NEWS

Main Street Cafe and Bakery ready to join Prairie Trail businesses

Kristin Danley-Greiner
The Main Street Cafe and Bakery is scheduled to open soon at 2510 S.W. White Birch Drive in Ankeny.

In November, John and Bene Zehr sold their I-HOP restaurants in Ankeny, Cedar Rapids and Waterloo. But they didn't retire. Instead they have been working on opening a new restaurant.

Main Street Cafe and Bakery is expected to open late next month in Ankeny's Prairie Trail development.

"I've been doing this a long time. When you work for a company, you're an employee. As a franchisee, it's 50/50, but you're answering to someone still and doing the things they want you to do," John Zehr said. "This offers us the opportunity to be on our own."

Zehr began working in the restaurant business in the late 1950s.

"I started at the bottom like everyone else, then in 2002, I opened the I-HOP in Ankeny," he said.

Zehr spoke with The Des Moines Register about his business.

Q: How is your wife involved?

A: Bene will do most of the baking — that's her expertise. We also have a business partner, Bryan Dullard.

Q: What will you offer in the bakery?

A: We'll offer things like bagels, scones and cookies. Our main feature is bundt cakes. You can get cupcakes everywhere, but we'll do both large and small bundt cakes. We'll have a variety of pastries and baked goods. We run the concession stand in the new gym at Ankeny Fitness World, selling protein products. Bene's been working on protein bars and balls, but I don't know if we'll offer those at the bakery.

Q: What will you offer for catering?

A: We're going to offer hot and cold catering, which is a bit different. We'll offer breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Q: What's on the menu in the restaurant?

A: We'll have a wide variety. Our grill allows us to offer a different line of foods, like a full breakfast line. We're considered more fast-casual, so we don't have as much as a full-service restaurant and no server. Our lunch line will have paninis, flatbreads, pastas and an array of salads and soups. For the dinner line, we'll have another set of pastas, like a bow tie with pine nuts, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes rolled in olive oil and garlic. We'll have flatbreads, too. We'll have 40 to 50 items on the menu depending upon the time of day.

Q: Why are you opening a drive-thru?

A: We will have a full line of coffees, same as Starbucks or Caribou, from lattes to cappuccinos to mochas.

Q: How many will you seat?

A: We have seating for 106. There's an area in the restaurant with a fireplace and bench seating that takes it up to 110. The patio will hold 20 to 30 people.

Q: What types of customers to you expect to cater to?

A: Families and people ages 25 and older. We have a decent children's menu in the hopes of drawing in families, since we're in the middle of Prairie Trail. We hope to appeal to all age groups.

Q: What do you like about your location?

A: It feels like a neighborhood. We hope to get to know everyone's name who comes in.

Former Ankeny IHOP owners John and Bene Zehr are opening the Main Street Cafe and Bakery in the Prairie Trail development.

Main Street Cafe and Bakery

LOCATION: 2510 S.W. White Birch Drive, Suites 1 and 2, Ankeny

HOURS: The restaurant is open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week, and the drive-thru opens at 5:30 a.m.

OWNERS: John and Bene Zehr, and business partner, Bryan Dullard.

BUSINESS HISTORY: The new business is expected to open in late April.

CONTACT:www.mainstreetcafeandbakery.com, Facebook @ Main Street Cafe and Bakery