In 1885, after his liquor/saloon business prospered, August E. Homuth built a new two-story brick structure. An iron front was chosen for aesthetic purposes and for fire safety reasons. It was shipped from the Pullis Brothers Company of St. Louis, Missouri. 

The “Iron Front Saloon” and billiard hall opened on the first floor in August 1885. A short time later, Homuth decided that the town needed a place to hold public entertainment. He 
began work on the second floor and converted it into a first-class opera house. 

The Iron Front Saloon remained in business until 1908 when the building was used to house a mercantile business. Shortly thereafter it became a saloon once again, followed by the La Grange Buick Company, and a grocery store which lasted nearly 60 years. 

The second story with its iron front still remains, but has been hidden for the past 40 years by a metal slipcover. In the early 1980s the building had been home to a clothing shop which prospered for nearly 30 years. Today, the Homuth Opera House is the location of a kitchen gourmet shop.