Ox Yoke Inn celebrates 75th anniversary

In 1908, William Leichsenring was born in what is now a dining room at Ox Yoke Inn in Amana.

Today, his son Bill Leichsenring owns the restaurant, carrying on the Amana history and culinary traditions his parents and grandparents passed down to him.

Ox Yoke Inn celebrates its 75th anniversary this year.

William and Lina Leichsenring first opened the restaurant's doors on April 4, 1940, serving meals based on recipes Lina learned as a child working in an Amana Colonies communal kitchen.

Before Amana gave up the communal lifestyle in 1932, the colonies' communal kitchens served about 30 families each.

Ox Yoke Inn keeps that communal dining tradition alive by serving 'family-style” meals. Entrees come with refillable bowls of salads, vegetables, potatoes and gravy for the table to share.

The shared dishes are part of the Amana experience, Bill Leichsenring says.

'Family-style is not so much about the food,” he says. 'It's the time spent sitting around the table and the interactions ingrained in passing the food.”

Walls, shelves and cabinets throughout the restaurant's four dining rooms, banquet room and bar are covered with Amana and German antiques, all from the Leichsenring family collection. Leichsenring has turned the second story into a museum of sorts, with framed photos and copies of news articles on the walls.

The restaurant's original location was next door. It moved to 4420 220th Trail in 1950, into the former Leichensring family home, which was first built in 1856.

A fire in 1962 destroyed the second floor and attic, but with the help of friends and neighbors, the restaurant reopened after only two days. A major renovation between 1976 and 1978 expanded the eatery to its current size of almost 14,000 square feet. Today, the restaurant can seat over 500 diners.

Things have changed a lot since the Ox Yoke Inn opened. The original menu listed steaks and family-style meals for 65 cents. Now, a family-style steak dinner starts at $18.99.

Ox Yoke Inn now carries a gluten-free menu and in recent years began offering 'plated meal” options with non-refillable, single-serving side dishes.

But the heart of the restaurant remains the same, Leichsenring says.

'The Amanas - they're not fabricated like some visitor attractions. The history is real,” he says.

Traditional Amana dishes like schnitzel (breaded and sauteed chicken, pork or beef), kasseler rippchen (smoked pork chop with cinnamon apple glaze) and sauerbraten (roast beef with gravy and potato dumplings) join more broadly Midwestern dishes like fried chicken and tenderloins.

Some of the most popular menu items are two signature rhubarb pies - the restaurant goes through three tons of rhubarb each year to bake them. The restaurant's five bakers make 20 to 50 pies each day, in a variety of flavors. Leichsenring says people often order dessert first, because the pies often sell out.

Leichsenring says customers from Germany have told him the food isn't authentically German, which he agrees with - it's not meant to be. Instead, it's meant to be authentically Amana - based on the recipes the Colony's settlers adapted and created in Iowa.

'We are German, but it's an Amana version of German food,” he says.

He's worked in the restaurant since he was 14, when he started washing dishes.

'I've seen children who grew up coming into the business bringing their own children in,” he says. 'That's a special feeling.”

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

WHERE: 4420 220th Trail, Amana

HOURS: 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Hours change seasonally.

DETAILS: (319) 622-3441 and oxyokeinn.com