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 The couple is no stranger to the food service industry, and they
have a secret weapon in their corner that you’ll learn about in just
a bit. At a very young age, Joel began working for Domino’s Pizza,
and eventually he came to own not one, but five such eateries; the
one in Lincoln, Mahomet, Morton, and two in Peoria.
Tabitha began her working career in education, serving first as an
Early Childhood Education Paraprofessional at Adams School, then
working as a substitute teacher for the District 27 school system.
When the couple married in 2013, Tabitha made the decision to leave
teaching and work side-by-side with her husband to manage their five
Dominos. But the couple knew that they wanted something more for
themselves and their future. They often talked of selling the
Domino’s and opening a restaurant that would be a bigger expression
of themselves and a more personalized offering to the community.
Tabitha explained that changes in the franchise and other feelings
about the businesses they owned, prompted the couple to in 2015
follow through with their dream by selling all five franchised
stores.
 “Joel and I would often dream of selling our stores in the future
and opening up one great restaurant in Lincoln where we could devote
all of our time and energy locally,” said Tabitha. “A family-style
restaurant with great food at a good price and great customer
service. Our dream eventually became a plan and in 2015, we sold all
of our stores.”
The couple then began their search for the perfect place to locate
their new restaurant, knowing that it had to be in the Lincoln area.
It was then that the Elks Lodge restaurant caught their attention.
As many know, the restaurant has gone through a handful of owners
and managers in the past few years. And, the couple learned the
restaurant was once again closed.
Tabitha explained, “The Elk's Lodge was seeking someone with a
serious interest in opening their own restaurant to fill their
vacant restaurant space. Joel and I felt this was "our calling" and
we were soon discussing ideas and plans with the Elks.
“As we entered 2016, we signed a contract with the Elk's and worked
diligently to create a comfortable restaurant atmosphere with a
delicious menu selection. Although the restaurant is housed in the
lodge, it is owned and operated by us, and it is open to the
public.”
The couple has a keen interest in their local roots and the Abraham
Lincoln heritage of this community. When they started thinking about
what they would name their new restaurant, they had two thoughts in
mind, their own name, and the name of Abraham Lincoln. Tabitha
explained that it all kind of fell together right in front of them.
They were thinking about Abraham Lincoln, and also about their last
name of “Beard” and they remembered that Abraham Lincoln’s ‘beard’
was a big part of the 16th President’s history.
“You may know the true story of an 11-year old girl, Grace Bedell,
who wrote a letter to Lincoln suggesting he let his whiskers grow as
his face was too thin. She suggested he would look a great deal
better and would get more votes. Lincoln responded to Bedell almost
immediately and soon after he was sporting some new whiskers. The
Lincoln photo we used for Whiskers is the first known photo of him
with facial hair and he kept his beard for the rest of his life.”
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Tabitha noted that while it was Lincoln’s beard that made a stir,
what the young Grace Bedell asked of him was that he grow
“whiskers.” For Joel and Tabitha, that was their ‘ah-ha moment.’ To
honor their family name and their beloved Mr. Lincoln, the name of
the grill and pub should be “Whiskers.” In addition, the picture on
their sign and logo is a copy of the first photo taken of Lincoln
after he began growing his whiskers.
With the eatery open to the public, the couple is offering food
service seven days a week. They are open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Monday through Thursday and on Friday and Saturday they extend their
hours to 10 p.m. On Sunday, they are open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
They have a lunch menu, as well as a dinner menu that features some
very tasty items.
Lunch menus include a nice variety of sandwiches, meal-sized salads
with an accompanying bowl of soup, and a selection of horseshoes.
“It’s very difficult to choose which one, or few may be a customer
favorite. Our horseshoes are a huge hit; many have said they're the
best in the area. And we've often heard that our chicken wings are
as good as, or better than those at big name wing restaurants in big
cities.”
At dinner time, a menu favorite is the meatloaf dinner, which is
quickly becoming nick-named “Mama’s Meatloaf,” and that is the
secret weapon mentioned earlier. Tabitha explained that the meatloaf
recipe belongs to her mother Glenna Peterson, who comes to the
restaurant every day, and personally prepares the dinner offering as
well as another special feature; mozzarella stuffed meatballs. “One
young man ate at Whiskers three times in one week and ordered the
meatloaf dinner every time. He even contacted Joel and me privately
asking us to sell an entire loaf to him. "Name your price!" he said.
If you need to top off a great dinner with a great dessert, Whiskers
has you covered there too. “My mother bakes 'edible brownie bowls'
for our brownie bowl sundae, and everybody loves them as well as our
fried ice cream and hand-dipped milkshakes.”
The restaurant offers a great selection of items on the kids menu to
help make family outings more affordable. Each Tuesday is “kids’
days” with a $2.50 meal offering that includes everything on the
kid’s menu with the exception of the shrimp meal.
The restaurant features two dining areas. The front area is a casual
sports-bar setting with a large screen television. Folks can come in
for an early evening drink and stay for a meal. The back dining room
is a little more formal and offers music playing softly in the
background and the same great views of the Elks Golf Course that
we’ve enjoyed over the past years.
Joel and Tabitha are excited about their future with Whiskers and
feel that they have a good relationship with the Elk’s that will
serve both the lodge and themselves well for the foreseeable future.
“The Elk's members are happy to have a restaurant back in their
facility, and every day we meet new people from Lincoln and
surrounding communities who've heard of our delicious food. We're
seeing many Lincolnites coming back often to sample everything on
the menu,” Tabitha concluded.
[Nila Smith] |
