Road Tips

Maid-Rite (Mr. Dan's Sandwich Shop) - Newton, IA

If there's anything that causes more food arguments in the state of Iowa, it has to be Maid-Rites. Maid-Rites are, quite simply, loose meat beef sandwiches served on buns. It's like a hamburger, only the meat is steamed in bins and falls out on wax paper as you eat them. In the 1900's, nearly every town of any size in Iowa had a Maid-Rite and natives from each of those towns will swear that their local Maid-Rite is the best. I grew up in Newton, IA and the oldest continuous Maid-Rite-style shop is located there. And while the sign out front still says "Maid-Rite", the official name of the place is now Mr. Dan's Sandwich Shop. But to the locals in Newton, it's still the Maid-Rite.

The Newton Maid-Rite has a long and interesting history behind it. Here it is -

After he opened the original Maid-Rite sandwich shop in Muscatine in 1925, Fred Angell was looking for a location to put a second restaurant. He settled upon the Central Iowa town of Newton, home of the burgeoning Maytag Washer Company. Fred figured the workers would love his loose-meat sandwiches.

The Newton Maid-Rite opened in 1926 and it was originally known as the Maid-Rite Hamburg. The original building was a stucco and wood structure with a wooden sign out front cut in the form of a lady with a broom. I believe this may have been the Maid-Rite Maiden that Angell's wife used as the first logo of Maid-Rite shops. Angell ran the Newton location for six months before selling it to Gus Foster.

Mr. Foster ran the Maid-Rite in Newton until 1937 when he sold it to Ethel Shelley, who was described as a "colorful lady." Some older people in Newton remember Ms. Shelley and fondly remember her running the shop in the late 30's into the early 40's.

Also in 1937, two years after franchising the Maid-Rite name (the first food franchise in the Midwest), Fred Angell decreed that all Maid-Rite's add a seasoning to their meat. Ms. Shelley and Cliff Taylor, who founded and owned the Marshalltown Maid-Rite location since 1928, decided that they didn't want to use the seasoning. I understand they fought Angell who finally backed down on his commandment. Actually, I believe every Maid-Rite that was franchised after 1937 had to use the seasoning, but the Newton Maid-Rite and Taylor's Maid-Rite in Marshalltown were "grandfathered" in to not having to use the seasonings.

In 1944, Cliff Taylor passed away and his son, Don, took over Taylor's Maid-Rite. Don Taylor then bought the Newton Maid-Rite from Ethel Shelley. A young man by the name of Quentin "Bud" Holland who worked for the Taylor family in Marshalltown was asked to move to Newton to run the operation there. Bud and his wife, Marty, moved to Newton where they raised two girls, Mardy and Chris.

Bud and Marty Holland eventually purchased the Maid-Rite in Newton from Don Taylor in 1958 and promptly renamed it Bud's Maid-Rite. The original building was a small stucco structure with two entrances on the front side. To get from one side of the counter to the other, patrons would have to walk out the front door on the one side and re-enter in the door on the opposite side.

In 1962, the front half of the present-day Maid-Rite in Newton was reconstructed. While it was being built, patrons ate in a screened in room in the back of the building. The locals referred to it as "the shack in the back."

In 1964, Mardy Holland was a junior in high school and her younger sister, Chris, was a sophomore. Bud and Marty decided to add a room in the back and put in a basement underneath. This became sort of the defacto "teen center" in Newton. It had a serving counter in back, a jukebox and booths for the teen-aged kids to hang out. With sisters who were Mardy and Chris' age, I remember this part of the Maid-Rite very vividly. It was the place to go if you were a teenager in Newton in the mid to late 60's.

In 1970, Bud and Marty retired and sold the Maid-Rite to Dan and Pam Holtkamp. The Holtkamp's had moved to Newton in 1968 as Dan had taken a job as an accountant for the old Parson's Manufacturing. They fell in love with Newton and wanted to make the town their permanent home to raise their kids. The Holtkamp's jumped head first into the business. Dan had a degree in business and one of the golden rules in business school is not to tamper with success. The Holtkamp's did little to the Maid-Rite after they took over and the transition was smooth. In fact, for years people still referred to the Maid-Rite as just "Bud's".

About the biggest change the Holtkamp's did was to take out the teen room in the back, change that into a full service seating area and open a back entrance to the restaurant. They also put in a drive-up window for people to get their Maid-Rites, fries and shakes. The Holtkamp's also introduced a smaller Maid-Rite - the Joey Rite (named after their son) - for smaller appetites. The Danielle Special (named after their daughter) was a Joey Rite, small soft drink and ice cream. The Holtkamp's also put in the Jaarsma Connection, a small counter in the back of the restaurant that served fresh Dutch pastries from the Jaarsma Bakery in Pella, IA.

