LONE TREE

When the small town of Lone Tree comes up in conversation, barbecue might not be the first thing mentioned. But this will no longer be the norm, and all it took was the introduction of an Ox.

Bringing a new flavor to Lone Tree, Zee and Tony Brown have kicked off a brand-new food venture with the opening of The Lone Ox Smokehouse & Company, which specializes in vintage-style BBQ and custom cocktails.

“We love feeding people,” Zee said about one of the motivations she and her husband Tony have for being in the food business. “I get a gratification from that. We'd be happy when people come in and they say that's the best ribs they ever ate.”

Well-experienced in the way of food service, Zee and Tony started running a food stand in 2010, which then progressed to running a food truck in 2020, and then culminated into the opening of a brick-and-mortar establishment in 2023, Da Flava Unit Xpress, located at the Iowa City Marketplace.

Now, their next step is venturing into Lone Tree, but with most of their previous experience being in the Iowa City area, this begs the question, “Why Lone Tree?”

“Our goal was to open up here in Lone Tree because it's all about rural economic development and bringing businesses to places that don't have special investments,” Zee said. “It's all about the greater area, and building the greater Iowa City area, and Lone Tree is a part of that.”

Lone Tree has been on Zee and Tony’s radar for over a year, and when they were finally able to make the move, they did so after thorough research.

“We studied the history of Lone Tree,” Zee said. “We knew exactly what to open. We know the demographics. We studied the surrounding area. We know what's needed. We know the population.”

Even the name, The Lone Ox Smokehouse & Company, is something that was created with great attention to detail.

Taking inspiration from the history of Lone Tree, the couple wanted to be represented by an Ox in their logo -- designed by Clifford McFerren from Cardinal Sign and Graphics -- because of all the positive attributes the animal boasts.

“The reason why we chose the Lone Ox was from the actual history when they discovered the lone tree. It was the history of the buffalo eating under the elm tree. The ox referenced the buffalo and the strength of buffaloes,” Zee said about how the logo and the name came about.

“It's similar animals, little bit different animals, but they still have the same strong qualities, hard workers, determined planners, because ox and buffaloes are very smart, intelligent, and it commemorates us, because we are the ox, and we are the Lone Ox, because we belong to Lone Tree, and we're serving this community, and we believe in the history of Lone Tree, and it symbolizes everything we stand for.”

They even took their own history into account when deciding on the name. The “smokehouse” portion is represented by Tony, who wears many hats at the Lone Ox and is the primary owner of the establishment.

“My role is owner, manager, cook, server, bartender. Overseeing things my wife does, just making sure we're on the same page,” Tony said. “I've been cooking for over 25 years. That's my passion. I really like the meats; I am the meats.”

When it comes to the food they serve, it is sourced locally, as both Zee and Tony make it a point to keep their business local.

“We locally source food. We don't step outside of the county to receive nothing. We only do everything local. The whole goal is to reinvest into local businesses because they reinvest into the community, and they reinvest into us.”

Zee and Tony started their first business during the days of COVID, so for them, being locally sourced has become the norm and has become a good way to keep the money in the community.

“From the beginning, we always were locally sourced, and our meats, everything is fresh, and then you know where you are getting your meat from, you know where you are getting your produce from. You know it's fresh. You know it's cleaner and it's safe,” Zee said. “For every dollar we spend in the local community, it comes back to dollars, that's the goal.”

Shifting over to the “company” portion of the name, it is represented by Zee, who serves as the secondary owner of the Lone Ox

“I do all of the media. I'm the talker. He's the smokehouse. I'm the company,” Zee said.

“The company part is the cocktails. It's introducing our $3 tacos that we have in our first establishment, Da Flavor Unit. That's the company. It's introducing some of the items other than the smokehouse items. Smokehouse items are the main important items, but the company part is everything else that plays up our menu.”

The signature cocktails they create and serve at the Lone Ox was an idea pioneered by Zee because she knows the impact of a happy hour is a surefire way to quickly establish camaraderie in a small town.

“Our happy hours consist of bringing a community together to focus on what's needed in that community,” Zee said. “It was my idea to have a happy hour in a rural area and then have one in an urban area.”

A great idea, but there was a slight hitch: neither Zee or Tony has much experience when it comes to tending bar, but this is a situation where family can help.

“I'm not a bartender, but that's where our adult children play a role,” Zee said. “Our adult or young adult children, they have that bartending experience, and that's what they've been doing. They have been creating these signature cocktails.”

Even if the cocktails aren’t your cup of tea, worry not, as they also provide customers with what Zee calls “Iowa water”.

“This is a rural community. They want to drink beer. They need ‘Iowa water,’ and we provide them with ‘Iowa water’ too,” Zee said.

It is no small feat to start from zero and build a strong and favorable relationship with the community, but this is something Zee and Tony hope to accomplish with hard work and dedication.

“Me and my husband work 80-plus hours a week. We are working nonstop, and it would take a person to know and have a restaurant and run to know and understand that it's hard work,” Zee said.

“We're not only the chefs. We're cooking, we're preparing, we're serving, we're taking orders, we're ringing up, we're cleaning, we're managing, we're everything.”

Off to a promising start, they saw a good turnout when they opened their doors to the Lone Tree community in the beginning of July.

“We had a bigger turnout than we thought we would,” Tony said about opening day. “The first two weeks have been good; the town really appreciates us being here.”

Being food providers is something both Zee and Tony take great pride in, and their menu of smokehouse ribs, steak, wings, jerk chicken tacos, pulled pork sandwiches, and much more is already grabbing the attention of the community.

“It's important that people have access to food despite where they live, what demographics they belong to, or what socio-economic status they have,” Zee said.

There is no shortage of passion for Zee and Tony when it comes to their food establishment and now Lone Tree will be the newest benefactor of what their hard work and effort can produce.

“We don't want to leave in three years. We don't want to leave when the lease ends,” Zee said about the long-term plans she envisions for The Lone Ox. “We want this to be a Lone Tree staple. We want Lone Tree to be known for the best barbecue in Iowa. It can happen, I believe it can happen. Lone Tree deserves something like that.”

A pioneering spirit encapsulates this couple. They are working toward building something that will last and eventually become a place that draws people to Lone Tree, but not at the displeasure of current residents.

“I see a grander vision, but also keep it cute and small. I don't want [Lone Tree] to turn into a place where everybody who's lived here for years can't live here anymore because it's too expensive,” Zee said. “I want to keep this small town, but we need things here to feed the people and primarily feed the farmers. How can the farmers not get fed and they're providing everybody the food? That's not fair.”

As with anything, it will take time for the plans they have envisioned to come to fruition, and it will take some time for them to overcome initial challenges and find their proper footing, but that too will come.

“We're kind of still in that soft opening mode. We're trying to find out what works, what doesn't work, what hours to be open,” Zee said.

“It's challenging. It's a bar. Also, we're a restaurant. We have food, and that's the most challenging part, because we never had experience with bars, but I want to have the bar open with some good food, and not just bar food and frozen pizzas. I think the town deserves more than frozen pizzas.”

If you find yourself in Lone Tree and want to experience their vintage-style barbecue or try one of their custom cocktails, head over to The Lone Ox Smokehouse & Company, located at 113 N Devoe Street.