having a good meal.
So, we ran that until lunchtime today and we'll do it again on the
next hunting weekend."
For this first hunters' breakfast, the kitchen served
all-you-could-eat biscuits and gravy, egg casserole, and choice of
side-sausage or potatoes. For the next hunting weekend, breakfast
will probably change to include pancakes or French toast with eggs.
The hunters' breakfast is not just for those who rise early and hunt
before breakfast. The items are also available for the general
public and are served until lunchtime.
Meat is purchased from Jacksonville Locker. The meat supplier
obtains its product from livestock farms local to the Jacksonville
area. The butcher provides tenderized cuts for the tenderloin
sandwiches and makes what Renken described as "a perfect sausage"
they served for breakfast.
They may add a once-a-month steak night or another occasional
dinner special, but that is yet to be decided. Menu items include
the regular sandwiches and sides, but they are not typical. The
owners pay particular attention to being a little different and
offering the unexpected. There will always be something new from a
collection of family and personal-favorite recipes.
Evers and Renken perfected a technique for making their own
potato chips. They also offer homemade corn nuggets and a corn
fritter that came from a recipe Renken saved for years on a piece of
cardboard -- just in case he ever opened a restaurant.
Local individuals have added to the history and character of the
business with stories, memorabilia and some artistic touches.
One of the first things to be rejuvenated was a glass-door
cabinet covered with old varnish and grime. An older man in town
told Andy and Jim he remembers when the giant, 10-foot-tall cabinet
was carried from across the street in the 1920s. (An old bar once
stood across the street, where the firehouse now sits.) The current
owners took the wooden structure to Don Cain, who refinishes
furniture in Mason City. Now it is a stately backdrop and wine
display cabinet behind the bar. The wood grain is visible and the
old glass is still intact. No one knows its age or origins.
New Holland resident Jack Blaum's family owned the building and
maintained the bar for two decades. One day he brought in a framed
collection of old bar chips from the various owners of Slackers'
location -- Ralph Bladgett, in the 1930s; Wally Walters, late 1940s;
Shirley and Louie Lohrenz, 1952-1958; Loren Blaum, 1960 through the
1970s. If others exist, they haven't been found. Evers and Renken
plan to add their signature chip to the space provided at the bottom
of the collection.
As customers look around the bar, one piece of history stands out
and has greeted visitors for over 60 years. A large menu, painted on
a single piece of wood and nailed overhead on the former dividing
wall, states prices relative to the time of its installation --
1948. The sign painter was Vince Hubbard, of Mason City. Some of the
prices displayed are for hamburger, 20 cents; cheeseburger, 25
cents; coffee, 5 cents; milkshake, 20 cents; pie, 15 cents; "Home
Made Chilli" (sic), 20 cents. Items that reflect equally popular
items of the time are buttermilk, 10 cents; malted milk, 25 cents;
and braunsweiger, 15 cents.
Karen Duckworth's sister, Kathy Miller, designed the new
business's name in small tiles on a window ledge in the adjoining
Wine Room. Two images of the name are visible -- one faces the room
and one faces the window so it is readable by passers-by. She also
created the name sign on the building's exterior.
Miller and Duckworth highlighted exterior architectural features
with bright paint, after scraping off many layers of old paint. Some
are reminiscent of Amish hex symbols and others are less elaborate.
The base of a metal column at the entryway bears the name of Geo.
L. Mesker Architectural Iron Works, Evansville, Ind., a
well-documented name from the age of building structures with
attention to character and detailed workmanship, inside and out.
Slackers' hours are Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Sunday,
noon to 10 p.m. Lunch is served Monday-Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to
1:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11:30 until 2:30. Meals are not
available on Sunday, but Evers and Renken plan to use the day to
experiment with appetizers, and the selection will be anyone's
guess.
Dates to remember at Slackers:
-
Wednesday, Nov. 30
-- A wine-tasting and sale event will feature products from Hill
Prairie Winery, Oakford.
-
Saturday, Dec. 17 -- The band Shake Down
will play from 8 to midnight.
For information or reservations, contact Slackers at
103 W. Lincoln in New Holland, 217-445-2561.
[By MARLA BLAIR]
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