Such is the case of the MARSHALLTOWN hamburger trowel, which looks decidedly different from most spatulas and gained popularity through its use at Wendy’s, the fast food chain that made square, flat patties cool long before smashburgers were all the rage. Founder and face of the company Dave Thomas can even be seen holding the trowel in several promotional photos from the 1990s.

Although Thomas has since passed and the company no longer uses the trowels, they’ve nonetheless enjoyed a resurgence in demand and use in the last decade, so much so that they’ve been added back to the company’s official catalog. In addition, it was recently nominated for the “Coolest Thing Made in Iowa” award as part of a contest sponsored by the Iowa Association of Business and Industry and MidwestOne Bank, with the first round of popular voting underway now until April 30. The top 16 will be announced on May 1 followed by two more rounds of voting and the eventual crowning of a winner on June 5.

As the legend has it, Thomas simply wasn’t satisfied with other spatulas as they didn’t allow for optimum smashing, and someone recommended that he use a masonry trowel instead.

“They just clipped the tip of it off of a brick trowel. Ultimately, the belief is that he had a MARSHALLTOWN trowel, it worked really well, (he) loved it, clipped it, just reached out and said ‘Can we make it?'” MARSHALLTOWN Director of Marketing Jon Vance explained.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS The late Wendy’s Founder Dave Thomas was a known proponent of the MARSHALLTOWN hamburger trowel, which helped him flatten and flip his famous thin square patties. The trowel was recently announced as a nominee for “The Coolest Thing Made in Iowa” as part of a statewide contest sponsored by the Iowa Association of Business and Industry and MidwestOne Bank.

That initial conversation led to custom orders and a fruitful partnership between the two companies before the trowels were phased out when their unconventional shape drew the ire of health inspectors. But about a decade ago, as MARSHALLTOWN was gearing up to celebrate 125 years in business, the company began distributing a gift box that included the trowel and a bottle opener to longtime customers, and it garnered so much positive feedback that an official decision was reached to make it a permanent fixture in the catalog within the last three years.

“It really was just a way for us to connect with our customers, maybe outside of the workplace a little bit,” Vance said. “A lot of guys, especially masons, they put food on the table using our product, which is pretty special. It’s an extension of their arms. The number of tattoos I see of MARSHALLTOWN trowels at the World of Concrete (Convention), guys are just like ‘Man, I love your stuff.'”

While they may no longer count a massive fast-food chain as a client, MARSHALLTOWN has nonetheless launched a fruitful partnership with a newly-minted local icon, The Flying Elbow, which is probably best known for winning the Iowa’s Best Burger contest two years ago. In honor of the 15th anniversary of the contest, the Elbow is once again a finalist.

“How awesome would it be to have the coolest thing made in Iowa and the best hamburger in the country, both from Marshalltown? Especially when the Flying Elbow’s hamburger is flipping over our hamburger trowel,” MARSHALLTOWN President/CEO Joe Carter said.

Owner/Operator Garrett Goodman reached out to see if the two entities could collaborate on a product, and they ended up making a video together late in December of 2022 highlighting the hamburger trowel and their shared success. It can also be seen in use at another Marshalltown institution, Taylor’s Maid-Rite.

“I always wanted the quality of the food to be first, so I think it’s a natural fit for us to work with MARSHALLTOWN. You guys are known for the highest quality of tools, and we try to put out the highest quality of food too,” Goodman said at the time.

Recently, the award-winning restaurateur reiterated the shared commitment to quality between his business and the famous toolmaker, which has facilities in Marshalltown and northwest Arkansas.

“I was very honored when MARSHALLTOWN Company approached me to try out and endorse their burger trowel. They are a company that, while very different from my own, shares a similar pride in quality and workmanship in the product they provide for their customers,” he said. “As with their other products, the burger trowel holds up to the everyday demands of a commercial product in the field, and we are still using our original one to this day with no signs of slowing down! Congratulations on yet another great product, MARSHALLTOWN Company! We are proud that you choose our community as your home!”

Anyone who wants to push MARSHALLTOWN on to the next round can vote at https://coolestthingia.com/. When asked why the trowel is deserving of the title, Vance went back to its origins.

“It was found through desire, need and innovation. It was Dave Thomas not having the tool for the job, building one himself or taking the recommendation from somebody — however the story actually goes and clipping the tip off a brick trowel and saying ‘You know what, this thing is really awesome. Who made this brick trowel? Oh, it’s a MARSHALLTOWN brick trowel and (let me) see if I can get one,'” he said. “And then, I would say the ingenuity because back then, it would’ve been expensive for MARSHALLTOWN to build the tooling and the dyes and everything to bring this to market… We’ve got what is, for us, scrap that we’re gonna have to either rework or toss, but let’s see what we can do. (It’s) just that kind of innovative spirit that we can find a way.”

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Contact Robert Maharry

at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or

rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.