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All in a name…Brian, a native Iowan hailing from New Hampton, and Frederique, who is of French-Algerian descent, met in Boston in 2001. Avid travelers, it was while preparing for a trip back to Iowa in 2002 that Frederique discovered the town of Elkader, which was named after the greatest Algerian hero Emir Adb El Kader. Since it was only a short distance from Brian’s family home, they decided to make a side trip to see this town with the distinction of being the only city in the US named after a Muslim leader. What they found was a vibrant community working hard to avoid the fate of so many small Iowan towns. They only stayed for an afternoon, but the visit planted a seed in both their minds.
Cross country moves…Nothing happened then, however every time the pair returned to Iowa, they visited Elkader, and met many wonderful people. Both had grown tired of the constant rush of city life, so, when the landmark restaurant The Keystone, came onto the market, they decided to make the move to Elkader. Their first step was moving back to Iowa, which they did in May 2006. This allowed them time to concentrate on acquiring the restaurant and planning for their future. In November 2006, they closed the deal and took possession of The Keystone in December. They immediately changed the name to Schera’s, short for Scheherazade, the heroine of 1001 Arabian Nights, as well as the name of Frederique’s sister.
Moving forward…After a period of observing the mechanics of the restaurant’s operations, they completely revamped the menu in May 2007. Reinvigorating the menu with Algerian and North African dishes, as well as using high quality, fresh, and healthy ingredients, they brought gourmet dining options to small-town Iowa. Not bad for two guys with degrees far removed from the restaurant business: Frederique has a PhD in Computer Engineering, while Brian has an MFA in Creative Writing.
Today...Schera's has become a culinary and cultural destination for travelers throughout the Tri-State area. It has been featured in NPR, the BBC and its commonwealth affiliates in Australia, New Zealand and Canada, on IPTV, as well as being featured on CNN. In September 2011, Frederique left the restaurant to found Abu Nawas Beverage Co., a specialty beer wholesaler dedicated to bringing some of the finest craft beers in the world to Iowa. However, you may still find him once in a while enjoying a drink at the restaurant and willing to talk about our story and journey to Elkader.