Iowa Machine Shed Restaurant

Urbandale, Polk County

Access

Included with Business Intelligence

Capabilities

Offering
Comfort Food[2]
Offering
Breakfast[2]
Offering
Pork Chops[2]
Offering
Chicken Pot Pie[2]
Offering
Cinnamon Rolls[2]
Offering
Catering[2]
Offering
Banquets[2]
Offering
Farm-Fresh[2]
Service
Breakfast[2]
Service
Lunch[2]
Service
Dinner[2]
Service
Catering[2]
Service
Banquets & Private Dining[2]
Service
Farm-Fresh Made-From-Scratch Meals[2]

Get started

Primary action

Community

Community
Heart of America Group[1]
Community
Dedicated to the American Farmer[1]
Community
National Restaurant Association Humanitarian of the Year[1]

About

The Machine Shed Restaurant opened its first location in 1978 on the outskirts of Davenport, Iowa, founded by Mike Whalen. Starting with just 100 seats, one dining room, and about 40 employees, Whalen built the concept around a five-word constitution: "Dedicated to the American Farmer." This meant creating a restaurant that farmers could be proud of, honoring their legacy with quality products and homecooked, made-from-scratch meals. Machine Shed serves chef-driven, farm-fresh fare inspired by the seasons, with a focus on classic Midwestern comfort food and hearty portions. Popular dishes include pork chops, chicken pot pie, and the Shed Burger. All dinners are served with fresh-baked breads, real butter, cottage cheese, coleslaw, seasonal vegetables, wild rice or potato. The famous cinnamon roll is a must-try. The Urbandale location is one of five Machine Shed restaurants operated by Heart of America Group. Mike Whalen has received the Humanitarian of the Year award from the National Restaurant Association and the Entrepreneur of the Year award from Inc. Magazine.[2]

Machine-readable record

Machine-readable record

Sources

  1. Every Iowan record as of 2026-07-10
  2. Every Iowan record as of 2026-07-10