The historic Stone City General Store Pub will be closing its doors as a bar and restaurant Nov. 1, the restaurant’s owners confirmed in a Facebook post Sunday, Aug. 27.
The business will transition into a space for private events, such as weddings and holiday or corporate parties.
Located along the historic Grant Wood Scenic Byway, the restaurant has been a destination for travelers for decades, and features a large outdoor deck overlooking the Wapsipinicon River.
The restaurant, open Thursdays through Sundays, offers an extensive menu of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, burgers and pizzas, along with a full bar. The “Tad Burger,” named after owner Tad Larson, was named “Best Burger in Jones County” by the Jones County Cattlemen in 2003.
The restaurant’s building has a storied history. According to the Stone City Foundation’s website, the Stone City General Store was built in 1893 and once served as a post office and rail depot with quarry offices on the second floor.
Later, known as the Dearborn Store, it was operated by Clate Dearborn from 1910 to 1959. In the 1930’s it was used as a meeting place for artists associated with the Grant Wood Art Colony, and once also served as a gas station.
The restaurant’s website describes the General Store building as “standing with authority” in the historical Jones County quarry town of Stone City.
“The General Store, constructed from local limestone, is perched on the banks of the Wapsipinicon River,” the website says. “This old fashion (sic) General Store is converted into an inviting and cozy destination restaurant and bar. Complete with a spacious two-level deck overlooking the Wapsipinicon River and indoor and outdoor seating.
The restaurant is also renowned for its inclusion in a famous Grant Wood painting.
“‘Stone City Iowa’ was Wood’s first major landscape, painted in the same year as his now famous American Gothic in 1930,” the website says. “Located on the Wapsipinicon River twenty-six miles from Cedar Rapids, the land, Wood seems to suggest, has gone back to a purer purpose of grazing animals and growing crops. Wood’s interest in the village continued, and it became the site of a summer artist’s colony which he ran from 1932 to 1933.”
