Taylor
Taylor’s motor never stops running. She’s high-strung,
she says. A workaholic. She’s a social butterfly that endures
late nights and early mornings. She doesn’t get tired because,
well, she doesn’t have time to.
Such is life as owner
of The Ritz, one of Iowa’s most reputable nightspots.
The Ritz is situated
in Arnolds Park on the land bridge that separates the Okoboji Lakes.
Anyone who has ever been to Iowa’s “Great Lakes”
has undoubtedly driven by and seen the marina full of boats and
the deck packed with customers. Taylor has been a part of that scene
every summer day for 17 years, and she’s loved every minute
of it.
“I don’t
know what it’s like to be slow,” she said. “We’re
busy through lunch and dinner with food and then we go straight
into the night. I’m obviously blessed to have such great lunch,
dinner and late-night.”
The atmosphere is great
too, especially when the sun is out and the weather is hot. The
breeze blows across Okoboji Lake and cools the patrons on the deck
while beach umbrellas shade them from the sun. Cold drinks from
the bar also help cool the customers, and The Ritz staff keeps them
coming. Taylor makes her rounds, chatting with locals, exchanging
small talk with tourists and joking with her employees.
Having a location on
the water, she said, isn’t the only key to maintaining a successful
bar and restaurant.
“We’ve been
here so long – 17 years this summer – and I think that
speaks for itself,” Taylor said. “You can’t pick
your clientele; the clientele picks you. But I think if you have
a fun atmosphere and a fun staff, you get a fun crowd.”
Doug and Barb Lewis,
who own a vacation house on the lake and frequent The Ritz during
their summer vacations, agree that the bar’s ownership and
employees are what give the establishment its supreme reputation.
“You have everybody
from little old ladies and little old men to bikers coming in here
for a good time,” Doug Lewis said. “They’re all
here for one reason – to have fun. Everybody is welcome and
everybody gets along. (Taylor) runs a great bar here. She really
does.”
The boats begin circling
around The Ritz’s marina early in the evening looking for
a place to tie up on the bar’s walk-up dock. As the sun sets,
customers sail in and the music is kicked up. Many patrons choose
The Ritz’s specialty fish bowl drinks, a half gallon fish
bowl filled with ice and one of the bar’s special drink recipes
– and a bunch of straws for a boatload of drinkers. It’s
a scene Jimmy Buffet would be proud of.
Eventually, the deck
and the indoor bar area are packed to the gills, and Taylor is right
in her element.
“I’m always
around friends,” she said. “I’m always around
people, and for the most part, the people that hang around here
are always in a good mood.
“The weather this
summer has been awesome for us,” she said. “We fill
up every night and it’s great.”
But the busy nights appeared
to be in jeopardy a year ago when rumors began circulating that
The Ritz would be torn down and replaced with condominiums. For
period of a few months, a land dispute had the future of The Ritz
in limbo. Customers, both young and old, pleaded with Taylor and
the other property owners to keep the establishment running. They
printed t-shirts, they drank more fish bowls than ever before and
they showed up in droves to the bar’s three annual charity
events.
The dispute was eventually
settled, and today, The Ritz stands unscathed between Iowa’s
“Great Lakes.” Signs are posted throughout the restaurant
notifying customers of the resolution. T-shirts that read “The
Ritz is closing” are now worn by the staff as a form of irony.
The Ritz’ future is as bright as the Okoboji summer sun.
“We’re not
going anywhere,” Taylor said. “This place won’t
be closing until I get tired of it.”
Luckily, The Ritz has
an owner that doesn’t tire easily.
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