“I spotted a pub, a nice brick structure attached to a house. Like many neighborhood pubs, the sign showed the Old Style beer logo. I walked in through the doors. I attracted attention. Nobody cared that I had insisted on wearing a mask. I looked unfamiliar.A woman called out, "How are you doing, sweetie?" "Oh, I'm fine. Passing through. I stopped for Tom's Sweet Corn, and need to stretch my legs." A man smiled, "So, you're not a local." I thought, "It would take a lifetime to become a local. All I need to do is sit down and order an Old Style." "I live over in Streator," I offered, hoping to look local enough. A woman squealed, "I'm from Streator!" "How about that. I'm thirty miles east of Streator and I meet a neighbor!" I excused myself. I had downed an extra large soda at Jimmy Johns in downtown Kankakee.The rest rooms shared a sink in the hall between the biffys. The wood door suggested an age of one hundred years old or more. Wood gets drier and lighter as it ages. The door handles reminded me of the late Nineteenth Century, just a touch hand made.I wondered, "Should I buy a bar stool buddy a shot to say thanks for a clean restroom?" I walked over to the bar. I spotted a freezer stocked with six dollar frozen pizzas. Not one vegan pizza I felt sure. Hunger had arrived. A set of coolers showed off all the cans for sale. "Might I buy a Coke?" The woman bartending probably owned the bar. "Sure, that will be a dollar". Thank you I said as I gave her two dollars. "It's only a dollar, hon." "I wish to show my gratitude," I said with a smile."What brings you this way?" said the man who deduced my traveling status. "I was in Kankakee." "Kankakee? What brought you to Kankakee?" "I'm learning how to be a census taker. I count twenty at the pub. Let me write that down." He laughed. I had satisfied his curiosity by making him laugh. "You take care of yourself, hon," said the one woman who greeted me first when I came inside. "Yes, please take care of yourself, too. I'll be back".It seemed like the right thing to say. I stepped out the door into the rays of a sun setting to the west. A John Deere gator, a blend between a tractor and a golf cart, proceeded towards Tom's corn. I spotted a few more as I drove to Tom's to score a dozen sweet ears.Tom's yard looked like a John Deere commercial. One farmer arrived pulling a hay wagon full of people behind his yellow and green John Deere tractor. A man set at the wheel of his gator, closest to the picnic table where awaited the corn. "Hey, I bet you're Tom!" "That's right, I'm Tom." "Are you hosting a corn roast, Tom?" "Nope, it's a community gathering." "Might I pick out a few ears?" "Sure, hello yourself. There's the cash box. Put in what you want. Put in nothing. Take all you want."I started to fill a plastic bag after sliding two dollars in the slot cut in the cash box. I thought that fair for six ears. "What's the event, Tom?" "It's a community picture. We just repainted our town sign, and fixed up the landscaping." I hadn't noticed. People kept arriving in vans, by car and even by ATV. "Is this a Lions Club project?" "Nope. We disbanded our club. The national wanted too much money every year. We just do our own community club. A long time resident left money in a will for the sign".He patted the seat of his gator. "Any body need a ride." The sign stood right across the street. "Thank you, Tom. How long will you be picking sweet corn?" "Straight through Labor Day. You drive through often?" "First time by. Have a good night."I counted twenty people walking over from the pub. It looked as if every two hundred citizens of Reddick planned to pose, smiling at the sunset. Soon, I“
“Great service and then the other great thing ever is the best way people treat you. You can come to the small town and then your going to be here for the rest of your life. It's that comfortable to be in a bit of a"small spot" and then feel free to be here..So cool!“
“For a town with a population of 97 in the middle of cornfields they’ve got a gem. Both of us had the super bird/fries/Pepsi. Chicken is very very lightly breaded and I liked it that way. Just enough ham for flavoring. Texas toast was done right, crisp and not soft to get soggy. Great sandwich. Fries were hot and good hand cut style. $38 and change for both meals. Like a lot of places they need help. Bartender was also order taker, food runner and drink maker. Somewhat high prices, but the quality makes up for it. Probably really a 4.5 star.“
“We were in town for one of the Sawmill Center events and stopped here for lunch. Clean, quiet, good lunch. A bit pricey for that, but prices are high everywhere. We ordered 2 burgers/fries and one grinder/chippers with some drinks and the bill was $60. Staff was very friendly and bathroom was clean. I’ll stop here again. I enjoyed it.“