+1 on it being appropriate for this group. Steel frame with braze-on eyelets aplenty, takes fenders, has clearance for 700x38c tires without 'em, and has an aftermarket low trail fork. It might could even be converted to a 650b so's you can run some chubber rubber to get sendy with your friendy. Any way you slice it, this bike could be a super fun project that's a little easier on the pocketbook than a Roadini or whatever.
Salsa has since gone in another direction, but I, for one, have a lot of love for the production brands who do interesting things with steel frames in almost every production cycle.