Junior Achievement honoree: Kyle Dehmlow

Growing up in Denver, Iowa, with his dad as the local police chief, and mom as a full-time employee at Schumacher Elevator Co., Kyle learned what it means to keep busy. Kyle is the owner of multiple well known restaurants and bars in the Cedar Valley, including the Social House Bar, Whiskey Road Tavern and Grill, ICON Donuts & Sweetery, Little Big’s and Greenhouse Kitchen.

His career in the hospitality and food industry grew from a love for entertaining people. Kyle attended the University of Northern Iowa on a theater scholarship and got a bar job that fit well into his theater schedule. Within two years, he’d become assistant manager. Kyle recognized that this was a new stage to entertain his passion, and spent the next 11 years working an assortment of positions at different restaurants and bars. In 2010, as vice president of operations at Barmuda and with a new family at home, Kyle switched gears.

He went to work with Brent Dahlstrom in property management and business development. When storefronts opened on College Hill, a Cedar Falls hot spot for college students, Dahlstrom asked if Kyle was ready to get back into hospitality, and he was. They opened Social House in 2013 with the capacity to seat 80 people; today it holds 400.

“Kyle is passionate about hospitality and is relentless and competitive in the pursuit of making the businesses better every day,” said Brent Dahlstrom.

Kyle’s business list grew quickly, with Ginger’s and Whiskey Road opening in 2014 and 2015, respectively. A neighboring fire at Ginger’s forced a rebrand in 2016, and so Little Bigs opened in the fall. Always looking for ways to be better and help the leaders in his businesses have opportunities to grow, he investigated new opportunities.

In 2018, Greenhouse Kitchen and ICON Donuts joined the list. Second locations of Greenhouse Kitchen and ICON Donuts were quick to join, and the original ICON Donuts store is now on its way to a larger location. As if that wasn’t enough to keep Kyle busy, along with growing his family, Kyle helped open a hotel and a golf country club in Clear Lake, Iowa. Kyle’s hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed; Whiskey Road was named Restaurant of the Year in 2016 by the Cedar Valley Tourism Bureau.

Although, perhaps more treasured, are the opportunities to give back to the community. Kyle and his team have hosted multiple fundraisers and donated to several charities including: the Boy’s and Girls Club, the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, and Craniosynostosis support for families.

When Kyle isn’t hard at work, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Tasha, and their three children, Dade, Kanon, and Bohdi. He has no plans to slow down any time soon, with relocations and rebranding a never ending process.