The restaurant building on West Third Street in downtown Kewanee has been vacant since Phat Boys Barbecue closed its doors a couple of months ago.
But the building won’t be vacant for long. A new restaurant, Tres Café, is set to open in the building, perhaps as early as mid-December.
Max Organista and Shirley Chu have operated Tres Café in Galesburg for eight years. They also have a location in Abingdon; Kewanee will be their third restaurant.
Chu said Kathy Albert, executive director of the Kewanee Economic Development Corp., was very helpful in arranging their purchase of the local building, which had been extensively remodeled for Phat Boys.
“It’s pretty much ready to go,” she said. “They did a pretty good job” of redoing the building.
A few changes will be needed in the kitchen, she said, and she hopes the restaurant will be serving meals as soon as mid-December; the opening might not be until after the first of the year, though.
Chu said, “We’re known for comfort food,” and added that anything on the menu will be available all day. That means breakfast will be served in the evening, if that’s what a diner wants; or evening meals can be ordered at 6 a.m.
“We’re very, very flexible about our menu,” she said.
Most of the staff at the restaurant will be hired in Kewanee, she said, although a couple of cooks experienced in preparing the menu items will transfer in from Galesburg.
Chu and Organista have always worked with local charitable organizations to serve food to people in need. Chu said they have distributed more than 50,000 free meals since opening in Galesburg, and they plan to work with the Salvation Army, the Chamber of Commerce and local veterans organizations in continuing that practice here.
