There is much more going on at Still Smokin' BBQ than the serving of delicious barbeque and prime rib. Still Smokin' owners Doug and Gina Still have moved their own individual businesses to the Still Smokin' restaurant location on the north side of the square in Mount Ayr.

The diversity in the two businesses can truly offer something for everyone on the Christmas List. Gina's Designs by Gina is an arts and crafts shop which offers Gina's hand-painted and hand-crafted creations. The pieces range from flowers to snowmen to landscapes.

Doug's Timberline Hunting and Equipment has guns and ammunition of all types to satisfy any hunter's needs. Doug offers practical hunting equipment, without all of the bells and whistles as a way of keeping prices down.

"I talk somebody out of a sale once a week because I know they don't need it," Doug said about his business philosophy.

Gina's sideline business sprang from her love of art and the realization that she has a talent for it.

"I can't draw, but give me a paint brush and I can do scenery," she said about her painting, which is done with acrylic craft paint.

She uses a one-stroke painting technique, which she learned from instructor Bob Ross' Joy of Painting instructional video. She has already found a spot in the building where she can be alone to do her painting and her crafts.

She calls that her "happy" place because it is relatively stress free.

Both Stills talk about how their businesses fit together despite the obvious differences in their merchandise and their clientele.

Doug sees their offerings as something that can help maintain harmony in a marriage.

"People eat and then one of them turns into the gun shop and the other one goes into the other shop. It helps keep couples together," he said.

Moving their individual businesses into one location was part of the business model when the Stills opened Still Smokin' BBQ.

"I knew that if we bought the building that we would have to do something besides the restaurant to make it go," Doug said. "We couldn't let it sit empty. We had these sideline businesses to make extra money. The only way we could justify buying the building was to diversity."

Photograph courtesy of Mount Ayr Record-News
Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, April of 2017