Today, the back room has pencil sketches on the wall above the booths of the four owners of the Maid-Rite since late 1926 (below left).

One thing that Dan did not do was change the way the meat was prepared at the Maid-Rite. He told me one time that he doesn't use any seasonings in his meats, the way his predecessors did in their day. And the key is that he buys his meat from the same supplier who Bud Holland was using for years before Dan became the owner. Dan continues to grind his own beef in the basement. The taste of the Newton Maid-Rite comes from the old steamer that is used to cook the meat (above right). The steamer has been internally seasoned over the years and years that it's been used to make countless Maid-Rites. The only thing that is added is a little bit of salt added to the top of the meat before the Maid-Rite is wrapped up in wax paper.

In 1982, the Angell family sold the Maid-Rite franchises to a company in Des Moines. The Maid-Rite franchise company was eventually bought by a gentleman by the name of Bradley Burt who insisted that all Maid-Rite franchises have uniformity in the way they prepared their sandwiches. He wanted - no, demanded - that all Maid-Rites buy their meat from his company and prepare it in a specific way. Dan Holtkamp and Don Short, the grandson of Cliff Taylor, resisted the changes and were allowed to continue to do business they way they had.

However, in 2006, the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals decided that the bins that the older Maid-Rites around the state used were deemed to be "unhealthy" as they allowed for the cooking of raw meat next to fully cooked meat. This is a process that Maid-Rites have used for well over 70 years, and they usually have a stainless steel partition in the bin to keep the cooked meat from the raw meat. Once the raw meat is cooked through, the partition is removed and the meat is all mixed together. As far as I know, no one has ever gotten sick from this type of cooking method.

Both Short and Holtkamp said that the changeover to new steamers would be cost ineffective for their businesses and Short led the appeal to the state of Iowa to overturn the ruling. However, it was determined that the original Maid-Rites were in violation of the administrative guidelines set forth by the Iowa Department of Inspections. But, both the Newton Maid-Rite and Taylor's in Marshalltown use the same old steamers and cooking process, so I'm guessing they were able to beat the ruling somewhere along the way.

The biggest change happened a few years ago when Dan Holtkamp silently changed the name of his shop to "Mr. Dan's Sandwich Shop". For years, Holtkamp's workers referred to him as "Mr. Dan" and the nickname stuck. Dan is still running the place daily, his big smile and friendly demeanor greeting customers as they come in. Dan told me, "You know, I'm 72 years old and I've owned this place for 41 years. If I'm able to - and I plan on doing it - in five more years I'll have owned this business in the same amount of years that all three of the previous owners owned it." I'm not betting against him.

Sadly, one of the biggest changes to Dan's business has been the downturn thanks to the closing of Maytag in 2007. Lunch time at the Newton Maid-Rite was an adventure and scene of much jockeying of seats throughout the place trying to get a Maid-Rite and get back to work at the office or factory. I learned a long time ago that you just don't go to Maid-Rite between noon and 1 p.m. on weekdays. Unfortunately, that isn't the case any longer. Business at the Newton Maid-Rite is still steady, but it's not at the same level that it was years ago.

During Newton High School reunion weekends, the Maid-Rite is overrun by former residents back in town for their class reunions. The blackboard on the east side wall has been there for years announcing food specials, game scores, events and even allowing patrons to post their own notes on the board. The menu boards on both walls, I have to believe, are the same ones that have been in the place since Bud Holland refurbished the place in 1962. The front part of the Newton Maid-Rite hasn't changed much - if any - since the building was reconstructed 50 years ago.

I was passing through Newton on my way home recently and decided to stop in and have a Maid-Rite. Actually, I like their Cheese-rites - basically a Maid-Rite with a slice of American cheese on top. And I love to drink milk with my Maid-Rites and/or Cheese-rites. Don't know where I got that from, but I always order a large milk when I have a Maid-Rite.

The Cheese-rites are wrapped in an outer wrap with yellow stripes to denote the cheese on the sandwich. When the Cheese-rite is unwrapped, the excess meat falls out. A spoon is provided to pick up the loose meat on the wrapper. In the winter time, the Maid-Rite also has chili and it's good chili. What I like to do is get a bowl of chili and pour the excess meat into the chili after I have the Cheese-rite.

Some people will ask for the Maid-Rite/Cheese-Rite moist. I like mine a little dry, just as ordered. Like the original Maid-Rites, everything is mustard, pickle and onion. I put a little ketchup and, surprisingly, a little more salt on my Cheese-Rites before I eat them. I hardly EVER put salt on anything, but I like my Cheese-rites salty. The buns that Dan uses are pretty basic, but it's never really been about the bun at Maid-Rite all the way back to the day of Bud Holland. The meat is the thing that keeps bringing me back to the Newton Maid-Rite.

