Snapshots of History

By Editor | November 9, 2023 |

Romano’s Pizza in Mount Ayr in 2013.

I don’t have the complete history of this restaurant but I have most.
This week’s picture was taken by me on March 26, 2013.
Keith Rogers built the Dog’N’Suds drive-in at 904 E. South Street in Mount Ayr in 1965. Keith also built the Fina Station and car wash to the east in the same year.
Keith’s daughter, Kay Kesterson, was the first manager. An advertisement in the May 31, 1965 issue of the Mount Ayr Record-News says the hours of operation were 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week.
On June 1, 1966, Roy Payne bought the Dog’N’Suds and put Bernard Routh in as manager. The chain eatery specialized in root beer and hot dogs.
On May 3, 1971, Raymond and Beulah Hutchinson opened the cafe as Hutch’s Drive-In. Bill and Marilyn Monaghan bought Hutch’s and opened B&M Drive-In in February 1972.
Prior to 1972, the drive-in was not enclosed. Carhops served the customers or you could go inside and pick up orders “to go.”
Bill and Marilyn built the first enclosure in the summer of 1972 and began to offer breakfast. The Monaghans built another addition, complete with red carpet, in the winter of 1977-78.
Bill passed away in 1978 and Marilyn sold the business to Larry and Karon Giles. The new name was Red Carpet Inn.
Phil and Vernadean Godden bought the Red Carpet Inn in February 1981 and sold it to Eldon and Retha Dillenburg in November 1982. Linda Cheers was the manager.
The Dillenburgs sold the cafe to John and Vera Byrom in November 1984 with the new name of Raiders Inn.
I could find no information on the restaurant in 1988 but in April 1989, Don and Nida Solliday opened Don’s Drive Inn. The Sollidays sold the restaurant to Mr. and Mrs. Amron Eltoukhy and Mr. and Mrs. Kahled Abdalla. Kahled “Kimo” Abdalla and his wife Rhonda (Cloud) Abdalla were soon the sole owners.
The building went up for sale in November 1992.
In September 1994, Kevin and Jayla Shelman opened the Farmstead in the former Red Carpet Inn. They stayed until November 1995. Kahled and Rhonda returned in March 1996 to open the Mount Ayr Diner. An ad in May 2004 says the Mt. Ayr Diner is back under “old” management (Sollidays). The diner closed in December 2004.
The Abdallas would return again in July 2005 with Frosty’s, an ice cream shop, restaurant, and Fun Zone (arcade and video games). But wait, back in 2002, Kahled and Rhonda had purchased Breadeaux Pizza at 306 W. South Street. Owning both businesses, Breadeaux was moved to the Frosty’s location in November 2006. In November 2008, Eric and Virginia Swank took over management of Breadeaux Pizza.
Kahled opened Romano’s Pizza at 904 E. South St. on July 1, 2010. I was living in Carroll, Iowa at this time, but when I was down for the weekend, I often dined at the Friday evening pizza buffet.
The last day of business was April 21, 2013. The building was torn down in July 2013 and I got a couple of photographs from that, as well.