New name, same Czech delectables at Al’s Blue Toad

The name has changed, but Al Zindrick promises to offer the same signature dishes when he opens Al's Blue Toad on Dec. 1.

Roast pork, sauerkraut and dumplings, goulash, cabbage rolls and other Czech favorites will be on the menu. Blue walls, comfortable booths and a larger bar replace the more formal dining room of the former Zindrick's Czech Restaurant.

The restaurant and bar replaces the iconic Zindrick's, 86 16th Ave. SW, which had been in Czech Village since 1993 before succumbing to last year's flood.

“People are still trying to talk me out of it,” Zindrick, 54, said of the name change. “I like it.”

Floodwaters in June 2008 rose 8 feet inside, submerging even the sconces high on the restaurant walls.

Afterward, Zindrick sold Al's Red Frog, the 28-year-old restaurant and bar next door, to his sister Deb Anson. She reopened the business as the Red Frog last December.

A friend who wanted to open a bar in Czech Village came up with the naming idea for the Blue Toad. When his friend's plan fell through, Zindrick kept the name for his own restaurant.

His goal to reopen earlier this year failed to come to fruition, mostly because of mounting repair costs. Zindrick said he had not received any government assistance and couldn't find a bank that would loan money for rebuilding.

A $20,000 Chamber of Commerce grant was enough to get the walls restored, but otherwise, Zindrick was forced to find private financing.

In stepped Dave Eberle, 31, of Cedar Rapids, who had worked for Zindrick for years before starting his own flooring company. Eberle became a business partner to get the restaurant reopened.

He had asked Zindrick about purchasing both restaurants before the flood. “And I said no, damn it,” Zindrick said with a laugh.

Both are aiming to create a fun, casual atmosphere in Al's Blue Toad. Prices will be less expensive than Zindrick's, but the owners will still offer such dishes as roast duck, even if the offerings don't make a profit.

Despite the recession, Zindrick holds hope for the success of the restaurant and the rest of Czech Village.

He pointed to the Kosek building across the street, where the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library plans to open an exhibit next year and cited the larger museum to be built in the village.

“As long as the food is good and the service is good, I have faith everyone will come and check it out,” he said.