It's sort of like the people in the Quad Cities who grew up eating Harris Pizza and thinking that it is the best pizza in the world. Being from Newton, I think the Maid-Rites from the Newton Maid-Rite are the best in the world. I will admit there are others who think Taylor's in Marshalltown is better. Of course, there are thousands of natives of Ottumwa who think the Canteen's at the Canteen Lunch are the best. People in Sioux City think the "taverns" at Miles Inn are the best. But I could easily be accused of being provincial when it comes to the Newton Maid-Rite, or more correctly Mr. Dan's Sandwich Shop. It's the oldest and, I think, the best.

Let the debate continue...

The Iowa Corn Indy 250

The inaugural Iowa Corn Indy 250 IndyCar Series race was held yesterday in my hometown of Newton, Iowa.  The Rusty Wallace-designed Iowa Speedway hosted the race on Sunday in front of a reported crowd of about 40,000 race fans.  That's a pretty impressive amount of people to see an IndyCar race at any location.

Now, I was never enamored with the name "Iowa Corn Indy 250" as the title of the race.  Actually, the full name of the race was the "Iowa Corn Indy 250 Presented by Ethanol", but that's quite a mouthful.

What they were trying to do is promote the use of Ethanol, a corn-based fuel for cars.  I don't know why they didn't call it the "Iowa Ethanol Indy 250".  As Scott Schroeder and I were talking on Saturday, calling it the Iowa Corn Indy 250 further perpetuates the stereotypes we as Iowans have to overcome seemingly everyday with people around the nation that all Iowa offers is corn and nothing else.  Actually, only 3 percent of the population of Iowa are full-time farmers. 

Cindy and I had planned on going to the race.  But then her little appendectomy episode happened and she was still a little weak and still sore from her procedure.  I ended up watching the race at home.  But I talked to friends who attended the Iowa Corn Indy 250 before, during and after the race.  While they had high praise for the facility, there's evidentially a few kinks to work out with both the track and the infrastructure of the place. 

First of all, drivers just couldn't pass on the 7/8th's mile track.  Even with as much as 14% banking in the corners allowing drivers to run full bore all around the track, there just wasn't sufficient room to do any side by side driving.  The result of this, along with unseasonably cool conditions making the track a little slick, were a number of wrecks that knocked out such noted drivers as Danica Patrick (right), Tomas Scheckter, Tony Kanaan, and Sam Hornish, Jr.

For the final 40 laps of the race, Marco Andretti chased his teammate, Dario Franchitti, around the oval resulting in a very boring ending.  As one of my friends told me after the race, "Andretti may have had the faster car, but he just couldn't find any place to pass Franchitti on the track."  And with that, Franchitti, the 2007 Indianapolis 500 winner, won the first Iowa Corn Indy 250 by a half a car length.

I heard from more than one friend after the race that the race was, indeed, boring.  Still, having something of that magnitude - and nationally televised by ABC, no less - in Newton, Iowa helped pick up the spirits of the community that has recently suffered through the sale and the impending closing of Maytag.

Still the drivers said they loved the track and they used the race as a learning experience not only for themselves, but for owners and IndyCar Series officials who have to re-examine the set-up of the cars on this track.  They're going to have to do something or they're going to have a lot of trouble convincing people to come watch cars zoom around and around in a bowl with no chance of any real racing.   

The second major problem was the traffic and parking around the track.  Earlier in the week Iowa Speedway officials said that while they can handle 35,000 attendees, they weren't going turn anyone away who wanted to come to the race.  The result was a crowd of well over 35,000 with a number of people missing a good portion of the race while they were stuck in traffic.  It was a learning experience for the Iowa Speedway officials, as well. 

There were some celebrity sightings at the race.  In addition to the drivers and owners, Franchitti's wife, actress Ashley Judd (left), was on hand.  Rocker Gene Simmons from KISS was there on behalf of the IndyCar Series and was seen tooling about in a golf car.  The Teutel family from the television show American Chopper unveiled a custom designed motorcycle for the Iowa Corn 250.  And there were a number of politicians and dignitaries including Iowa's two senators, Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin.   

I was going to go into some in-depth coverage of the Iowa Corn Indy 250, but my friend Gary Gaffney from "Steroid Nation" had all the particulars about the race already in place.  So click here to get more information on the race.

The Cardinal - Newton, IA

I grew up between Kellogg and Newton, Iowa (see map of where our house was located).  When I was younger, I would play in Kellogg.  When I got older, I would play in Newton. 

