Ladora Bank Bistro offers a unique experience in dining, serving the
worlds finest wines, beers and a delectable small plate menu.
"I was on a motorcycle ride and I liked the back highways and byways, and of course, Highway 6 is a beautiful highway. I was on my way from Grinnell to Iowa City on a certain sunny day, drove into town and saw this gothic-looking structure in the middle of corn fields and dilapidated buildings and just thought, 'Wow, what is this?' I was immediately drawn to it. I decided I was going to make it into something!” said Dimitri Makedonsky.
"Under all the dust and grime, you could tell this was a special place,” said Colleen Klainert.
Dimitri Makedonsky and his fiancee Colleen Klainert, the proprietors of Ladora Bank Bistro, sat down to do an on-camera interview for the upcoming documentary River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6.
Dimitri Makedonsky & Colleen Klainert, proprietors Ladora Bank Bistro.
Their elegant wine bar is housed in a magnificently restored 90-year-old bank in the village of Ladora, Iowa right on Highway 6.
Colleen: “It’s terribly out of the way and we decided that’s one of the advantages and that we are not what you would expect. You’re in a small town. You’re in a rural community. You sometimes have to pass combines and slow moving tractors to get here. But you walk in and it feels like a corner of a fancy neighborhood in Minneapolis. It feels like something more than that. People are taken by the elegance of this building.”
Dimitri: “Being a destination location makes it even more impressive. The Bank has really been a magnet for us to get to know so many diverse groups of people and so many interesting people from all walks of life. We would have never had that opportunity if it had not been for this venture and this building."
The Ladora Bank Bistro draws patrons from all over the country to sample from a list of 85 fine wines and 40 different beers from around the world, and indulge in the slow-cooked small-plate culinary menu prepared to perfection by Colleen (with help from Dimitri).
Dimitri: “The great thing is that a lot of our offerings come from Iowa. La Quercia Prosciutto, which is a world renowned Prosciutto, we carry it. Maytag Blue Cheese, which is out of Newton, Iowa, that’s just down the road, and we carry their cheeses. So, when you use local ingredients that have a national and even worldwide appeal it gives us a lot of credibility. And, when you can sit in a beautiful setting like this with your friends and family and enjoy a really nice glass of wine, everybody wins. It’s really enjoyable."
Colleen: "One of the things I noticed when I moved to Iowa [from Minnesota] was that every small town has a gem. There is at least one beautiful building from the past that’s sitting there and probably falling in on itself. Traveling along Highway 6 I’d like to hope that in some way our venture here is an inspiration for the next guy who drives by an old, beat up gas station and says, 'Hey that looks like a really cool General Store' or like something a community might want to support. Highway 6, like so many small town rural highways, can be the opening for a lot of opportunities and possibilities."
Dimitri: "You’re not going to see franchises like Arbys or McDonalds along this stretch of road and that’s a great thing. It’s about supporting local businesses and the local community. And, the money you spend along Highway 6 is going to stay really close to home. It’s not going to filter into some big conglomerate."
Dimitri: “We are nostalgic people. The Bank makes us nostalgic. The highway, the small towns and communities off the beaten path and the only way to get to them is on Highway 6. It’s Iowa’s version of Route 66. It is our romantic little highway."
Ladora Bank Bistro is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday 4:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. and Sunday noon until 6:00 p.m. It is located at 811 Pacific Street, Ladora, Iowa. Reservations are encouraged by calling 319.623.7766. Visit www.LadoraBank.com for more information, wine/beer list and menu.
Watch for the Ladora Bank Bistro in the documentary River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6, now in production and anticipated release in 2013.
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