It’s not None Of Your Business; it’s Rumors

New Rumors owner Tyrone Tyler (right) stands with his dad, Tommy Tyler, who helps with daily operations.

This is a story that begins with a man named Tyrone Tyler. He is a man of many passions, which he wears on his sleeve — literally. Before even shaking his hand, you will know he loves football because of the decals on his ball cap and T-shirt. Look more closely and you will see, more specifically, he is a Des Moines Blaze football fan. Only minutes into conversation with him while bellied up to his bar in Clive, he’ll likely slide two tickets across the counter inviting you to the team’s next home game.

He is not just a fan. He is the owner of the team. He is also the new owner of Rumors Bar and Grill on Hickman Road. We cannot discuss what Rumors is without acknowledging what it was — or rather, what it has been. Like most new bar owners who roll the dice at a location that, for whatever reason, failed repeatedly in the past, Tyler wishes for Rumors to molt the feathers of the former Twisted Parrot and abandon the identities of the Doubleshot and None Of Your Business bars that followed. He wants Rumors to stand on its own and prove that its spot on a busy roadway, across the street from a laundry mat, a funeral home and Kathy’s Irish Pub is viable and lucrative despite the bar’s hit-and-miss history.

“I’ve been coming here since it was the Parrot,” Tyler explained. “The owner (Dustin Beener) is an old friend of mine who I’ve known since high school. Twisted Parrot sponsored our team, and we’d have our team meetings here — 45 guys in the back room going over game films.”

The back room is where former owners of None Of Your Business had decided to put the two pool tables. Tyler brought the tables back out into a main room, freeing up the back room for meetings and private parties once again. He painted over the bright blue walls with a darker tone and replaced outdated furniture. Other than that, Rumors doesn’t offer too much to gossip about.

“I just want this place to be a neighborhood hangout,” Tyrone said. “We want everyone — construction workers, business people — we want a melting pot of people.”

So far, since the bar re-opened as Rumors in May, it is. It’s a modest neighborhood bar run by a local guy with the help of his old man. Tyrone’s father, Tommy Tyler, is a veteran of the Vietnam War. He served his country proudly in the Air Force, so he has earned the right to be a little ornery with patrons (and nosy reporters). After 30 years of owning bars in the Des Moines metro, he knows a thing or two about the business.

“He is the one who’s always here,” Tyrone said.

He is not the only one, though. Despite its changes over the years, Rumors still houses longtime regulars and neighbors and can entice a passersby such as Eric Rawson who’s quick to take you up on a drink, if you’re offering — Jim Beam, straight up… with a pickle juice back.

“Takes some of the bite out of it,” he said.

Speaking of bites, Rawson highly recommends “the best tenderloin in town,” one of many bar-and-grill staples on the Rumors menu. CV