A new Madison County restaurant offers home-cooked meals and made-from-scratch desserts
Granite City is getting a new restaurant in the former Ravanelli’s location.
Family owned and operated by Brandon and Tori Raines, Down Home Cookin, slated to open later this month, will offer home-cooked meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
And desserts. A variety of glorious, made-from-scratch desserts.
The Raineses were kind enough to meet with me and show me around their new restaurant.
I met with them at #3 American Village, along with Brandon’s mom, Darlene Griffin, the baker of the aforementioned desserts.
More on that in a minute.
New home sweet home
Brandon said the building has been vacant since Ravanelli’s closed in February 2021.
Walls and trim were stained and painted. Brandon said they kept the existing corrugated steel wall paneling. It’s in great shape, so there was no need to change it.
Plus, steel because, you know, it’s Granite City.
The bulk of the work is done, and the Raineses are putting their own touches throughout the building.
They have all new kitchen equipment. Everything is new: the flooring, ceiling, even the water heater.
There’s a newly built bar, which the site didn’t have before. Customers will see it on the left upon entering the restaurant.
There’s an open area to the right with more space for seating.
The wall opposite the entrance features a fireplace with a flatscreen TV mounted above the mantle.
To the right of that there is a bakery case that will feature some of the fabulous dessert offerings. (Again, more on that in a mo’.)
The place will have a real family feel and is “not to bar-ish,” according to Brandon.
In the next room is the main dining area with a small wait station.
The room currently has 12 tables, but Tori said they might rearrange them to accommodate more.
Brandon said that the décor will include photos of Granite City sites, including the mill and other landmarks.
I got to walk through the kitchen, which has a lot of shiny new equipment: coolers, freezers, fryers, ovens, grill ….
I could cook there. Happily.
There’s also space for Darlene to create her confectionery masterpieces. (Nope, not there yet.)
Aside from finishing touches, Brandon said they have a some pending equipment deliveries and a couple of final inspections.
Then they’ll be ready to open.
Not exactly new
If Down Home Cookin seems familiar, there’s a reason.
The Raineses originally opened Down Home Cookin in Wood River in September, but they decided to relocate.
Brandon said they spoke to Granite City Mayor Mike Parkinson and the owner of the building at #3 American Village about bringing Down Home Cookin to Granite City.
He said they all felt that the city needed a new sit-down restaurant.
Brandon said Parkinson was helpful throughout the entire process and always willing to take his calls.
In a brief phone interview, Parkinson said that Granite City is open for business.
Parkinson said that part of his campaign platform was to cut back the amount of red tape people dealt with in trying to open a business.
Regarding Down Home Cookin, Parkinson is “happy to have a new sit-down restaurant.”
He said they already have some new businesses and really good food options in Granite City, including Tacos el Manny, Kasabi Hibachi Express and a few other places.
Of Down Home Cookin, Parkinson said, “I hope they’re here for a long time” and thinks that people will really enjoy eating there.
Community support has already been fantastic, according to Tori, and the city’s residents are looking forward to Down Home Cookin opening its doors.
Tori said they received more than 400 messages welcoming them to the community and that many are glad to welcome a family-owned business and not a chain.
The menu (and desserts!)
So what’s on the menu?
A menu posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page offers many options for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Pretty much any kind of breakfast food is available – bacon, sausage, eggs, toast, biscuits & gravy, pancakes – and in multiple forms and combinations: plates, sandwiches, burritos.
Other offerings include burgers, chicken (fried chicken, sandwiches, wings), fish, appetizers, salads and eats for the kids.
The Facebook page has photos of various dishes, so feast your eyes on meals like meatloaf, tacos, quesadillas, pork chops, barbecue burnt ends, chili and so many other fine eats. (They are really good about posting this stuff on Facebook.)
Tori said that much of the menu may remain the same, but there will be some changes.
There will be more home-cooked entrées, appetizers, lunch specials, happy hour specials.
Tori said their sweet corn nuggets and fried okra appetizers sold very well at the old location.
She’s also working on new sauces (all are homemade) for the chicken wings, including a spicy barbecue sauce (tangy with a kick) and a garlic parmesan.
A recipe for a black Cajun catfish is also in the works for their Friday fish menu, or “Frydays,” as Tori likes to call it.
And now (finally!) for dessert.
With more than 30 years of baking experience, Darlene is self-taught and makes everything from scratch: cakes, pies, cookies, personal/custom cakes, breads ….
She will take requests for pretty much anything.
Her baked goods already do well. She once made a caramel pecan cheesecake that sold out in 10 minutes, according to Tori.
Darlene said her Georgia peach upside down cake also goes over well with customers.
Again, check out the photos on the Facebook page. Many of them are of the desserts and include decorated cakes, cupcakes, cannoli, fruit pies, pies topped with meringues, upside down cakes, muffins ….
Are you convinced that this is a place you need to check out? Yeah, that’s what I thought.
Already looking ahead
Down Home Cookin’s new location is about 5,000 square feet, nearly twice the size of the Wood River site, according to Brandon.
The property that houses the restaurant is connected to additional vacant spaces in the whole building, which would allow the Raineses to expand at a later date.
“There’s room to grow here,” said Brandon.
Tori said they hope to eventually open the adjoining space that used to be the Ravanelli’s take-out side to expand the bakery. There would be a separate kitchen and front room for a café with its own entrance.
The second kitchen area is huge. The café area would provide room for bistro tables.
I asked Darlene if she loved the idea of having her own larger space for the bakery. (I know I would.)
She was modest in her response.
“I really want [the restaurant] to take off,” more for Brandon than anything else, said Darlene.
She just wants her son and his family to do well.
There’s another section of the building, about 400 square feet of space, that could serve as a separate dining area. Brandon said they may later use it as an event space for private parties and catered events.
Tori said she hopes things really take off so they are able to expand.
All of that’s still a ways off, but for now, the space is there if they want it.
Other plans involve giving back to the community that’s already made them feel so welcome.
Tori said they want to have a meal program for kids when school is out for the summer.
This is something they’ve done before. She said they provided snacks and meals for kids during COVID.
She said they may sponsor some community events too.
The Raineses are big on family and say that Down Home Cookin is for everyone. Bring your kids, bring your grandma, come in for a beer and burger. All are welcome.
Brandon said he’s “more than ready to get the doors open.”
The Raineses are optimistic about their business and new location.
Tori said they anticipate a lot of school traffic. The junior high and high schools are across the street. Church traffic too.
The Raineses anticipate their restaurant being a great thing that will keep them super busy.
“[Granite City’s] the place to be to open a business,” said Brandon.
About Down Home Cookin
Down Home Cookin is located at #3 American Village in Granite City and is set to open later this month.
Hours will be 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday and Wednesday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. They are closed Tuesdays.
The Raineses are currently hiring for bartenders, servers, food runners, dishwashers and line cooks.
Experience is preferred but not required. Applications are available at the restaurant.
For updates and info, call 618-823-5080 or follow the Facebook page.
