History

Reliable Street is located on the historic site of the Doboy feed mill and warehouse, in the now annexed town of Ontario. The plot was the original home of Lockwood Grain and Feed Company. Eventually it became Ames Reliable Feeds, which was then absorbed by a national company Doboy. The mill operated until 1979. You can find more information from the Ames Historical Society and Jerry Liztel here.

Most recently the Reliable Street facilities were occupied by Import Cars Ltd., an auto repair shop run by Mr. Doug Havlik. He purchased the mill and warehouse in 1989 from the Heart-of-Iowa Cooperative in Story City. Havlik ran his high end import car business out of the warehouse section of the property. The mill was unused except for hosting a new wave of cellphone towers. In February of 2015, Havlik passed due to a battle with brain cancer. His fascination with trains, automobiles, and pyrotechnics still spot the property and have become what we consider part of its colorful history.