Our Story

a story to remember is a story worth sharing

The Baratta’s

Meet our family! My husband John and I recently relocated from Glidden to Polk City, where we are absolutely loving it! We have 5 children. Our oldest is Kjersten (26) and her husband Rylan. Kjersten is a full time radiology tech at Iowa Radiology in Ankeny and Rylan is a Superintendent at Happe Homes in Ankeny. They along with our favorite granddaughter Saige live in Huxley. We are over the moon in love with that little girl. She’s definitely has us all wrapped around her little fingers. And baby #2 will be making an appearance this spring! Koby (24) lives in Kiron IA and works for Ullrich Farms, he and his wife Bailey just celebrated their gorgeous wedding this past July! Bailey is a speech pathologist for the Storm Lake AEA. Josie (21) lives in Glidden and is a jack of all trades, she is a CNA and currently works at opportunity living, Cade (20) works for Fareway in the meat department and is a catering leader for The Lincoln Club. Our youngest, Madyx is (15) and is a freshman at North Polk High School.

John grew up in the restaurant business. Back on 2014 we decided to get back into the industry and purchase the Lincoln Club Catering and Banquet center in Glidden IA. Here we host events of 500+ guests and cater all over the state of Iowa! We purchased Wow Weddings decorating and wedding planning back in 2017. We did decide to sell that part of the business in 2019. We purchased the old A&W in Carroll end of 2022 and have renamed that Shakes and opened it up in May 2023. Our resumes just scream weddings 😊

I dove head first into the hospitality business a little over 10 years ago! I grew up in sales and have always had a passion for customer service! I strive to be the go to person for all of my couples. My goal in life is to make your day perfect! I currently serve on the board of directors for the Iowa restaurant association and was named one the 40 women to watch in the hospitality industry back in 2020!

We have always had the dream of building our own venue from scratch. This place reflects all of our knowledge of this business under one roof. We aim to be the one stop shop for all brides and grooms in central Iowa. We are so proud of where we have come from and where we continue to go in the future. We are humbled to be a part of the Madrid and surrounding Communities and strive to make an impact for them, the community, and all involved for years to come!

Much love!

John & Heidi Baratta