Shopping In Mason City Iowa

North Iowa a mecca for restaurants

MASON CITY — Bobby Ademi knew exactly what he was getting into when, in the midst of a tough economy, he and his family opened the Village Court Family Restaurant on Taft Avenue last November.

“I like to roll the dice,” said Ademi, who operated restaurants in Belmond and Cedar Rapids before coming to Mason City.

His has been one of many restaurant success stories in North Iowa in the past few years, seemingly beating the odds in an era when business closings have dominated the news.

New restaurants and coffee shops in the past 18 months include Italian Gardens, Butchers, Cabin Coffee, Ralph’s Garden Cafe, Las Palmas, Taco Bell, Best Sellers, Village Court, Ruby Tuesday and Burrito Bunker in Mason City and Tinker’s Reef and Seven Stars in Clear Lake.

Not all have fared as well. Trax, Quizno’s, Borealis (downtown) and the Hanford Inn have all closed in Mason City in the past two years as has Eleanor Rigby’s in Clear Lake, among others.

Jessica Dunker, president of the Iowa Restaurant Association, said North Iowa is ahead of the rest of the state in restaurant success.

“Mason City and Clear Lake are uniquely positioned,” she said. “It is a regional center where people come from miles around. “It is the retail hub and is a regional health center. People come, and they are going to eat,” she said.

Dunker said statewide, the restaurant industry has experienced “moderate growth” in the past few years, but not at the same pace as in North Iowa.

“The key seems to be creating a hospitable, home-away-from-home atmosphere.

“Owners strive to open places like they’d like to go to themselves,” she said.

Many restaurants in Mason City have added catering as a way of keeping up with competition and gift cards have been a staple of most restaurants for many years.

Ademi said he’s well aware of the competition he has from new restaurants and from well-established restaurants throughout the area.

“Competition is a good thing. If I didn’t have competition, I probably wouldn’t do as well as I do,” he said.

“It’s good for people to have choices and it’s good for the community to have all those jobs created.”

Village Court employs about 30 full-time and part-time workers.

Ademi said the way to succeed in the restaurant business, even in tough economic times, is “quality food with good portions, good prices, good service and a friendly atmosphere.

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