Lil Bistro is hitting its stride

REDKEY — It was bought as a run-down, decrepit building, but the Lil Bistro restaurant in Redkey now prides itself in its homey feel and unique selection of foods.
Owners Bert Quakenbush and Violet Erlenbush had a vision of opening a restaurant that would bring people in from all over the community. And after purchasing a historic building on High Street in Redkey, that vision has become a real opportunity. But the path has been anything but easy.
Quakenbush said they paid $5,000 in 2007 to purchase the building on what used to be the busiest street in downtown Redkey. He bought the building not completely knowing everything that needed to be done to get it in useable shape.
It had sat empty for 17 years without being occupied. Before that, it served at various times as a bank, city hall, police station and legion building.
As a former, longtime construction worker, Quakenbush went to work restoring the building in hopes to make it a restaurant.
“I just needed a break from working in construction and traveling to Indianapolis everyday,” he said
It took him five years to finish his work on the building.
Since Lil Bistro’s opening without fanfare in the beginning of March, the owners say they have received positive feedback from customers. But Quakenbush and Erlenbush still feel that they have not tapped into reaching all the people in the community and nearby towns.
“We had a good start,” Quakenbush said. “ But it slowed down a bit in August.”
Restaurant manager Tressa Erlenbush said they also haven’t advertised much and are hoping to begin doing that at some point to draw more attention to the business.
Quakenbush mentioned that one of the big assists to the restaurant is that it has teamed up with Bell Aquaculture, a fish farm that has a processing plant in Redkey, in order to use fish in several main courses. Two of customers’ favorites, he said, are blue gill and perch, which is considered the signature dish for the restaurant.
Along with the fish courses Lil Bistro also serves brick oven baked pizzas ranging from traditional cheese and pepperoni to a Hawaiian-style pie.
“We don’t just have run of the mill pizzas here,” Erlenbush said.
The expensive brick oven sends off enticing aromas that fill the entire building. Having the brick oven is what Quakenbush thinks sets Lil Bistro apart from many other places. It gives the pizza a smoky, savory flavor.  
The staff, at the Lil Bistro, all of whom are family members, understand the hurdles of opening a restaurant in Redkey. They say their biggest challenges are lack of traffic flow through town and the relatively low income of most families in the area. But they are determined to be the start of revitalizing downtown Redkey.  
“We just want to offer something to the community,” Quakenbush said. “We want to offer some new life in Redkey.”
For now, Lil Bistro is open from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 4 to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
“People just need to give it a try once,” Quakenbush said. “After that, we know they will be back.”

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