Primrose Restaurant

[Joel Mahr] Primrose is an American farm to table restaurant. We focus on seasonality. Our philosophy is fresh, seasonal cuisine. We really enjoy to use local ingredients like local lamb, local beef, local pork.

[Kohlsdorf] A stop in the town of Corning offers travelers big city dining in a quaint Iowa community. Chef Joel Mahr and his wife, Jill Fulton, pair up to provide big flavors in a small town at Corning's Primrose restaurant.

[Joel Mahr] Some people feel like they don't -- this isn't in Corning -- this should be somewhere else, like Chicago or New York or something. We get guests that come in through our doors from other states that say, this feels like home.

[Kohlsdorf] Fresh seasonal produce and locally sourced food are just two of the ingredients, making Primrose a must stop for highway 34 travelers.

[Joel Mahr] Seasonality is huge, is big. I think people are really excited to see like tomatoes in the summertime, strawberries in the summertime. And there is a huge increase on people wanting to know where their food comes from now. And I'm happy that we've been on board for that for a long time.

[Kohlsdorf] For close to a decade, Primrose has provided a consistently fresh and flexible dining experience that keeps customers coming back for more. In the span of one year, over 37,000 people visited the restaurant, which is located in a town of only 1,400 residents.

[Female Server] Okay, do we want classic or original?

[Joel Mahr] Lunch and dinners are completely two different restaurants. Lunches are a little bit more fast casual. You got a burger, a chicken sandwich, a good fish sandwich, some salads, things like that.

[Joel Mahr] But then at dinner, we reset.

(bell ringing)

[Joel Mahr] We’re wine. We're fancy beers. We're good bourbon.

[Joel Mahr] We like the people that sit there and when they come off of work and sit back in their chair and relax and know that somebody's going to take care of them tonight.

[Female Server] I'll grab those drinks and then I'll come back and check out your orders.

[Joel Mahr] Giving them a menu that is ever changing and inventive, I think, gives them the opportunity to always come back and see what we're doing.

[Male Diner] With the crema on top, then the tomatoes and then the lamb is just like really soft.

[Joel Mahr] The people have really, really enjoyed the the style of menu that we provide for them. I think they're always excited to come back and see what we have to offer.