Grandma’s Place

Over the Des Moines River and through the… southside beer suds? That’s the way to grandmother’s house we go? If you leave downtown and you’re entering the city’s south side on Indianola Avenue, you’ll see a sign for a place named Club 2000 Bar & Grill.

Many might assume the name is referencing the year marking the turn of the century, but “2000” is actually the start of the previous location’s address – 2000 S.E. First St.

Club 2000 is a south side mainstay. Current owner Chad Edwards (not pictured) is the grandson of long-time bar manager, Annie Haugh. She was a single mother of eight. Her 33 grandkids honor her annually with a golf tournament dubbed “The Annie Open.” From left: Shane Shanford (grandson), Brandon Haugh (grandson and bar manager) and Angie Pilcher (server).

Grandma Haugh never worked behind the current establishment’s bar, but she did tend the house at the previous address, and she cooked in the kitchen, too.

“My grandma ran it before me for 35 years,” said owner Chad Edwards. “She raised eight kids out of the bar.”

Grandma Haugh was a single mother. She raised her children, and from that brood of eight came 33 grandkids. Edwards is one of the 33, and there are also four others here to take advantage of the $3 Tuesday Taco Night.

“We are cheap,” Edwards said. “That’s why I’m so broke.”

The bar also has a $10 steak night on Wednesday, and they’re open for breakfast seven days a week, starting at 6 a.m. Edwards does most of the cooking himself.

“I just come in and cook,” he said. “I’m a family man.”

He must get it from his grandmother. The four say she raised her Italian brood to stay tightknit. And to honor her memory, they hold an annual golf tournament — the Annie Open — each September at Blank Golf Course. Last year, they had 26 foursomes enter the event.

The bar has all the usual things that bars have, including specials on margaritas, Moscow mules and Fireballs. Sports are on TV. The bar sponsors real sandlot sports teams (including a flag football team that has won five state championships) and live music is offered, as is “Beat the bookie” during football season.

But that’s not what keeps the doors open.

“If you treat everyone like family, they keep coming back,” said Shane Shanford, another one of Annie’s grandsons.

“We have some of the cleanest bathrooms for a dive bar,” Brandon Hague joked. He’s yet another grandson and serves as the bar manager. “It’s a great place for meeting family and friends.” CV