Archer restaurant gives patrons a taste of community’s past
By Tim Gallagher Journal staff writer | Posted: Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Dee Wagenaar takes a lunch order at Ye Ohl Coffee Shoppe, the restaurant she and her family operate in tiny Archer, Iowa. The restaurant opened on Valentine's Day. (Photo by Tim Gallagher)
ARCHER, Iowa -- A skunk pelt hangs in the men's restroom at the newest old place in downtown Archer. It tells you these people like a good laugh.
"You can see our personality in things like that," said Dee Wagenaar, owner/operator of Ye Ohl Coffee Shoppe in this O'Brien County community of 120 residents.
From the spectacular tin ceiling to the original wood floor -- and every skunk in between -- the Wagenaar family has done it right in serving up Archer history and good food in a century-old building that took two years to renovate.
"Archer Grove," said Wagenaar, pointing to an old railroad marker displayed on the north wall. "Before Archer was incorporated as a town, it was known as Archer Grove."
You get a little local flavor like that with a flavorful Black Angus burger in the sharp restaurant that's been drawing dozens of diners here daily since opening on Valentine's Day.
"It's gone over really, really well," said Trisha Abbott, one of several family members staffing the place. "We have to get a second, larger boaster as we can't keep up with the chicken orders on Friday and Saturday night."
Building plants dream seed
Like many small Siouxland towns, Archer had gone without a restaurant -- and a coffee shop/gathering point -- since about 2001. In 2005, businessman Virgil Ohl died and left Don Wagenaar this building downtown.
"Don and Virgil were business partners for 30 years," said Don's wife, Dee. "They did carpentry and operated a small lumberyard together. You get pretty close to someone when you work with him for five or six days each week for 30 years."
Ohl, who had no children, left this building for Wagenaar. The structure was built in 1907 as a general mercantile. Over the years it was a pool hall, dance hall, barber shop and briefly the local post office. Ohl and Wagenaar used it for several years as a storage facility.
"Don inherited it and visited with a guy in town about having a coffee place as we'd had none here for five to six years," Dee recalled.
So the family began renovating. They took out the false drop ceiling to reveal the tin top, which they painted gold. Linoleum covered -- but protected -- the wooden floor. Don put his creative energy to work in making a bar and back bar out of old doors. Dee sandblasted train scenes in glass on the front door.
"We knocked out a brick wall to extend the building for a kitchen," said Dee. "We took all those bricks, cleaned them and built a fireplace."
The walls are covered with items from Archer's past and lots of railroad fixtures dating back to the early 1900s. There's even a miniature train that will complete a circle around the restaurant once the track is done. It's just about there.
"We can trace our history to the railroad, so we thought it was important to show that," Dee said.
What's best is a corner reserved for the late Virgil Ohl, for whom the place is named. That corner has his military portrait displayed with his World War II Army uniform along with his U.S. flag and several business photos. The corner features a second fireplace and a church pew. It's where a little boy on this day said "Grace" with his grandmother before lunch.
But a restaurant, here?
While the Wagenaars had thoughts only of a coffee shop, others asked them to think bigger. With support from local businesses like the grain elevator and DK Plastics, the family moved forward in designing a complete kitchen. They offer a full breakfast line, including rolls baked daily, as well as noon dinner specials in the $5 range to complement menu offerings.
Evenings feature menu items and Bubba's Pizza, each with a railroad theme.
"We have three kids who worked at the lumberyard and we realized that work there can be kind of thin in the winter," said Dee, who previously had worked as a receptionist in nearby Sheldon for 15 years. "So we expanded our hours and the kitchen to satisfy what customers wanted from us."
Helping Mom at the restaurant are her children Brittney Wagenaar, Trisha Abbott, Dustin Wagenaar and Troy Iedema.
"It's been a great way to keep the kids (who range in age from 32 to 19) plenty busy," she said. "That first week we each worked over 100 hours."
Customers continue to flock to Archer for the daily specials, burgers and pizza. Judy Sheffield and 13 Boyden Belles, a Red Hat Society group, toured and dined at Ye Ohl Coffee Shoppe last Wednesday.
"The windows are gorgeous and the food is great," said Sheffield, who earned plenty of nods for her assessment.
And what might Virgil Ohl think?
The question made Dee Wagenaar pause for a moment to consider how her friend might have reacted. "Knowing Virgil's personality, he'd probably look at all of this and say, 'What are you doing this for?'
