Sandy Taylor Short grew up working at the eatery and operated the business, located at 106 S. Third Ave., alongside husband Con since 2006.

“My grandfather Cliff Taylor started the business. Fred Angell opened the first Maid-Rite in Muscatine in 1926, and one in Newton opened in 1927 where my grandparents lived,” Short said. “I think my grandfather saw that as a viable business and came up here (to Marshalltown) and opened ours in 1928. He paid $300 for the franchise, so we own it out-right.”

After Cliff died in 1944, his son Don and wife Polly — Short’s parents — took over the operation of the business. Short said she would help her parents prepare the loose meat Maid-Rite sandwiches and the desserts.

“We ground the meat in the basement of our 411 N. Center Street home. We did onions in the back and there was no ventilation. I can remember as a kid grinding onions ’til I cried so hard, I couldn’t see,” Short said. “We sliced the pickles, which came from the Marshall Vinegar Works, and sliced the buns from Strand’s Bakery. We put pickles, onion and mustard on the buns, which has been called ‘doping the bun’ since forever.”

Taylor’s Maid-Rite is a family business. Current owner Sandy Taylor Short is the little girl, held by her father Don. In the middle is Maid-Rite founder Cliff Taylor and his father Elliott.

The restaurant was originally located across the street at 105 S. Third Ave.

“It was on the alley and looked like a railroad car. My grandfather built it,” Short said. “In the beginning you walked up to the outdoor window to order, then eventually that area was enclosed with stools on either side.”

Short vividly remembers the day her family relocated the eatery to its present location.

“It was in 1958. I was a junior at Iowa State and it was Thanksgiving vacation. We carried stuff across the street all night long then opened up here the next morning,” she recalled.

Short said the new building was “state of the art” for its time — complete with stainless steel equipment, counters up on legs (for easier cleaning) and two cash registers.

Don operated Maid-Rite until his death in 1973. His wife Polly, aided by a staff of long-time employees, kept the business going until grandson Don Taylor Short took it over in 1985. He then turned the business over to his mother, Sandy Taylor Short, in 2006.

“When I was at Iowa State I met a rancher from North Dakota and got married in 1960 and was there for 45 years,” Short said. “Then our son Don wanted to do something else so Con and I moved to Marshalltown.”

Short oversees a staff of 20 and serves as bookkeeper.

The Maid-Rite recipe hasn’t changed in 90 years. That’s because there isn’t one.

“There is no recipe,” Short said. “We buy good beef, bone-in meat and grind it everyday. We use the original cooker. We then add salt. We get chuck choice or better.”

One thing that has changed, Short said, was when Ketchup bottles were added to the table in the last decade.

“We had people vote for us adding Ketchup to the Maid-Rites. We thought it would be the young kids who wanted the Ketchup, but it was the older people,” Short said. “We don’t put it on the bun, but have bottles on the table.”

People may also order frozen Maid-Rites and have them shipped. Chips, sundaes and malts are always available, but French fries have never, and never will be, on the menu.

“We don’t have French fries. My parents owned the Maid-Rite in Newton in the late 40s and early 50s. So when they built this place, mom said we were not having French fries, because when dad came home, he smelled like French fry grease,” Short said. “There also wouldn’t be any place to put (a fryer) in here anyway.”

Short said the most fulfilling aspect of operating a family-run business for 90 years is getting to know the customers.

“The day after the tornado, we had calls from California, Florida and all over — making sure we were still open,” she said.

The outdoor signage took a hit in the tornado, and is in the process of being repaired.

To celebrate its 90th anniversary, Taylor’s Maid-Rite is hosting a celebration on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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Contact Sara Jordan-Heintz at

641-753-6611 or sjordan@timesrepublican.com