On October 1st of this year, the family who owned the Newton Maid-Rite retired. Dan and Pam Holtkamp had owned the Maid-Rite for over 51 years originally taking over from Bud and Marty Holland on May 4, 1970. The Holtkamps owned the business longer than the previous five owners combined for the 95-year-old Maid-Rite. In September of this year, the Holtkamps sold the Newton Maid-Rite to Mike and Pam Brown who also own a recreational vehicle dealership in nearby Colfax, IA.
The Browns will carry on the legacy the Holtkamps cemented during their tenure in the business that was opened in 1926 by Fred Angell, the founder of the Maid-Rite sandwich. For the uninitiated, Maid-Rite's are basically loose ground beef sandwiches and have been a staple in Iowa for years. There a handful of corporate-owned Maid-Rite restaurants around the state, and there are still others that were affiliated with the Maid-Rite brand in the past that feature loose meat sandwich on their menu - such as Taylor's Maid-Rite in Marshalltown, Ross' in Bettendorf, and the Canteen Lunch in Ottumwa. At one point in time, over 400 Maid-Rite restaurants existed in Iowa and surrounding states. Today, there are less than 30 corporate-owned Maid-Rites spread out over 5 states.
Fred Angell opened his first Maid-Rite in Muscatine, IA in 1921. He didn't really have a name for the place, but one of this customers remarked, "Fred, this sandwich is made just right!" Angell adopted the term, changing the spelling to Maid-Rite and his wife came up with a logo of a lady with broom - the Maid-Rite Maiden - for the Maid-Rite Hamburg restaurant.
Angell was looking for a second place to put restaurant and was focusing on communities that had a primarily blue-collar base. Newton's Maytag Company was a logical choice as the company was growing by leaps and bounds due to their innovative wringer washing machines. Angell opened the Newton Maid-Rite in 1926.
The original building was a stucco and wood 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. Angell ran the Newton location for six months before selling it to Gus Foster.
In the meantime, Angell opened a third Maid-Rite a year later in the town of Marshalltown, 30 miles north of Newton, home to the Lennox Furnace Company (now Lennox International). Angell then sold the Marshalltown location to Newton resident Cliff Taylor in 1928 for just $300. The original Muscatine site for Maid-Rite closed in 1998 making the Newton Maid-Rite the longest continuous Maid-Rite in existence.
Gus Foster ran the Maid-Rite in Newton until 1937 when he sold it to Ethel Shelley, who was described as a "colorful lady." I remember talking to older people in Newton years ago who remembered Ms. Shelley for her sharp tongue and a blunt demeanor, but who had a heart of gold underneath her gruff exterior.
In 1944, Cliff Taylor passed away and his son, Don, took over Taylor's Maid-Rite in Marshalltown. Don Taylor then bought the Newton Maid-Rite from Ethel Shelley later that year. 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.
In 1962, the front half of the 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." After the renovation, it became the present day building with a single entrance in the front.
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 of the building. 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 and with fondness. It was the place to go if you were a teenager - and younger - 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 Holtkamps had moved to Newton in 1968 as Dan had taken a job as an accountant for the old Parsons Manufacturing. They fell in love with Newton and wanted to make the town their permanent home to raise their kids. The Holtkamps 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 Holtkamps 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".
Pictured at right - Dan and Pam Holtkamp (seated in center) and the Maid-Rite staff after they took over in 1970. I definitely recognize some of the other faces in this picture. Photo courtesy Newton Maid-Rite Facebook page.
About the biggest change the Holtkamps did was to take out the teen room in the back, then 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 Holtkamps 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 Holtkamps 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.
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 same 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 continued to grind his own beef daily in the basement. The taste of the Newton Maid-Rite comes from the old steamer that is used to cook the meat. The steamer has been internally seasoned over the decades 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 and served to customers
About 10 years ago, I happened to stop in Newton for a Maid-Rite and was warmly greeted by Dan Holtkamp similar to the dozens of times he had greeted me when I would stop in since I had moved from Newton 30 years ago. He told me then, "You know, I'm 72 years old and I have owned this business for 41 years. If I can hang on for another five years - and I fully intend in doing so - I'll have owned this place longer than the previous owners combined." Well, not only did Dan make it another 5 years, he tacked on 5 more years for good measure!
It was in late September when I was driving through Newton on my way to Kansas City and I wanted to stop in one last time while Dan and Pam still owned the business to have a Maid-Rite. I took a seat at the counter and ordered up a Cheese-Rite - basically a Maid-Rite with a slice of American cheese on top of the loose meat.
Some things in life change, but Maid-Rites at the Newton location do not. Oh, they're smaller than they used to be and they're more expensive. But it is still served on a plain white bun, garnished with chopped onions and pickle slices, while the ketchup and mustard are applied to the bun with a mixing spatula. With a metal spatula the loose meat from the steam bin is generously scooped onto the bun and placed on a sheet of wax paper. The assembly process is pretty interesting to watch, especially during busy times. The "run-over" of the ground meat is one of the nice little touches and every Maid-Rite is served with a spoon to scoop up the excess meat after you finish the sandwich.
Dan came out of the back and did a double take when he saw me seated at the counter finishing up my Maid-Rite. He came over and we started to talk. I reminded him of what he had told me 10 years prior about wanting to own the place as long as the previous owners combined. I said, "Well, you sort of blew that out of the water!"
He said, "I made it to 46 years and I thought, 'What the heck? I may as well shoot for 50!'" He looked fit and healthy for a guy of 82 years old.
I asked him what he was going to do in his retirement and he said that he had two granddaughters in the Kansas City area who are pretty good basketball players and he and his wife were wanting to go down and watch some of their games. "The oldest one is very good," he was telling me. "She's got some offers to play college ball. But the younger one may even be better."
Dan told me that he was planning on sticking around helping with the transition past the October 1 sale date. "Mike is going to do exactly the same thing that I did when I took over - nothing." Dan said that he is keeping the same staff and said that Mike has installed two of Dan's longest employees as co-managers of the business. "He's still going to have his business in Colfax, so he'll have to spend some time over there. I don't think there's going to be much different around here other than Pam and I won't be here."
There was an open house at the Maid-Rite on September 25 to fete the Holtkamps in their retirement. Dan told me that the place was packed with well-wishers all day. "But it was draining, and somewhat bittersweet," he said in a matter-of-fact manner. Then his familiar smile returned as he said, "But it was fun."
Before I left, I thanked Dan for helping me gain weight all these years. "Aw, come on," he protested. "You look great!" We shook hands, we gave each other a hug, and I told him to have fun watching his granddaughters play basketball.
Generations of families have enjoyed Maid-Rites from the Newton Maid-Rite. It's the place where dozens of teenagers worked for the Holtkamps over the years. It's the first stop for many people when they return to Newton. It's always interesting to see who has signed the chalk board on the east wall of the establishment during class reunion weekends. People come and go, but the Newton Maid-Rite has maintained a consistency over its 95 years in business. Dan and Pam Holtkamp have carved out their own legacy enduring tough times after Maytag left Newton in 2007. But they made it through the uncertainty and they rightly deserve the retirement they worked so hard for over the last 51 years. It was quite the run.