Residents of Ames may be very familiar with the historic beauty of the local Main Street, but incoming students are often unaware of the variety of activities the Main Street Cultural district has to offer.

Main Street is lined with many businesses, shops and restaurants for people of all ages and interests to enjoy.

Quaint shops such as Chocolaterie Stam and Lyla’s Boutique & More sit next to cafes, bars and restaurants like the Grove Cafe, London Underground and Aunt Maude’s.

 Shopping

For college girls looking for a new outfit to wear the upcoming weekend, Lyla’s Boutique & More is the place to go. Lyla’s features anything from dresses to jeans to accessories to shoes. Customers can come for a cute cocktail dress for a night on the town or a cute pair of colored jeans to wear during the week.

Lyla’s also sells a variety of jewelry and accessories and shoes. Shoppers can even find stylish cowboy boots for sale in the shop. Also available at the store are stylish ISU gear, including dresses, tanks, jewelry, scarves and handbags.

Other clothing boutiques on the street include Teal & Tenacious and Sigler on Main.

Teal & Tenacious is a women’s clothing store that sells name brands such as Jag Jeans, Bamboo Co. and Tribal. The store also sells jewelry from local artists as well as handmade accessories. Minor alterations to clothing is provided to shoppers at no cost.

Sigler on Main is a clothing store that specializes in athletic wear. Customers can find ISU, UNI, Iowa and Drake team apparel. 

The store is unique in its items, selling sports team clothing that is also cute — such as ISU dresses, tanks and jewelry. 

Shoppers can also find local high school team apparel, such as Ames High and Boone schools.

There are also a few shoe stores lining main street, including Emmerhoff’s Footwear and Brown’s Shoe Fit Co.

Consignment

 For the students looking to “go green” and find something cheap, there are several consignment shops along Main Street.

The Loft offers resale of trendy, brand name clothes that any college student would enjoy. 

Students looking for a cute outfit to wear on the weekend at an extremely reasonable price can find exactly what they are looking for at The Loft. 

The Loft features name brand clothes from stores such as Express, Hollister and Abercrombie and Fitch. Clothes are current — nothing bought over a few years ago — and stylish and trendy.

Duck Worth Wearing is another consignment shop that sells children’s clothes and toys. 

Also sold at the shop is maternity clothing.

Other consignment shops, such as Great Stuff, LTD and Anything but New sell furniture, home accessories, antiques and even vintage clothing.

Bars

Several bars can be found along Main Street. Some of the popular bars include Deano’s, DG’s Taphouse and Olde Main.

DG’s Taphouse specializes in beer. The ultimate craft beer bar, customers can choose from 56 beers on tap and more than 100 choices in bottles. 

Customers are encouraged to come in, sit down, enjoy a beer and play pool, foosball, darts or pinball. Live music is also featured in the bar each weekend.

The London Underground is an English-style pub featuring imported beers on tap. The pub gives customers an international atmosphere and customers can expect to feel like they just stepped into the big city of London.

The Corner Pocket is a popular pool-bar, hence the name. Customers go to enjoy a few drinks and play a few competitive or friendly games of pool.

Restaurants

A plethora of local restaurants line Main Street. From Italian food to Thai cuisine, there is something for everyone.

The Grove Cafe is a unique place to get a great breakfast.

“[Our restaurant] is old style, like something you would find in town in the 1950s or ‘60s,” said owner Larry Goodale. “It’s small and quaint.”

Something special to The Grove Cafe is that customers can watch Goodale cook from anywhere in the restaurant.

Goodale said the most popular item sold is the pancake. “It’s had a ton of publicity. It’s been written up in the Food Network Magazine as the best breakfast in Iowa.”

The pancake is traditional, big and fluffy served with homemade syrup.

“My recommendation is to come in, get breakfast, try our pancake and see the place,” said Goodale.

Other great places to eat on Main Street are Aunt Maude’s, Olde Main, Downtown Deli, The Spice and many more.

The Spice is restaurant that offers authentic Thai cuisine. The restaurant offers a sophisticated atmosphere but is also a relaxed environment.

On the restaurant’s website, the owner, Supote Methiyapun, offers some recommendations on how to enjoy the cuisine the traditional way of Thailand. Methiyapun shares on the site that the best way to enjoy Thai food is to have a group of people together so that each dish can be shared amongst them.

The owner also distinguishes the difference between Thai food and Chinese food — in Thai food, chopsticks are not a standard utensil and are not used for rice dishes. Chopsticks are usually only used when Chinese style noodles are sold.

Olde Main is not only a restaurant but also a brewing company. Customers can come to the restaurant or brewery to wine and dine. There are also rooms for customers to hold events.

Olde Main is unique to Ames because it is also a brewing company. The brewery uses a mix of traditional brewing practices with new, modern techniques to create fresh and unique flavored beers. Olde Main’s beers can be found across Iowa in other bars and restaurants and in retail stores throughout the state as well. For those looking to get a firsthand experience of the brewery, Olde Main allows customers to schedule tours to view the brewery and the brewing process.

Whether you’re looking for a quick lunch, a fancy evening dinner, somewhere to shop or to experience something new, Main Street offers it all.

Not only is it lively and filled with something for everyone, it’s a historic part of Ames and, if nothing else, a beautiful place to take a walk down the street.