News : Cafe 218 owner plans to move to former High 5 building; work under way

Cafe 218 will soon move from its current site to the former High 5 building.

Vinton Steak House.

Country Skillet, a family restaurant.

El Mariachi, a Mexican retaurant.

Jerry Ray's Barbecue.

High 5, a sports bar.

Since 2003, there have been many openings of eating establishments at the site that people of different Vinton generations recall as either Dogs & Suds or The Viking Galley.

Now, a new occupant will lease the building from owner Marty Salyars. Afrim (Jon) Tafa, the owner of the Café 218 in Vinton, and his crew are in the process of remodeling the building at the intersection of 21st Street, Highway 218 and C Avenue, at the south edge of Vinton. Salyars bought the building in 2003, and opened the Vinton Steak House. But that business closed when he moved to Virginia. Since then, Salyars has worked with a variety of proprietors who tried to establish a restaurant at the site.

While the businesses came and went at the building on 21st Street, Tafa and his family continued to see success at Café 218, on the north end of the highway that winds through the west edge of Vinton.

From a ladder in the dining room, where he was working on some lighting Monday afternoon, Tafa said there is "a lot of work to do" before the move can be made.

The 218 Café, one of Vinton's oldest eating establishments, had been closed in the summer of 2006, after a previous owner's immigration problems ultimately led to his deportation. Tafa and his family opened it again in the summer of 2006.

Vinton Unlimited director Nathan Hesson said the move presents possibilities for Tafa as well as anyone who wants to take advantage of the building that will eventually be open.

"Hopefully this provides the owners of Café 218 the possibility of growing their business, and give them the opportunity to continue providing the Vinton area with food and a nice place to meet with friends and family in an updated facility," said Hesson. "This would also be a great opportunity for a new business to take over the current Café 218 location and join the Vinton Community in a fantastic location West of town with unlimited possibilities for renovation and customization to fit their specific business needs."

From Kosovo to North K Avenue

Tafa grew up in Kosovo during the unrest of the late 1990s. He was 15 years old the night his family fled from the Serbian Army, which was just a block away.

"It was pretty dangerous," Tafa told me in 2006, as he was celebrating the re-opening of Cafe 218. "We had to leave."

Tafa and his family spent several months in a refugee camp in Mesopotamia before choosing to come to the U.S. Their American journey began in New York City. They then went to St. Louis and Moline before settling in Davenport, one of approximately 7,000 people who ended up in Iowa after fleeing the violence of the former Yugoslavia. While in Davenport, Tafa learned English from the church that helped relocate.

He also learned to love the restaurant business. He soon began hoping for a chance to own his own restaurant.

One day, Tafa was driving through Vinton on Highway 218, en route to Cedar Falls. He noticed an empty restaurant that bore the same name as the highway on which he was driving.

He found out who owned the building, set up a lease and began remodeling. Several months later, the restaurant began serving customers. And while Vinton residents have seen many other restaurants come and go in the past five years, Cafe 218 remains open.