Taylors' Off-Broadway Grill ends 30-year run July 31

Judging solely by their exteriors, some might think him as salty as the corned beef in the Reuben sandwiches he?s famous for; she, as sharp as the Swiss cheese that holds the sandwich together.

But first impressions rarely should be trusted. As Jack and Marty Taylor reminisce about their partnership in both the restaurant business and in life; their devotion to their family; and their affection for their community, their soft centers are revealed. They expose themselves as what they really are ? pure vanilla pudding.

?It hasn?t been the life of Riley,? Jack says of their 48 years together. ?It?s been the life of Taylor.?

The ?life of Taylor? officially began when the couple, who met at Parsons College, married in 1951. Jack was on leave from the Army and shipped out just days later, although there is some discrepancy as to how soon. Marty says he left 18 days after they exchanged vows; Jack is emphatic it was only 10.

?That?s what I?ve always told people,? he says, explaining his version evokes more sympathy. ?It was ?Hello. Good-bye.??

When Jack returned from the service, the Taylors moved to Pennsylvania (Jack?s original stomping ground was Philadelphia), where Jack worked for Globe Ticket Co. He was transferred to Detroit and served as sales manager for Michigan, Indiana and Ohio.

It was the birth of their eldest two children ? John and Ann ? that brought to the surface the couple?s discontent with where they were living. Detroit was not the place to raise children, Marty says.

?At that point, it just wasn?t a very happy town to live in. We could see the handwriting on the wall, and we didn?t want to raise our children in that environment,? she explains.

It was a dilemma similar to the one Marty?s parents, Pat and Esther Crowl, faced in the early 1940s. In 1945, the Crowls had moved to Fairfield with Marty because her father ?wanted me exposed to small-town living.?

The Crowls owned and operated the Adams Street Grocery and Alley Inn in Fairfield, a neighborhood market that served as a small grocery store, meat shop and cafe. Eventually, the building sold and Pat Crowl had to sell his business.

After convincing Ralph Eastburn to pour a floor in a small space between the old Iowa State Bank Building and Parker Cleaners (now Teeter?s Cleaners), Crowl opened the Broadway Grill on his birthday ? Jan. 15, 1947 ? and continued to operate it. That, Jack says, was the kind of environment in which he wanted to bring up his own children.

?Jack really wanted to move back, but I was hesitant,? Marty remembers. But Jack won that one, and the couple returned to Fairfield in December 1958. Marty?s reluctance quickly vanished.

?I?ve never thought twice about it,? Marty says, of the move. ?It?s a wonderful community ? a great community to raise children in. If you don?t know what your children are doing, someone will tell you.?

Upon relocating to Fairfield, the couple took over operation of the Fairfield Golf and Country Club, and embarked on a time in their lives Marty sums up as ?wonderful days.?

?All the staff and faculty of Parsons had memberships, and we met some truly wonderful people,? Marty says. ?The saddest day we can remember is the day that Parsons closed.?

In 1968, with her parents aging, Marty took over the Broadway Grill, leaving Jack to run the country club alone. Although the grill was small in size ? just four booths, a counter and a juke box ? it was big on business. Marty cleared out the juke box to make room for more customers and soon, ?it just became such a booming business.?

With the grill thriving and a young family that needed more attention (Todd came along in 1962; Paul would follow in 1971), Jack decided to leave the club and join Marty downtown. That was 30 years ago this month.

Opening their doors promptly at 6 a.m. and locking up at 5 p.m., the Taylors built a solid following of ?regulars? ? loyal clientele for whom placing an order quickly became unnecessary.

?You didn?t ask what they wanted,? Jack recalls. ?You just put it out in front of them.?

?When (my dad) opened in 1947, (the late) Park Davidson was the first to order. The second was Dean Gabbert,? Marty still remembers.

?Dean was a long John and coffee,? Jack states, an instinctual response requiring absolutely no thought on his part.

The grill continued to grow and, in 1978, the Taylors decided to expand their culinary repertoire. Their children were older and the time seemed right to start serving evening meals. Others did not agree.

