“Baxter’s” was a favorite nighttime dinner and drinks destination around northwest Iowa. Restaurants, especially with liquor are tough work. Boots, aka Diane Lingen, found a new way to use her assets – the building, and her skills at “making things.”
It is no secret that Boots’ food is good. Her Saturday night BBQ ribs were always sold out. While still running the restaurant she ventured into floral and décor. So Boots’ skills with cooking and making décor or floral have been reimagined.
“Boots’ Barn” since early December now primarily offers itself as a coffee shop with lunches served Tuesday through Friday and open at 7:30am. The flavored specialty coffees and iced coffees or teas or hot chocolate are the staple of the gathering spot. Smoothies will come with warm weather. Delicious homemade baked goods are displayed in conspicuous locations throughout her showroom, tempting her customers. Sit and stay or take your selections with you. Don’t have time to bake and need something special. Call “Boots’ Barn.” Custom baking orders are part of her “making things” repertoire.
She offers 1 or 2 lunch items each day, also Tuesday through Friday until 2:00pm. Call-in orders are welcome, often with an order ready and waiting, again to sit and enjoy or take out. She says she does many call-in orders for lunch, served until 2pm. Her menu can be found on her Facebook page and she can be reached at 957-2006. She is open Saturdays, 9am until 12 noon for coffee and from her showroom. No lunch.
About changing the demands the business makes on her personally she said, “I miss my night customers and employees. Especially my son. He worked every Saturday. No I hardly ever see him.”
Boots’ showroom is more than just the mouth-watering baked goods shouting your name to take them home. Look closely toward the window. You will see a small refrigerator. You can find take out containers of her homemade soups and other goodies including her favored BBQ sauce. Rib lovers take note: you can order those ribs for take home. She vacuum packs them.
Interesting décor items are scattered around her show room. Boots is skilled with wood, painting, and particularly with customizing your ideas into a work of art for your home or for your yard. She also still provides the floral aspect, offering flowers from “Broadway Marketplace” in Paullina.
She is hoping that in time she can expand into clothing, but for now the south side of her business is her workshop. In the meantime, “Boots’ Barn” is a must stop full of surprises, local honey, random fresh produce. Who knows what you might find?