We Are Worth the Road Trip
Today's guest blog post is from Tenneil Register of R7 Reclaimed in Grandview, Iowa. This is the first in a series of blog posts where Tenneil will give us a behind-the-scenes look into the vision she and her husband Jesse are bringing to life in their small town. Welcome, Tenneil!
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“We are worth the road trip.” These are scary words to say...
Hey! I’m Tenneil Register from R7 Reclaimed, founded in the tiny town of Grandview, Iowa. When my husband Jesse (otherwise known as Cowboy) and I met back in 2010 we planted roots here in Grandview (pop. 300 307). We desired a simple way of life where hard work and a good dose of sweat equity could provide for our blended family of seven. R7 began simply as our family nickname. Our new family wouldn’t all share the same last name, but we all could be part of R7.
The idea of being part of something is what brings people to R7 and to our town. It seems we all are drawn to rural life, wanting to be part of the past and the future all at once. I will be honest that I would not have had the courage to say we are road trip worthy. Our downtown is long forgotten and our restaurants closed down.
Our incredible customers and visitors are the ones who began commenting: “Worth the drive!”, “Plan a road trip here” and “We will be back!” In 2019, we had visitors from all over Iowa, Illinois, and sometimes as far away as Wisconsin and South Dakota visit our barn to be inspired by the #R7RoadTrip. We know that time is our greatest asset and when people spend their time to visit us — we recognize what a gift that is!
Truthfully, becoming a destination caught us by surprise. We just kept dreaming and trying to make each event and season better than the one before. As visitors started coming from further away we started asking ourselves...why are people making the trip? What is it we love about this lifestyle and how do we share it? We want to share the rural life, our family, and our style, but we want to share it authentically, both its challenges and privileges.
As small business owners, when we have questions the best thing we can do is start listening to what our people are already telling us. There was a resounding statement and question — “We love your barn!!” and... “What else can we do while we are here?” Our first step to answering that question was putting together our “7 Musts for the R7 Road Trip”, but it seemed like there was something more we could do. The answer was right here on our long forgotten Main Street.
A few summers ago, I drove Danna (host of Rural Revival) around our small town and we stopped to talk about the magic awe of an old brick building in our abandoned downtown. We talked about the idea that we don’t always want something more to do or buy. We all long for a place to just be. A place where we can unwind, slow down, and have nothing more on our agenda than to feel inspired and snap an Instagram pic. On a day with perfect weather, the barn provides that place to linger outside and take in the countryside, but in the winter season this big old barn suddenly becomes too small.
In 2020, we look forward to answering with a proud YES when people ask if there is another place they can stop while they are in town. Our tiny town boasts the ability to slow down for sure. Some might say we are silly to open another location in our mostly deserted downtown, but we think someone has to go first.
After a little digging around we found that this brick building once was home to a feed store, dry goods, a grocery store, and later a restaurant. The once bustling Main Street of Grandview, Iowa will again have the curious traveler stopping by as we plan for the next phase of R7 in the reclaimed brick building on the corner where construction is underway.
If you stick around long enough you will see kids riding their bikes down the middle of the road and looking for something to pass the day, and we hope you find yourself doing the same.
P.S. The kids in the road might be one of ours so please slow down...