T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM Holy Grounds Coffee owners Matt Wilder and Steve Slifer are making sure the little details are addressed before their grand opening today (Sunday, March 15). They want to offer more than another coffee shop, so food and meeting space are also available to customers, and there is a 50 percent discount on all items today only.

The past 11 months has been a busy one for Holy Grounds Coffee, with a grand opening of the Marshalltown brick and mortar location set for today (Sunday, March 15).

Owners Matt Wilder and Steve Slifer said everyone will get a 50 percent discount on all items at the Iowa Avenue location, as they will also use the time to help train staff.

“The business is going in the right direction,” Wilder said. “I think we’re getting a lot of love from the community. We’re getting people from all walks of life, not just one crowd.”

They have extended the food menu and have included a meeting space.

“We have a conference room, so they can do church groups, businesses can come in and we will have a TV on the wall so they can plug in their laptops for presentations,” Slifer said. “We have a lounge area, too, both here and in Toledo.”

After school specials for students are also planned. The owners will ask students what they want to see and learn more about, and will try to bring those specials to Marshalltown.

The food, conference room and after school specials are just part of wanting Holy Grounds to be more than just another coffee shop.

“We have pretty good coffee,” Wilder said. “But we’ve got breakfast, lunch, desserts. We’re not your average coffee shop. We’re trying to do it differently. I think the way we’re going about it is spot on the money for our vision. It’s a place to lounge, drink your coffee, eat your food and have a good conversation.”

They noted that since opening the food truck, they have added muffins, different flavors of pancakes, Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, cinnamon rolls, soups, chicken wraps and expanded the Italian sodas.

Knowing they eventually wanted a Marshalltown brick and mortar, Wilder and Slifer began renovating a space in the Fencing Solutions building not long after debuting the Holy Grounds truck. According to Wilder, they have put a lot of effort into the spot, and he is happy with it.

“It looks amazing in here. The decorating was a team effort. Steve and I are not decorators,” he said, laughing. “There’s boho on the wall, and I didn’t even know that was a word until recently. It turned out really nice. I’m super happy with it.”

They said they had to work on everything within the space, such as new electrical and water lines, floors and ceilings.

“This was a garage,” Wilder said. “It had a concrete floor. It’s come a long way with a lot of work. We’re hoping, in the future, to put in a drive through.”

The plans for the drive through are in the works, Slifer said. He just needs to submit them to the city.

“With it being spring, it’s going to be a little bit, because we’re going to have to make a new approach out there,” he said. “The plan is to have it in a couple months, I hope, but summer for sure.”

Rather than having two windows for customers to pay for their order at the first and then pick up at the second, Wilder said the drive through will operate like Culver’s.

“We will have them pull forward and park, and we will bring it out to them,” he said. “Everything we do is made fresh, which is why we can offer breakfast all day. We want to give people the freshest food.”

Slifer said that besides adding a drive through, they will also expand the parking lot this spring to give employees parking spaces a little further away so customers can park closer.

Even with all of the forward momentum, the owners still have a focus on giving back to the community. Wilder said they are purchasing as many ingredients as they can locally, such as milk, and hire people who live in the communities.

“We hire a lot of young kids who are still in high school,” he said. “They’ve got to get job experience somewhere, and we’re hoping to give that first job experience.”

Holy Grounds also continues donating to causes within the community. Slifer said with expanding to three locations in such a short period of time, the donations have not been as numerous as before, but they are preparing to make it more prevalent.

After launching the business as a food truck in April 2025, they opened a brick and mortar in Toledo in October and another in State Center two weeks ago.

“State Center is great. We love it,” Wilder said. “The people over there are wonderful. Our staff is great. We have a great team there.”

He said the employees that they have in all locations have been awesome and impressive with how quickly they can get tasks done. Finding those crews has been the biggest challenge thus far, Wilder said.

According to Slifer, they will eventually be open in State Center seven days a week if they can find enough staff. He added that they are even looking at adding another location, and hope to announce it at some point, but want to complete the immediate goal of a successful grand opening.

We’ve got our hands full,” Slifer said. “Getting [Marshalltown] done will take a lot of pressure off, because people have been asking when we’re opening.”

Wilder agreed, adding they get inquiries of the opening a couple times each day. During the interview with the T-R, a future Holy Grounds customer tried to open the entry door, but found it locked. That happens a few times each week, he said.

“We want people to come in and get a positive experience,” Slifer said. “If we can put a smile on someone’s face in the morning before work, it’s what we’re about.”

BUSINESS INFORMATION:

Name: Holy Grounds Coffee

Address: 507 Iowa Ave. W

Hours: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday and Sunday

Website: Facebook

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Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.