LONE TREE

Folks were nearly shoulder-to-shoulder at Lone Ox Smokehouse & Company on Thursday night as the Brown family served beautiful cocktails at the bar and offered platters full of delicious snacks. Lone Tree regulars came out to support their newest dining establishment, opened by owners Zee and Tony Brown this summer, as did others from surrounding communities.

This wasn’t just any night for the Lone Ox. The business was in the spotlight, first with a ribbon-cutting hosted by the Lone Tree Chamber of Commerce, then with a happy hour hosted by the Johnson County Food Policy Council (FPC).

While guests enjoyed free street food provided by the Browns, who specialize in vintage-style barbeque and focus on locally sourced ingredients, the FPC conducted a little information-gathering. They set up three posters on tables on which attendees could contribute their opinion via Post-it note; they asked:

• If a grocery store were to return to Lone Tree, what products or services would you be looking for?

• What local food and farming resources are you in search of? What questions do you have about local food?

• In the future, what kinds of dining establishments would you want to support in Lone Tree? What types of food would you like to eat in Lone Tree?

Answers indicated butcher products would be appreciated, a community garden would be welcome, and residents would enjoy pizza and Thai food.

The FPC’s purpose is to improve dialogue and discussion on food, as well as provide advice; the happy hour was an effort to facilitate connections across the community food system and raise awareness of itself as a community resource. Attendees were able to pick up informational brochures and cloth totes as they chatted and enjoyed the snacks created by Lone Ox.

“This is a good thing,” Mayor Josh Spilman said as he enjoyed a drink. “We’re very happy with the restaurant. Zee and Tony have been good, they’re always very happy people when you come in here to eat, and they’re very talkative, so good conversation. It’s nice to have a local bar in town so people can come up here.”

He also appreciated the ribbon cutting, at which he said a few words. “The Chamber has been doing a great job this year of organizing different things,” he said.

Spilman doesn’t foresee success for a grocery store, should someone elect to re-establish one in Lone Tree. With the Dollar General in town for essentials, and Hy-Vee and Fareway stores located an easy 15-minute drive away in Iowa City and Muscatine, there is little need.

But another restaurant – that is something Lone Tree residents would enjoy.

With the excitement surrounding the Lone Ox Smokehouse & Company, one imagines the mayor just might be right.