There was an old grocery store on W. 4th St. S. in Newton called Stockton's.  The building that Stockton's was in is now the Newton Fire Department.  On the southside of Stockton's was a little diner called The Cardinal.  The Cardinal consisted of two horseshoe shaped counters (and I want to say there were 4 booths on the west wall).  They cooked breakfast, lunch, and supper and were open late at night. 

But the one thing the Cardinal was known for were their burgers.  They had this old flat griddle grille they'd cook the meat on.  And the buns, they'd take them and slather an egg-based batter on them, put them on the grille and toast 'em.  Oh, man!  They were killer!   When The Cardinal closed in the mid-70's, I had to go in for one last burger.

The burger recipe went to Bigelow's, a restaurant that was on the NE corner of the square in downtown Newton.  They just weren't as good (I'm tellin' ya - there's something about these old grilles that makes the burger!).  Bigelow's is long out of business, but I've heard that the recipe is now housed at the Midtown Cafe just across the street from where Bigelow's once stood.  I just haven't gone in to check to see if the burgers are as good as what I remember from The Cardinal years ago.  But I guess I'll have to do it sometime.

C & G (Chrys') Tap - Newton, IA

A shout out to my good friend Robert Dey Jackson, Jr. who said, "How come you don't have Chrys' Tap in the 'Rest in Peace' category?"

Actually, that was a good tip.  OK, Bob - here you go.

Chrys' Tap was actually C & G Tap in Newton (see map) for a number of years.  Gail Morrow and his wife, Chrystal, bought what was the old "First Chance Tap - Last Chance Tap" a number of years ago.  It was called that because it was the first tavern coming into Newton heading west, and the last place to get a beer going out of Newton heading west. 

Gail and Chrys got a divorce and Chrystal continued to run the place.  Chrystal was a hard, but good woman.  She didn't take any shit off of anybody and when she had something on her mind, she said it.  If you got on her good side, she was a friend for life.  If you got on Chrystal's bad side, don't bother coming in.  And a few people did get on her bad side. 

Fortunately, I was one of the many on her good side and Chrys' Tap (or the Tap, as the locals called it) was sort of a home away from home.  When I moved back to Newton in 1986 from Texas, my good friend Matt Denniston ran the place in the day time, and Dennis (Maynard) Claseman was the long time night time guy.  When Matt went on to bigger and better things, Chrystal's sister, Bertie, came in to run the place in the day time. 

Now, Bertie was possibly harder than Chrystal, but just as kind.  She was a short, large woman who had a sharp tongue.  If you ever crossed Bertie, you may as well just moved out of town. 

And there were days that she didn't feel like cooking.  I would go in for lunch, sort of gauge how Bertie was doing - sitting at the end of the bar, smoking a cigarette and watching TV - and then I'd say, "Are you cookin' today, Bertie?"

Most of the time she'd say, "Oh, sure..."  But every once in a while she'd say, "You want something - fix it yourself."  It didn't happen all that often, but it was kind of fun when she would let us go cook in the kitchen. 

The Tap wasn't too much to look at, but it was the gathering spot for a lot of my friends in Newton.  Once Chrystal sold the place in the late 90's, it just wasn't the same any more.  Bertie stayed on, but died in May of 1999 when Cindy and I were in California.  I'm still upset that I never got to go pay my respects to Bertie.  The last link to the Tap's past was broken.  She was one of a kind.   

As it went through a couple more owners, the Tap - as we knew it - ceased to exist.  Oh, it's still there, but it's not the same. 

I told you that story to tell you this one - the biggest draw for the Tap was their food, especially their cheeseburgers.  Dubbed "Cheeseburger in Paradise" or "Bertie Burgers", the Tap burger was grilled on a flat metal grille and they were always juicy and tasty.  Served with a toasted bun and fries, it was heaven.  But you always got 'em in the daytime, because Maynard couldn't cook 'em as well as Bertie could.      

They had the regular condiments, but if you asked for lettuce or tomato, Bertie said, "Bring your own, next time."  So to be smart asses, a couple guys brought a tomato and a head of lettuce in one time.  Bertie looked at them and said, "Well, if you expect me to cut up those things, you got another thing coming."  She made them go into the kitchen and cut the tomato and chop the lettuce.  Bertie was that way. 

The Tap was a real dive, but one of those types of dives that you felt comfortable in.  People from all walks of life would frequent the Tap - executives from Maytag, insurance agents, factory workers, farmers, sales guys (like me), a whole lot of people that mixed together.  When I would bring people from out of town into the Tap, they immediately loved the place.  Except for my wife, who never understood what I liked about the place. 

It was the burgers.  And the friendship.  And Chrys.  And Bertie.  And the mixing of people from all walks of life.  I really do miss that place.  As do a lot of others.