New bar and restaurant in Madison isn’t fancy, but customers rave about the food
If you’re looking for an upscale restaurant in a trendy neighborhood with gourmet food and a pretentious crowd, Big O’s is definitely not the place for you.
The pole-barn-style building stands next to a railroad switchyard in Madison. Regulars include steelworkers and World Wide Technology Raceway employees who work down the road. The floor is aggregate concrete. The bar is trimmed in wood and corrugated metal. Beer signs cover the walls.
“It won’t be long until we get video gaming,” said owner Lisa Wright, 50, of Granite City, a friendly, short-haired blond who opened the bar and restaurant in November and already knows many customers by name.
The five TV sets are usually tuned to sports channels, unless it’s mid-morning and Wright is cleaning up after breakfast. Then she might switch over to Rachael Ray’s cooking show.
Customers rave about her food, including daily specials, burgers, sandwiches, wraps, chicken wings, soups and salads. Most items cost $5.99 or less. She also serves breakfast, beginning at 6 a.m.
“It’s a good place to meet people,” said Lisa Mitchell, 49, of Granite City, a bartender who plays pool on a Tuesday night ladies league and Thursday night mixed league. “You find young. You find older. It’s a good eclectic crowd. It’s friendly. It’s happy. It’s fun. There’s no trouble. There’s no problems.”
Big O’s is named after Wright’s 3-year-old grandson, Orson, who lives in Columbus, Ohio, with her son, Joshua.
Corner tavern for decades
Big O’s is at 2001 Hildebrand St., off a frontage road that runs along Illinois 203. It’s about two miles north of World Wide Technology Raceway, where Wright works part-time as concessions manager during national races.
The white metal-sided building that houses Big O’s has been a tavern for decades.
“The first place I remember was the Bear’s Den,” said Gerald Sloan, 62, of Granite City, a resin-plant supervisor who was eating breakfast with his wife, Mary, on a recent morning. “I was just a kid. That was the late ‘60s or early ‘70s.”
A handful of people sitting at the bar chimed in to name other occupants, including Fat Pat’s, Carolyn’s Hideaway, Cuckoo’s Nest, Cloverleaf, Louie’s and then Cloverleaf again. It’s unclear who installed bars on the windows to avoid break-ins after closing time.
Wright bought the building in March after the last owner died. She planned to open a second location of Slo-Jo’s Bar & Grill in Fairmont City, a business she managed for three years and owned for eight. But then she lost her lease in Fairmont City, so the Madison building became her new digs.
That was good news for Angel Tosi, 56, of Collinsville, a personal friend who works as food and beverage manager at the racetrack.
“The only other place for our employees to eat is Taco Bell and Subway,” she said. “The maintenance guys love the wings (at Big O’s).”
Mayor likes cheeseburgers
Other Big O’s customers include Madison Mayor John Hamm, who has taken a liking to its jumbo chicken wings and cheeseburgers. Wings cost 50 cents each on Thursdays and come with Wright’s housemade sauce. Tacos are $1.50 on Wednesdays.
Hamm, 73, also stops by for the breakfast buffet now and then.
“The food is excellent, and I always try to patronize the businesses in town,” he said.
Wright describes the menu as “way better than what you get at most bars.” She slow-cooks Italian beef for 24 hours, fresh-cuts french fries, serves her own onion-ring dipping sauce and makes beef barley, chicken noodle and other soups from scratch. Burgers are hand-sliced, seasoned and flame-broiled.
Wright classed things up on New Year’s Eve, serving filet-mignon dinners for $25 and ending up with 42 reservations. She hopes to offer a similar special on Valentine’s Day.
“Everything’s made with love,” she said. “That’s the main ingredient here.”
Kitchen hours for Big O’s are 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. The bar stays open until 1 a.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. A patio with horseshoe pits will be open in warm weather. For more information, call 618-593-7629 or visit the Facebook page.
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