Iowa man new owner of Taunton restaurant
The former corner cafe in Taunton has been sitting lonely for nearly two years now, just begging to hear the sounds of burgers sizzling on the grill, customers visiting with one another, and the ringing of the cash register drawer.
The cafe has been for sale, but like a fishless lake, there have been no bites.
So, the building, equipment, furnishings and catering truck were put up for auction on Tuesday.
Nearly 30 men showed up for the sale hosted by Deutz Auctions of Marshall.
"Good crowd," said auctioneer Troy Deutz before starting the bidding.
The bidding lasted around 15 minutes with only one taker. Blaine Foreman of LeMars, Iowa, who has several relatives in the area. Foreman's lone bid for $20,000 stood.
"I thought it would go much higher," said Deutz. "But you never know how these things are going to go. I'm glad it will stay a restaurant. That was the town's first choice."
Foreman has owned and operated Blaine's Corner Cafe in Brunsville, IA for the past three years. Ironically, the Taunton establishment was recently called Duke's Corner Cafe and for 30 years, it was owned by Rusty Rhymer and was known as Rusty's Corner Cafe. "I'm going to run it as a bar/restaurant," said Foreman. "I'll make a few changes in here and put in a horseshoe bar. We'll serve some really good prime rib for one thing."
The people of Taunton were thrilled to learn that the building will once again serve food. Several elderly people have told of hating to drive several miles to dine.
"This is going to be nice to have a place in town again," said one man who was a spectator at the auction. "I'm really happy."
Foreman also recently purchased a bar and restaurant in Grandville, Iowa, with hopes of opening that establishment in January or February.
"After I get that one going, this will be next," he said. "If I can hire some help for mornings, noon and night shifts, I'm hoping to have this place up and running by summer."
Foreman worked as a golf cart salesman in Iowa for several years until it was sold out of state.
"I needed something to do," he said. "So, I bought a job."