food – BLOG

The Details: Terry Kaufman, Owner of Elm Street Grill | In Business: 4 Years

Hours: Monday-Saturday 11:00am-1:00am | Location: 113 E. Elm St. Argenta, IL | Phone: 217.795.2295 | Email: elmstreetargenta@gmail.com

Tell us about your business…

For a great lunch with family, friends and co-workers, or a night out, stop by the Elm Street Grill for delicious appetizers, sandwiches, salads and daily/weekly specials. We are conveniently located off of Route 48. Great food made with fresh, quality ingredients at reasonable prices, friendly service, and a fun yet relaxed atmosphere are what we are all about. Perfect for a quiet lunch or dinner, meeting with friends, or having a celebration. Set in a historical 1887 structure, so you can enjoy the ambiance of high tin ceilings, beautiful hardwood floors, and the original 1887 facade. We have tables and booths, or feel free to sit outside on the patio or at the bar. We offer weekly specials, and carryout is available.

What did you do?

I bought a bar to turn into a restaurant. I wanted to provide the service in the town I grew up in.

What makes your business unique/special?

We brought a restaurant and bar back to Argenta, when there hadn’t been one for a while. And we’ve even started doing delivery following the limits from the dimensional weight calculator, now that we offer pizza.

What item on your menu do you just LOVE and think everyone needs?

I’m a fan of the buffalo chicken wrap. We started doing fresh pizza – we do the dough, the sauce ourselves, and use all fresh ingredients. Our meat combo and our buffalo pizza are really popular.

In what way have you gone above/beyond in the past for a customer?

We use the term “guest,” because we like everyone to feel welcome, to give them a warm feeling when they come in. We’ve done a couple benefits for the son of a friend who’s going through some tough times. We almost raised $18,000 to send this kid to Panama to get stem cell treatment. Those benefits, it’s nice to see the community come together. That’s as rewarding if not more rewarding to see the looks on their faces and know you’ve touched them.

What is the coolest thing you’ve ever had a client do for you?

The attendance when we have events, to see the people support, just because it’s you. The simple fact of getting a compliment and knowing they mean it.

What tool/equipment/or other vendor could you not imagine doing business without?

I’ve got some really good people working for me. I’ve got some people overworked because it’s so hard to find good people. My girlfriend, Heather Staffer, manages the bar for me when she can. My staff is my best tool.

What other local business do you just LOVE? Why?

My local food suppliers – that’s what makes it happen. MJ Kellner Food Service is a family-owned food distribution company. Hoelting Produce, they’re people who make it very easy to go to work every day. Skeff Distributing and Budweiser are another big part of the operation.

I love that some of our other favorite small businesses like Skeff are working together to make the whole small business community amazing around here! Check out our feature of Skeff Distributing HERE.

Tell us about YOU

I was working as a server at Texas Roadhouse working for Dave Hess and taking some classes. I loved it. I was approached by him to do management. I worked there 10 years, then for my good friend Todd Mason at The Beach House for four years. Then I ran Lincoln Lounge for about a year. I bought the bar after that.

WHY did you choose to do what you do?

Food is so vital; it’s connects to a lot of people. From the single mom or dad to the older widowed grandmother or the older man who can’t cook. It’s cool to provide a service for the village I grew up in – not only are they customers but I know them. That’s where it’s rewarding for me.

When did you know you wanted to go into this business?

From the time I started working at Roadhouse – I liked doing the service side right from the start.

What are you passionate about outside of your business?

I’m passionate about being a good father, boyfriend and son. My parents live on a good amount of land. My son is a freshman in college and I need to be around to lend a hand and knowledge to him. And if we can sneak away to a ballgame or to get to a Challenger level in our video game, all the better.

Describe your PERFECT day…

I’d wake up, have some breakfast, jump in the car and go to Jamaica or somewhere like that.

See the latest news at:

https://www.facebook.com/Elm-Street-Grill-702373443110552/

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If you’d like to have YOUR small business featured for FREE on the SJP blog (or know a small business we should feature) you can find details HERE! These features are 100% free and we’d love to feature you next.

Today I’m giving Decatur and Thrive Entertainment Guide some love here on the blog. Decatur has only been home for us since late 2010 so we haven’t even been here a decade yet, but I already feel rooted to this community and really would miss some of the great things this city offers if we were to ever relocate.

One of the very first connections I made when I moved to town was with Katrina Smalley the publisher of Thrive Entertainment Guide, who I could gush about for days… Not only has Kat been excited about my business coming to the area since day one but she’s excited about this town and EVERYTHING going on in it! It’s her (and by extension, our) job to know about what’s going on in Macon county and make sure you guys do too. And I’m honored to be a continuing part of that effort through Thrive Entertainment Guide.

I get to do a very eclectic style of work for Thrive with something a bit different every month. Often I get to cover and create images to tell a whole story (including a cover image!)…

Other times I get to create portraits (like I love) of the movers and shakers doing big things right here in our little town. This is always a fun and challenging endeavor because, while I LOVE to create portraits, it can be a challenge to create a single portrait that shows you, the reader, who this person is as well as what they do or love. And I really push myself to keep these fresh, though there may be a Q&A portrait in every issue of Thrive I hope they’ll never be two that look quite alike (because these folks are all doing very unique and wonderful things).

Still other times my contribution to the magazine drifts over to the commercial side with product images both for stories and for our supportive advertisers. And (hint hint) if you didn’t know already your ad in Thrive comes complete with my services to create images to show off your products to our readers! (Side note, my very own #BabyB has made about 3 appearances in Thrive already and you can see her twice below… it’s true, she’s a star!).

And this past month, my husband even made a debut in the magazine as he was interviewed for a story on Macon Speedway and that’s his pride and joy custom-painted helmet you see (shoutout to INDOCIL).

And occasionally… I mean VERY occasionally I get talked into writing for the magazine as well. Though ‘writer’ has always been a pipe dream of mine, I can’t say that it’s ever been something that comes easily so I admit I avoid it whenever possible. But when it comes with the promise of food and/or coffee who can say no?!?!

And really all the best assignments come with FOOD (and friends)…

Decatur really is a unique place and though it seems to get a bad (for some reason) it really is FULL of unique activities, chances for adventure in nature, entertainment from board games to art classes, theater shows to live music plus don’t even get me started on the park district activities and amenities (OMG so much to do!)… and so much more on the horizon (water park and ropes courses dude!). And if you ever have the thought that there is nothing to do in this city… pick up a Thrive (there are literally THOUSANDS available around town every month) and check out the center calendar, where you’ll also find some of my lovely clients!

Because not only do I work for Thrive every month but it also works for me! Sharing and showing off my amazing clients and what we’ve been creating together.

You can read these and all past issues of Thrive Entertainment Guide HERE.

Tag: food

Elm Street Grill | Small Business Feature

| Thrive Entertainment Guide | Commercial & Editorial Photography | Decatur IL |