T-R FILE PHOTO Marshalltown native Garrett Goodman owns The Flying Elbow, 35 N. Center St. The building housing the eatery was destroyed in the July 19 tornado and was demolished last week.

The July 19 tornado knocked Garrett Goodman’s business down, but not out.

Post demolition, only basement walls remain of The Flying Elbow, 25 N. Center St. (formerly The Corner Tap location). During The Flying Elbow’s two-month tenure, it was known for its wrestling-themed gourmet hot dogs, beers and wine. The business name is similarly, inspired by a profession-wrestling tactic.

But Goodman refuses to let the tornado beat him and is anxiously looking forward to the future.

Like many of his central business district comrades, Goodman has worked to rebound and has targeted opening in a new location downtown in approximately one year or more.

“We want the downtown lunch market and downtown will need a place like ours.”

He lauded his bank, United Bank & Trust, and other local partners for investing in him and supporting his vision. A consortium awarded Goodman $10,000 — interest-free with deferred payments.

“(Marshall Economic Development President) Tom Deimerly made me aware of the working loan program for small businesses impacted by the tornado offered by MED,” Goodman said.

The loans are made possible through a partnership between MED, Consumers Energy Cooperative and Heart of Iowa Cooperative.

The funds are part of each entities Revolving Loan Fund made possible by the United States Department of Agriculture. Former mayor and bank president Jim Lowrance is loan administrator.

“We have more than 10 official applications to date with quite a few others in process,” Deimerly said. $80,000 has been lent out to date.

“(The loan) was kind of them,” Goodman said. “It will help us in rebuilding. We have our eyes on other resources, since it is going to be expensive to do what I dream.”

Goodman is no stranger to challenges — beginning in 2017 he worked extensively to remodel The Flying Elbow before cooking his first hot dog. Then the tornado hit.

And he understands the restaurant business. He worked for the former Webster’s Den restaurant in Laurel and was the local Tremont’s kitchen manager.

He is a former Emerson Process Management/Fisher Controls IT staffer who voluntarily left the company more than two years ago after a combined 11 years.

About two years ago, the idea hit him to start making and selling gourmet hot dogs. To keep costs down, Goodman first obtained a food truck as a way of testing the waters.

“The food truck helped me launch The Flying Elbow name,” he said. “We picked up 1,500 Facebook likes and 100 5-star reviews. We had a good run in the truck and made the decision that we didn’t want to close seasonally, so we started looking for a place.”

Thus the Flying Elbow was born.

He envisions the new Flying Elbow will be better than the first.

“We plan to have everything we had at the Flying Elbow plus more,” he said. “I want to have a complete commercial kitchen. We think our customers will like some of the new things we will add.”

Approximately one year before the tornado, Goodman and his wife, Dani, invested in another local building.

They purchased the former Standard Oil Co. building at 502 S. First St.

“The property is plan C,” Goodman said, making clear his energy will be devoted to getting The Flying Elbow open. The very long-term plan is to turn it into a entertainment venue which will also serve beverages and food.

“I looked at 10 properties in Marshalltown,” he told the T-R last August, shorty after he closed on the property. “And this is the one that stood out to me right away … with some of the things I am looking to do with music events.”

The Marshalltown City Council has been supportive of Goodman’s plans for the building and vacated an alley last year to assist in development.

“I really appreciate all of the support from community leaders and customers,” he said. “Everyone has been positive.”

Goodman comes from a business-oriented family, with relatives who had restaurants/taverns or insurance businesses.

“My great-grandfather, Milt Nicholson, had Milt’s Restaurant years ago (Rumours Sports Bar & Grill site) … he had four or five other restaurants in town … my grandfather John Brennecke sold insurance.”

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Contact Mike Donahey at

641-753-6611 or

mdonahey@timesrepublican.com