"And then he'd walk away."
Good thing for his old friends, their customers are doing the opposite.
Ye Ohl Coffee Shoppe in downtown Archer, Iowa, is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and 5-10 p.m. Saturday.
"You can see our personality in things like that," said Dee Wagenaar, owner/operator of Ye Ohl Coffee Shoppe in this O'Brien County community of 120 residents.
From the spectacular tin ceiling to the original wood floor -- and every skunk in between -- the Wagenaar family has done it right in serving up Archer history and good food in a century-old building that took two years to renovate.
"Archer Grove," said Wagenaar, pointing to an old railroad marker displayed on the north wall. "Before Archer was incorporated as a town, it was known as Archer Grove."
You get a little local flavor like that with a flavorful Black Angus burger in the sharp restaurant that's been drawing dozens of diners here daily since opening on Valentine's Day.
"It's gone over really, really well," said Trisha Abbott, one of several family members staffing the place. "We have to get a second, larger boaster as we can't keep up with the chicken orders on Friday and Saturday night."
Building plants dream seed
Like many small Siouxland towns, Archer had gone without a restaurant -- and a coffee shop/gathering point -- since about 2001. In 2005, businessman Virgil Ohl died and left Don Wagenaar this building downtown.
"Don and Virgil were business partners for 30 years," said Don's wife, Dee. "They did carpentry and operated a small lumberyard together. You get pretty close to someone when you work with him for five or six days each week for 30 years."
Ohl, who had no children, left this building for Wagenaar. The structure was built in 1907 as a general mercantile. Over the years it was a pool hall, dance hall, barber shop and briefly the local post office. Ohl and Wagenaar used it for several years as a storage facility.
"Don inherited it and visited with a guy in town about having a coffee place as we'd had none here for five to six years," Dee recalled.
So the family began renovating. They took out the false drop ceiling to reveal the tin top, which they painted gold. Linoleum covered -- but protected -- the wooden floor. Don put his creative energy to work in making a bar and back bar out of old doors. Dee sandblasted train scenes in glass on the front door.
"We knocked out a brick wall to extend the building for a kitchen," said Dee. "We took all those bricks, cleaned them and built a fireplace."
The walls are covered with items from Archer's past and lots of railroad fixtures dating back to the early 1900s. There's even a miniature train that will complete a circle around the restaurant once the track is done. It's just about there.
"We can trace our history to the railroad, so we thought it was important to show that," Dee said.
What's best is a corner reserved for the late Virgil Ohl, for whom the place is named. That corner has his military portrait displayed with his World War II Army uniform along with his U.S. flag and several business photos. The corner features a second fireplace and a church pew. It's where a little boy on this day said "Grace" with his grandmother before lunch.
But a restaurant, here?
While the Wagenaars had thoughts only of a coffee shop, others asked them to think bigger. With support from local businesses like the grain elevator and DK Plastics, the family moved forward in designing a complete kitchen. They offer a full breakfast line, including rolls baked daily, as well as noon dinner specials in the $5 range to complement menu offerings.
Evenings feature menu items and Bubba's Pizza, each with a railroad theme.
"We have three kids who worked at the lumberyard and we realized that work there can be kind of thin in the winter," said Dee, who previously had worked as a receptionist in nearby Sheldon for 15 years. "So we expanded our hours and the kitchen to satisfy what customers wanted from us."
Helping Mom at the restaurant are her children Brittney Wagenaar, Trisha Abbott, Dustin Wagenaar and Troy Iedema.
"It's been a great way to keep the kids (who range in age from 32 to 19) plenty busy," she said. "That first week we each worked over 100 hours."
Customers continue to flock to Archer for the daily specials, burgers and pizza. Judy Sheffield and 13 Boyden Belles, a Red Hat Society group, toured and dined at Ye Ohl Coffee Shoppe last Wednesday.
"The windows are gorgeous and the food is great," said Sheffield, who earned plenty of nods for her assessment.
And what might Virgil Ohl think?
The question made Dee Wagenaar pause for a moment to consider how her friend might have reacted. "Knowing Virgil's personality, he'd probably look at all of this and say, 'What are you doing this for?'
"And then he'd walk away."
Good thing for his old friends, their customers are doing the opposite.
Ye Ohl Coffee Shoppe in downtown Archer, Iowa, is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and 5-10 p.m. Saturday.
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melva henspeter wrote on Apr 16, 2008 10:29 AM: