What began as a refinished‑furniture shop on Collins’ Main Street has grown into one of the community’s most unexpected gathering places.
The Back Yard, owned by entrepreneur and artist Shelby Smith, now blends an art gallery, community hangout and a coffee‑and‑cocktail bar called Steeped & Stirred. It is a mix that reflects Smith’s instinct for building things that bring people together.
The Back Yard is a business that kept expanding
Smith opened The Back Yard in September 2024 after selling her cricket‑based food business, Gym-n-Eat Crickets, to a Minnesota-based company. She started refinishing furniture, but took a break to limit her exposure to the chemicals involved.
The quaint atmosphere of Collins, which sits on the eastern edge of Story County, spawned an idea to foster community.
“I had this building on Main Street and I was like, ‘Well, I could open a store,’” she said. “At the time, it was all my refinished furniture, it was house plants, it was unique, vintage finds like a home goods store.”
The idea didn’t stay small for long, and she quickly began sketching ideas to expand. Smith and her husband, Willie Beeler, who owns Beeler Lawn & Landscape in downtown Collins, decided to build an outdoor beer garden for cyclists cruising the Heart of Iowa Trail.
The Back Yard gets traffic from popular bike trail
When the construction of the 21-mile Heart of Iowa Nature Trail moved faster than expected, the couple built and opened Steeped & Stirred in early 2025. The patio bar serves coffee, classic cocktails and Iowa craft beers.
“This is not really a Bush Light establishment,” Smith said. “We celebrate local.”
Smith offers a rotating menu of specialty cocktails rather than a full bar. Her mission is to create an elevated yet approachable experience in a small-town setting.
Shelby Smith’s mural sparked something new
The Back Yard’s latest chapter was inspired by an ugly cinder block wall. Smith wanted a mural but couldn’t afford to hire an artist, so she created a design and painted it.
The experimental mural inspired a bigger one inside the shop’s bathroom, where she painted a 10‑by‑12‑inch floral rectangle every day for 39 days.
She posted the videos on social media and was surprised by the response.
“The first week I had 10 people come in and say they were watching me paint my bathroom,” she said.
The surprising interest nudged Smith in a new direction, offering painting classes in a nearby building.
The Back Yard is a new gallery for Iowa artists
Smith has since stopped selling furniture and, with her husband’s help, converted The Back Yard into a rotating art gallery featuring Iowa artists, with indoor seating for Steeped & Stirred.
The Back Yard’s April 23 season opener debuted the first of six planned gallery shows, each running for four weeks and featuring five Iowa artists. The inaugural exhibition showcases the work of Zeb Sanny, Cassie St. Aubin, Laurie Hoifeldt, Audrey Lynn Damhof and Shawn Palek.
“This season is about creating something bigger than a shop. It’s about building a space where people can gather, slow down and experience the depth of talent we have right here in Iowa,” Smith said. “You shouldn’t have to go to a bigger city to experience meaningful art and connection.”
The Back Yard plans to expand its gallery programming to include rotating exhibits by student artists from local rural schools.
Smith is committed to creating a place that draws people to Collins.
“The goal was always to build something that was worthy of people traveling,” she said. “Collins is small but mighty.”
Ronna Faaborg covers business and the arts for the Ames Tribune. Reach her at rfaaborg@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Discover art, drink coffee and hang at The Back Yard in Collins
Reporting by Ronna Faaborg, Ames Tribune / Ames Tribune
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