In Memoriam: Ames Business/Restaurants
- Thread starter Farnsworth
- Start date
Most of what I've heard/read is that very few menu items from Stomping Grounds remain. Someday we'll get there again. We occasionally had breakfast after church there, and sometimes went at night when we could sit outside and there was music.
I will say that we eat there less now than we used to. I still enjoy it, and the food is largely the same (albeit more expensive) - but yes, it's not as homey as it used to be. It's more of a "girls night out" type of place, which is great! But just not the bar and grill it used to be. That sort of vibe seems to be sort of dying out in Ames, which is odd with it being a college town.
There were several converted Happy Chef restaurants in Ames. The only one remaining is the original El Azteca location off Dayton. There was the old Wallaby's, Ruttles, next to the old bowling alley on Duff, and the location where Walgreens is in front of North Grand Mall (used to be a Country Kitchen, then something else that name escapes me). Those buildings were everywhere. Kind of like rehabbing an old Pizza Hut: without a complete renovation, there's no hiding what the building was in its first life.
Anybody else like Joe's Pizza and Pasta as much as I did? It was by West Towne Pub. This was back when I was just out of college so maybe I just liked loading up on their breadsticks, but the food was always excellent. I can't remember correctly but didn't the owner have a relative or son who was on the football team? This would have been around 2012 or so.
Boji made a pit stop at the mall (Walgreens area now) before South Duff.
This post kind of makes me miss $2 giant rum and cokes and buck burgers at Diamond Daves.
I loved that place. My brother and I lived by the Sukup practice facility for a couple years post college. We ordered there so often that the last week they were open they actually called US to see if we wanted to order one more time. The lasagna there is the best I have had before of since. Shaban Dika was the name of the player on the team.
The land where Hy-Vee is now used to be a giant Kmart. They were the "anchor" of that strip.
And the space that now houses McFarland Clinic in the same strip used to be the West Hy-Vee.
That location is now a new business called Pancake House. Just drove by today and the signage is up. Not sure when it opens though.
I actually remember the old Target (now Hobby Lobby). I went to Hastings a few times too. I didn't know about the west hyvee/kmart situation.
I used to get the chicken murphy both in pasta and pizza form. I'm guessing once the player graduated they decided to move? Or did West Towne Pub buy them out?
