Tuesday, October 27, 2020

Chef Wes Zeitz Tells Us What it takes to Run a Restaurant.



What does it take to open and run a restaurant in Indianola, Iowa?  What'smore, how do you confront opening a business 2 weeks before the COVID shut down? Chef Wes Zeitz shared his many adventures at Z's Eatery and Draught.

Chef Z began by sharing his background and what motivated him to get into the restaurant business. He told us about their presence on social media on Facebook and showed one of his videos of his cook trying to eat their Monster burger which was as big as his head. 

Then he educated us about what it takes to run a restaurant.  He said that he was working 80 hours a week but as he has developed his team, he has been able to cut that down to only 55 hours.  The margins in a restaurant are very small and the key is planning. Labor and Food are his greatest expenditure and he works hard to support his employees and "buy the best food he can afford."  It's an on-going educational process. He is proud of their policy to cook fresh - "everything is made by hand from scratch."  Z's Eatery has a delicious menu for us to enjoy.

An exciting part was when he took us on a tour of Z's Eatery and Draught. The restaurant was filled with beautiful wooden handmade tables and the walls were covered by reclaimed wood slats from a barn in South Warren county.  He explained the policies they were using to provide the necessary social distancing to seat their patrons safely.

It was an informative visit and we are looking forward to the time when we can drive down to Indianola to enjoy their savory food.   Written by Leigh Zeitz

Thursday, October 1, 2020

Zoom into October's Amazing Roughrisers' Programs

Wednesday, October 7 - Business Meeting
Our club members get together to discuss what's happening now and make plans for the future.  We talk about projects, kettlecorn, finances, marketing and a plethora of potential possibilities  


Wednesday, 
October 14 - Enter the Kitchen of Z's Eatery in Indianola - Wesley Zeitz, Chef and Owner of Z's Eatery and Draught Haus

Chef Wesley Zeitz has invited us into Z's Eatery and Draught Haus in Indianola. He will share culinary tales from Burgers to Ribeyes and Pesto Alfredo to Planked Mahi Mahi. Beyond this, he will share tales of what it takes to open and operate a restaurant in midst of a pandemic. 


Wednesday, October 21 - Racism in our Own Backyard. Dr. Allen Hays, Iowa Action Justice Network
Dr. Hays will address racial inequality in policing, prosecution, and imprisonment in Iowa. In Iowa's prisons, 23% of the inmates are African American while only 4% of Iowa's population is black. This program will explore the reasons for this disparity and include interviews with leaders in the black community.


Wednesday, October 28 - Novel Ideas for Kiwanians to Serve the Community during a Pandemic.
Brad Boyd, Central USA Area Director, Global Operations for Kiwanis International.
Brad Boyd will join us from Indianapolis to tell us about how Kiwanis clubs are serving their communities around the world and share some ideas for projects in which we can engage to serve the Cedar Valley Community.