Enthusiasm for their community inspired a Slater couple to create a coffee shop in a historic building on Main Street.
Melodie and Russ Terhaar officially opened Public House 421 on Wednesday in the 123-year-old building at 421 Main. The coffee shop is open Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to noon.
The building has seen myriad uses over the decades — from being a Model T Ford dealership to hosting boxing matches. It was also a public house for a time.
“This was a public house, and a public house was really the gathering place for the community,” Melodie Terhaar said.
Public house is the British term from which the word “pub” is derived, Russ Terhaar said.
The Terhaars moved into the Main Street building in December of 2019. They live on the second story and have the business on the ground floor. They are also longtime owners of The Clean Machine, a carpet cleaning service.
“We are really grateful because Russ had cleaned in here for the people who were restoring the building,” Melodie said.
That was in 2014. He thought it was the coolest building and even took photos while the contractor gave him a tour.
“I never imagined that I would live here. I’ve been in and out of tens of thousands of homes over the years in my carpet cleaning business,” Russ said. “It had just been restored and it’s pretty special.”
Just a few years later, the building has become home to the Terhaars and their 13-year-old son Max. They moved from Huxley, another community in the Ballard school district, where they’d lived for the past decade.
Terhaars want Public House to be a ‘living room’ for the community
They hope in time Public House 421 will feel like a living room for the whole community, Melodie said.
“We want it to be a place that’s really comfortable for the older folks and for kids,” she said. “We want it to be a very family and community friendly type place.”
The drink menu includes a variety of coffee and also Italian sodas so there’s something for kids and non-coffee drinkers.
“We think that this sort of thing is important. It always was — public houses and ale houses. They were significant because of all the things we learned during COVID,” Russ said. “Because community itself is such a foundation of what we’re supposed to be doing in life, connecting with one another in a real way.”
First day of business was RAGBRAI day in Slater
Although the coffee shop opened this week, the first foray for the business was a pop-up when RAGBRAI rolled through Slater on July 26.
They were so concerned about the number of riders they might get, they said they probably over-prepared.
“There is nothing bigger than RAGBRAI, right? We talked about it for months and lost sleep over it. We didn’t sleep the night before at all,” Melodie said. “It was a learning experience. But it was so much fun. It was really good.”
They want Public House to be a destination for out-of-towners as well as locals. And the nearby trails are part of that. Slater is located on two major trails — the High Trestle Trail and the Heart of Iowa Nature Trail.
The Terhaars don’t have a commercial kitchen onsite, so they contract with area bakers for the treats on hand at the coffee shop.
Customers are likely to find gluten-free donuts from Sweet Treat Without Wheat. Or scones and other goodies baked by Slater local Jill Wheeler, who owns Sugar High Trestle Treats.
Public House 421’s logo has family history
Public House’s decor is an eclectic combination of vintage furniture and nods to the history of the building. One wall is a collage of black-and-white photos showing the history of the building, the town and the residents.
One photo in particular shows a group of men and boys gathered around one of the first Model T Fords that was brought to town on a horse-drawn wagon.
An antique lantern used in Public House’s logo is a rendering of an actual lantern that Melodie inherited from her grandfather, who worked for the Milwaukee Railroad his whole life, she said.
Building was renovated in 2014, has a rich history
Built in 1900, the building could easily have been demolished after the turn of the millennium. It sat vacant for about 20 years and fell into disrepair. But the Safe Company came to its rescue in 2014 when it put the time, effort and money into renovating the building with an eye toward maintaining key architectural details.
“They were really true to the history of the building,” Russ said.
“It feels full circle because this was the public house in its prime day,” Melodie said. “There were boxing matches upstairs, gambling, skating, dances. It had lots of dances.”
Although the coffee shop is just open in the mornings on weekdays, the venue is available for rent for special occasions. And the Terhaars plan to hold pop-up events like live music shows and also plan to get a liquor license for those nights.
“We want to be a place where you can meet your neighbors, actually get to know the people around you,” Russ said. “Slater’s a neat little town.”
It’s not just a bedroom community where people drive into their garage, put the door down and then don’t see their neighbors, they said.
“People are driving around on golf carts waving at each other all the time,” Melodie said.
“Slater is a very small but tightly knit and passionate community,” Russ said. “Ballard in general is a very tight community, and that means the world to us.”
Ronna Faaborg is a reporter for the Ames Tribune. Reach her at rlawless@gannett.com.
