“It’s not boring,” said Heath Kellogg, summing up a rousing two hours of pitches from a quartet of Tama County entrepreneurs and “want-to-bes” at the quarterly Tama County Pitch and Build competition at the Reinig-Toledo Civic Center on Tuesday night, Sept. 9. Kellogg is the director of the Tama County Economic Development Commission which sponsors the events.

Those present heard about a plan to expand a coffee bean roasting business, serving coffee and more as a business, an idea to bring real, home-style barbecue to the Tama-Toledo area and the return of an old-fashioned general store.

Judges for the event were Lyle Niemeyer, Marshalltown a representative of SCORE, a nonprofit association which helps small businesses get off the ground, Mike Carnahan, the chair of Tama County Economic Development Board and Jodi Phillips, operator of new businesses including the Perwinkle Place Manor Bed and Breakfast and several new shops on Station Street, all in Chelsea, and winner of the last Pitch and Build competition.

As with past Pitch and Build news stories, you have to wait until the end to find who won the “gold award.”

Here were the “pitchers:

Smith’s General Store, Gladbrook- Less than a year ago, Barb Smith, along with her husband, Dennis, took over the downtown Gladbrook building which had housed DeWitt Appliance and later Lucy’s Country Tole Shop for the past 30 years. They envisioned an old-fashioned country store and she says they have achieved their goal. But not without some obstacles.

Barb related she had been working two jobs and had planned to cut back on employment to work on creating the store. Soon both of her bosses became ill and she found herself working more than ever, she termed it “mega-overtime.”

To add to that, a grandson born on March 25 was in a Des Moines Hospital for seven weeks after birth and the smiths made numerous trips to his Des Moines hospital before he became well. The newborn also had brothers, among them a two-year-old which the Smiths cared for. “He helped me remodel the store,” Barb said.

And that wasn’t quite all. the smiths are in the lawn mowing business taking care of six area cemeteries and a pair of acreages. With Iowa’s favorable weather for lawns this year, it added up to even more work for them.

Barb says they were bale to get their store open on June 6 and business has been growing ever since.

She said Gladbrook enjoys world-wide visitors for the Matchstix Marvels Museum. She says her goal “is to make this a destination for all of Iowa and make the store a “must see.”

Not only do they feature “glass bottle pop,” she said there is candy, Iowa-made products, arts and crafts and fine antiques

The shop” portion of the store where Barb creates barn quilts. She makes them from “the heaviest cotton duck canvas” and swears they will outlast any barn quilt painted on wood. She sells them for display both in and outside as “lasting murals.”

KE Black Mercantile, Dysart- Mary Huffman said she always had a desire to operate a retail store. When Mary and Jerry Huffman’s daughter, Kathy Bonewitz, who lives in Colorado, visited them last year she fulfilled her mother’s dream: “You always wanted retail so I bought one for you.”

The “present” was a building which had housed an insurance agency since 1952.

Mary says it included “three walls, a roof and a hole in the wall.” Since then, the Huffmans renovated the property with a concentration on energy efficiency because their store is a free-standing building.

One of their undertakings was a very soft brick wall made from original bricks from a long past Dysart brick yard. With some help they used brushes to gently scrub the wall which extends about three-quarters length of one side of the building. The wall was once place where energy conservation come into play Mary said., the exterior of the wall was coated with foam insulation and covered with steel. The interior displays the historic brick.

What’s within the restored walls?

Mary said the coffee shop portion has sold “more than 1,000 smoothies since opening on June 1.” They host regulars including the businessmen’s group in the mornings and Dysart’s “Blue Hat Women.” There’s lots of out-of-town guests who visit Dysart’s other unique downtown shops. Mary said, “The people of Dysart support us and we try to support them. If you’re not involved in (your) town, you can’t expect customer in town to support you.”

Being added in October is wine by the glass as they carry a selection of wines from an Iowa-produced one to those of Europe and the Napa Valle.y

They have basic kitchen supplies and “all the little gadgets” for sale. The wares of two potters, from Dayton and Williamsburg, both in Iowa, are featured and they strive to have “Made in U.s. A.” products, Mary said.

They are also looking toward serving soup and sandwiches at noon and what ever else “the customers ask for.”

A very popular feature the Huffmans said is their “People Don’t Know What To Buy Me Gift registry.” Comparable to the “Bridal Registry” it allows customers to register their wants.

One guest at the Pitch and Build suggested this would be invaluable for a husband who may have made a spouse unhappy.

Mary notes the “Big Blue Fish” which had been on display in the insurance office for more than 60 years remains in KE Black Mercantile.

The store gets it’s name from a combination of the Huffman’s daughters name “Katherine Elizabeth, and Mary’s mother’s maiden name “Black.”

For the “gift” of the store from Kathy, Mary says she may have a store of her own for her retirement. It will likely have a blue fish.