BEARDSTOWN — Kevin Mellor of Rushville had some ideas cooking in his head that he wanted to share with other food lovers.
So he opened The Red Owl, a restaurant at 112 E. Second St. in downtown Beardstown, to do just that.
“I got really interested in cooking while watching The Food Channel,” Mellor said. “I then taught myself how to cook. I looked around the Beardstown area and I looked at the things I saw on TV that were new, wild and different, and realized there was nothing close to Beardstown that offered those things.”
Until now, at least.
“I felt that people were looking at menus that were pretty standard across the board, and I want to do something different,” he said.
The Red Owl’s menu has some traditional items, but with Mellor’s own twist. Some of the popular entrees include prime rib, french dip sandwiches, meatloaf, marinated pork chops and spaghetti and meatballs.
“We carry things such as tenderloins, chicken strips and burgers, but we try to create them with different flavor profiles,” Mellor said.
He said that most of the menu items are prepared in a home-style manner.
“We are real big on trying to do as much of the food preparation from scratch as possible,” Mellor said. For example, The Red Owl cooks make all of the restaurant’s desserts from scratch. “And we bring in all of our meats unseasoned and then put our own seasonings on them.”
In addition, The Red Owl’s sauces — ranch, tartar, honey mustard, french fry, steak and tequila cocktail — are all made in-house.
“I think that we improve our performance every day,” Mellor said. “The flavors are there, and I really feel like everything is coming together.”
He said he plans to expand the menu in the coming weeks and offer vegetarian and gluten-free options.
The Red Owl is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday.
