J & K Market in Centerville Iowa

I have to thank one of the comments on my last post from Centerville recommending this place. The J & K has been open since 1970 on the north side of the Centerville town square. Its clearly a family run place with pictures on the walls and newspaper articles detailing the history of J & K Market.


Location: 113 W Van Buren St in Centerville, Appanoose County, Southern Iowa.


Directions: Its on the northwest side of the ginormous town square in Centerville.

Online at: website is HERE.

The Whole Hog: Whenever I see a tenderloin loaded up on topping I have to grab it. The bacon, ham and cheese didn't make the sandwich great but were juicy and savory on top of the tenderloin. The breading was a simple seasoning mix with a great crunchy texture. The best part here was the soft tenderized and well trimmed pork loin. Overall 8.5 out of ten.


Price: $4.50 for the Whole Hog, the regular jumbo tenderloin is $3.50, fries are a dollar more. They are treating the entire town like family members with these prices.

Also on the menu: Part of the menu refers to J & K as home to the "Original  Woppers" which are a list of deli sandwiches. There are burgers, other fried stuff and specials that round out the menu.


Service: Casual deli counter service to get your order in, then pay at the front counter. The owners do local promotions on a local radio station and youtube videos with the daily specials. I think they also do boat tours of Lake Rathbun.

Ambiance: The J & K is an old grocery store in the town square. The aisles are not wide and the handwritten graphics cover large parts of the walls and windows. There are a couple tables and three chairs outside for seating.


Final Thoughts: The immediate comparison for me is to B & B Grocery in Des Moines.For some reason on my last trip through here I saw more than one storefront graphic advertising "jumbo tenderloin" sandwiches. With other restaurants in town using the exact same verbiage, "homemade jumbo tenderloin", I wonder if J & K supplies these for them. Either way, the prices are absolutely rock bottom for good hand-breaded tenderloins in any small town in Iowa.

Blue Bird in Centerville

Centerville has one of the best looking, and largest, town squares in all of Iowa. It takes a while just to walk around the whole thing. A small sandwich board advertising homemade meatloaf and tenderloins led me into the Blue Bird while in Southern Iowa recently. This is a small town family restaurant in Centerville which has been operating in different forms under different owners in the same location since the twenties. It is not to be confused with the Bluebird Diner, the recently opened retro diner in Iowa City.


Location: 108 E. Jackson St in Centerville


Directions: Its on the South Side of the town square, look for the sign.

The Tenderloin: Listed on the menu as Hand Made Jumbo Tenderloin. The whole loin was pounded thin and developed a little wave shape. Breading formed a hard crunchy layer outside the white meat. The inside wasn't as soft as most others I have tried. This was an okay tenderloin. Served on a toasted corn dusted bun. Overall 7.0 out of ten.


Price: $4.75 with fries for a dollar more.
Also on the menu: Its homemade comfort food including meatloaf and a biscuits and gravy breakfast served all day.


Service: Its table service with an attentive waitress also running the counter.
Ambiance: This is a historic building on the square with old booths and an antique counter, but it has been refurbished multiple times under several owners over the decades. There are picture of what it used to be, but now its filled with stuff for sale.
Final Thoughts: In the past few years, all of my trips to Centerville have been during the winter months. That is not a bad thing by itself, except that the main drag through town has two seasonal Ice Cream Shops each with competing hand breaded tenderloins. The Double R Dairy Bar has a giant sign with a tenderloin on it, and I get the idea they sell up to a hundred a day in the summer. Raymond's Dairy Creme is also on my list to check out. Across the square the J& K Market has a website claiming their tenderloin is the "biggest in town" and "a labor of love". I just hope I can make it back during the summer someday.