On Thursday night, every table and barstool at The Lone Ox Smokehouse & Company in Lone Tree was full as the Johnson County Food Policy Council hosted a lively happy hour event at the newly opened restaurant.

Zee Brown, co-owner of The Lone Ox Smokehouse & Company with her husband Tony Brown, said they used funding from the Johnson County Food and Farms grant to help launch the new restaurant. The Browns also co-own Da Flava Unit, a North Liberty-based food truck that expanded into a brick-and-mortar location in Iowa City last year.

However, rather than use the grant funding for their existing restaurant, Brown said they chose to launch this new venture in Lone Tree — a town with a population under 1,500 — where residents need it most.

“This, to me, seemed to be more impactful, and it aligns with my mission,” Brown said. “It’s about feeding the community.”

The Lone Ox Smokehouse & Company, which opened in July, specializes in vintage-style barbecue using locally sourced ingredients.

“Whatever you get your hands on locally, you can create a masterpiece out of it,” Brown said.

Katie Hamlet, a new member of the Food Policy Council and a Lone Tree Chamber of Commerce representative, said The Lone Ox Smokehouse & Company meets a vital need in the community as the only restaurant currently open in town.

Since losing its grocery store in 2018, Lone Tree has joined the growing number of rural Iowa towns at risk of becoming food deserts. But for Hamilton, an eight-year Lone Tree resident, The Lone Ox Smokehouse & Company offers more than just food access — it creates a space for community connection.

“Restaurants in a rural community are the roots of the town,” Hamlet said. “Without having these places where people have face-to-face interactions, relationships die.”

Hamlet said she is thrilled to welcome the Browns as new business owners in Lone Tree and is excited to serve on the Food Policy Council, which helped coordinate the funding that helped them get there.

“Their food is amazing, they’re good people, and they’re hiring local farmers,” Hamlet said of Zee and Tony Brown.

Newly elected Johnson County Supervisor Mandi Remington, who attended Thursday night’s event, also expressed excitement for the new restaurant and praised the Food Policy Council’s focus on the growing need for local food access.

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“The Food Policy Council is doing amazing work,” Remington said. “We have had record issues with food security across the state that have been getting worse and worse in the last years.”

Remington also emphasized how dire this issue can be for communities like Lone Tree.

“We need to make sure we’re focusing on smaller rural towns and rural businesses,” Remington said.

Johnson County Local Food and Farms Manager Ilse DeWald said the Food Policy Council seeks to engage the Johnson County community in dialogue about their concerns and hopes for local food access.

“We want to hear from you,” DeWald said, addressing attendees at Thursday’s event. “What are you dreaming about as far as food in your community, and how can we help to build that dream?”

Local foods assistant Maddie McCabe added that events like Thursday’s are a great opportunity for the Food Policy Council to build relationships with Johnson County residents as well as local farmers and food businesses.

“We really want to connect with people in rural communities about what’s going on with food and ag issues,” McCabe said.