?We tried to put together a program similar to what we have now (at Off-Broadway Grill),? Marty says. ?But we couldn?t get financial backing because they said, ?Nobody?s downtown after 5 p.m.,? which I said was ridiculous because there wasn?t any place to go after 5 p.m.?

The Taylors dream didn?t die, however; it was merely put to bed temporarily. It would be reincarnated a few years later when Iowa State Bank, which owned the building that housed the Broadway Grill, announced it would be taking the building back.

?When the bank said they were taking the building, we just decided to move and do it up right,? Marty says.

The Taylors began their search for a building, and found one just around the corner at 111 N. Court St. It was not in the best of shape, and needed a complete overhaul before it could function as an eating establishment. Once used as a plumbing store, the basement was full of old toilets. It was, at first sight, hard to imagine eating there, the Taylors recall.

?We took the kids through and they immediately said, ?Find another building.? But there wasn?t one,? Marty says. Besides, nobody tells Jack and Marty Taylor what to do.

The couple went to work ? remodeling the ramschackle storefront, building their dream. They continued to run the Broadway Grill during the day, tearing down walls at night until finally, they were ready to open.

?When the kids came back at Christmas and we were almost ready to open, they couldn?t believe the transition,? Marty says. ?Next to our children, our greatest accomplishment was converting this building.?

On Jan. 15, 1984 ? exactly 37 years to the day after her father had opened it ? Marty locked the doors of the Broadway Grill for the last time. On Jan. 22, less than a block away, business began again. No longer on Broadway Avenue, their restaurant reopened under a new name ? Off-Broadway Grill ? and featured an expanded menu, evening dining and a lounge ?just to enhance the dining.?

?Mayor (Bob) Rasmussen once said this is the only place he hadn?t had a complaint on,? Jack boasts. ?Well, about the bar, I mean. He probably had some about me.?

If the mayor has received complaints about Jack, they were most likely not about his four-pepper chicken salad, his jumbo cheeseburgers or his chocolate coconut-cream cake. Most customers who have frequented the grill over the last four decades will attest that where the food is concerned, there is nothing to grumble about.

Calling Fairfield ?cosmopolitan,? a city full of people willing to try new things, Jack says that in the 40 years he?s been flipping burgers here, he?s seen a lot of changes in the food industry, ?as far as likes and dislikes.?

But, Marty adds, for all that?s changed, as much, if not more, has stayed the same ? primarily, the nature of people.

?You learn a lot about people in this business,? Marty says. ?I can tell when someone walks in here whether or not I want to hire them. I have never hired anyone who came for an interview in blue jeans.?

When Jack and Marty retire at the end of this month, it is the people they agree they will miss the most. ?Well, most of the people,? laughs Marty.

What they will not miss, Jack says, is standing on their feet, the long hours and giving interviews. And frankly, Marty adds, there are a handful of people whose sudden absence from their lives will not cause a moment?s angst.

?I?ve always thought that all people should work as a waiter or waitress, to be on the other side,? she explains. ?Finger snappers have never been a waitress.?

No longer required to get up and make breakfast for an entire community, Jack says he and his wife will be free to travel and do volunteer work. Marty serves on the Fairfield Community Concert Association board; both she and Jack are involved in the Fairfield Sister Cities organization. Jack emphasizes that just giving her husband all the TLC he deserves will be a full-time job for Marty, and on top of that, they both will continue to be involved in the business for a while longer, helping ease the transition for new owner Becky Blum.

What the Taylors will not do is move.

?People keep asking us if we?re going to leave,? Marty says. ?No. We?re not going to leave. We?re going to stay in Fairfield. We love Fairfield. We have good friends here.?

?It?s a crazy town,? Jack says, his voice flat, his eyes begging for a reaction.

?It?s home,? Marty adds, holding Jack?s arm.

And of the life they?ve made here, the Taylors are completely satisfied.

?I wouldn?t change a day,? Marty says, her eyes smiling at her husband. Then she quickly reconsiders, grins and adds, ?Well, maybe just one or two.?