BARN HAPPY September 27th

Thursday, Sept 27th, I spent a wonderful morning visiting with Kathy and her friends camping near Dike Iowa -- then Kathy and I went down the road to Barn Happy for lunch. Cute place, 1940-50-60 vintage mismatched tables and chairs with patterned oil cloth on the tables. Doesn't get much more country than THAT! I had an excellent broccoli, ham, cheese quiche with Wisconsin cheese soup and topped it off with a piece of to-die-for pumpkin cheese cake! Just about had to ROLL me outta there!

The owners of Barn Happy were both Iowa ‘farm kids.” With their roots deep in the Iowa soil, it was important to them to find a ‘purpose’ for an old dairy barn built in 1925 once the cattle no longer called it home.

After expending lots of ‘elbow grease’ scraping, sweeping, power washing and bleaching, patching, repairing and remodeling, the old barn became a one-of-a-kind soup and sandwich tea shop. When you enter thru the doors, you no longer smell the cattle, feed, and other smells of the dairy barn, your senses are heightened with the aromas of fresh coffee, homemade soups, the makings for great sandwiches and pastries – lots of homemade pastries!

Opened in spring of 2003, Barn Happy also serves as a local outlet for the area artists and farmers. The barn is filled with the crafts, foods and products provided by area residents – from fresh honey and maple syrup and wines to homemade jams, jellies, salsas – the list goes on!

The old corn crib behind the barn is now The Crib,  a banquet hall.

Nothing goes to waste.  The old metal has been redesigned into a rooster and a chicken!