Family opens latest restaurant venture
You may remember Jesse and Diana Smith from the Ice Cream Parlor and Grill or from L’il Mom and Pop Shop restaurant downtown.
Now the pair of restaurateurs have opened the doors — or rather the window — of their newest creation Grandpa’s Burger Box on U.S. Highway 24-40, just north of Casey’s.
Jesse Smith, who has been in the in the food business for 15 years said he couldn’t wait to start another restaurant in the town that has “been so good to us.”
“I’ve been happier this past month than I have been in a year and a half,” Smith said about getting ready to open the restaurant.
There have been a couple of changes with the new burger joint. The most visible is the smaller location. There is no space for inside seating; the new restaurant is for take-out orders, but there is a picnic bench just outside for patrons.
Jesse Smith hopes by next spring he will be able to increase outside seating so his customers wont have to eat in their cars.
The other change is in the menu. You can still get a chilidogs or a Fatboy with cheese. But because of a lack of storage space, the Smiths had to cut out the ice cream, but they have left space on the counter for a soft-serve ice cream machine for the future.
Diana Smith was also happy to finally get the restaurant open. She said they were prepared for any size crowd on Monday, their first day back in business.
“It was busy, but it was fun,” Diana said. “It was nice to see a lot of familiar faces.”
Jesse Smith wouldn’t say exactly how well his restaurant did on the first day, but as a token of his success he taped the first dollar he made just inside the window.
“It was a very good turnout for us today,” he said. “I was waiting on it, and they didn’t let me down.”
Jesse Smith hopes to get a lot of his business from his old customers and from repeat customers who will try his food for the first time.
He said he didn’t want to sound to cocky, but, “If I can get them to stop once, I’ll get them to stop again.”
Grandpa’s Burger Box is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.