John’s Grocery has been integral to the history of Iowa City since John Alberhasky bought the grocery business in 1948.  But the history of the building goes back a century further.  In fact, the State of Iowa itself is only two years older than 401 E.Market Street, which was built in 1848.  Since then the building has been a grocery store, an apartment building, a saloon, a barbershop, a fire station, office space, and even a factory for the Ernste Manufacturing Company.

No matter the variation, the building has always functioned as a service to the community.  We honor that history by continuing to provide Iowa City and surrounding communities with great products and service.  Click on the link below to see the Historic Timeline to get a better idea of the rich history of our store and our building.

The more things change, the more they stay the same…

1899 401 E. Market St. Georg Balluf Saloon.

Built in 1848 by Samuel Baker, the brick building on the southeast corner of Market and Gilbert Streets began its life as a grocery and has stayed that way ever since. Baker would go on to run the small frontier grocery for the next 40 years until his death in 1884.

The first major addition was built after Baker’s death, and in 1893 a man named Jacob Morh opened a saloon in the new part of the building. At that point the main downtown brewery district had blossomed around the grocery.

Even though three breweries ran lively businesses right down the street, the saloon was an agent of the Pabst Brewery of Milwaukee, prompting one of the Iowa City breweries to adopt the motto—“Erlanger, the beer that made Milwaukee jealous!”

Morh’s saloon is pictured above in 1899. Since state law prohibited any establishment that served liquor from providing their patrons with a place to sit, they figured if you were too drunk to stand, it was time to cut you off.

Over the next 22 years the saloon changed hands many times. The rear of the building was added after the turn of the century and used as a hose house for the Iowa City Fire Department and their one-horse fire engine. In 1915 the building saw yet another life as a barbershop. The upstairs would go on to house several businesses including a toilet cream factory, cigar factory, and dance hall.

Finally in 1928 the grocery moved out of the south portion of the building and into the main area. Twenty years later in 1948, a 30-year-old John Alberhasky took his place in the history of the storied brick building.

A Simple Handshake

Fresh out of the Navy and married with three children, Alberhasky was scraping by as a bartender at his brother’s bar, the Central Tap, right up the street from the grocery. When he was offered the business for $1,500, Alberhasky described it as “the luckiest day of my life.” With a simple handshake, John and his wife Erma plunged in, borrowing $4,000 to stock the shelves for opening day.

The store was an instant success, but unknown to them, the former owner owed sales tax on the property. If it hadn’t been for the help of a good friend and lawyer, they would have lost it all.

When Alberhasky was granted a beer license, business picked up even more. From then on the building has seen a constant progression of change and improvements. Eventually John bought the entire building, which included the original structure built in 1848. At the time the area served as a religious bookstore, but it would ironically become the beer room and its latest incarnation— the new 2005 wine room.

John and subsequent generations built three more additions to hold the burgeoning business: the current produce area and current beer room in 1968, the keg cooler and back room in 1973, and most recently, the new walk-in beer cooler in 2005.

A Family Affair

John’s wife Erma started their famous deli shortly after opening, her reasoning being, “I couldn’t stand seeing all of the junior high kids eating penny candy for lunch, so I started making nickel ham-salad sandwiches and my famous potato salad.”

Later in 1956, John’s earned its infamous nickname when a group of boys stole an entire stack of freshly delivered Playboys and passed them out to their classmates. The principal, not knowing the entire story of why his school was inundated with these magazines, dubbed the store “Dirty John’s.”

Being a family business, John’s seven children grew up in the store. Starting the day they could see over the front counter, the children worked alongside the rest of the Alberhasky family.

Throughout the years of changes, the first, second, and now third generation of Alberhaskys have given their heart to the little corner grocery to ensure its place in Iowa City’s rich history.