2004 Year in Review

Main Street Market opens

Larry and Kristy Rice pose in front of their new coffee bar at The Main Street Market.

“Her passion is food and mine is woodworking and restoration,” explained Larry Rice about he and wife Kristi’s newest downtown restaurant, Main Street Market. The restaurant is a good combination of both. Kristy always dreamed of starting her own restaurant. “At first we wanted to do a 50’s theme but then we liked the deli idea,” Kristy added.

When they open at 7:30 am, Monday, May 10, she will be serving muffins and pastries with their new coffee bar. Lattes, cappuccinos, mochas, and coffee smoothies will be available along with gourmet coffees. They have 12 different flavors that can be added to coffees including 4 sugar free ones. If you prefer Chai tea or fruit smoothies they can make them also. The fruit smoothies are fortified with vitamins, zero fat, low in sugar and calories.

For lunch they offer café-style sandwiches with a variety of breads, meats, cheeses, and toppings. Everyday they will serve chili and a soup of the day, salads, and baked potatoes. After traveling to a food show, Kristy came back with Wisconsin Cheesecake as her favorite. She will also make a dessert of the day.

“I always wanted to do this and it was time to do it,” Kristy explained. She came from Decatur and worked in the food industry before moving to Morrison five years ago. “I was also a trainee for Cheddars in Forsyth, Illinois.”

“In Kristy’s family food is important. They watch the Food Channel all day. She grew up with a love of food,” Larry enlightened. They moved to Morrison five years ago because “this is where we wanted to raise our kids”. Larry and Kristy have 2 small children, Loren, 5, and Grace, 2-1/2.

Larry works fulltime as a policeman for the Morrison Police Department and in his spare time he likes to do woodworking. In September 2003 they bought the building and thought they could have it open by December 1. The building needed more work than they thought, including all new plumbing, and electrical. They needed to remove the boiler and put in a forced air heating system with air conditioning. Local contractors including Junior Alvarado, Mike Britt, and Brands Heating were hired to help. But most of their help came from family and friends like Uncle Bob Snodgrass, Kristy’s dad Art Hoffer, and many others.

The interior is rich with wood. “Larry planed and milled all the oak woodwork and he also laid the tile,” Kristy proudly exclaimed. He also missed his calling in decorating. Larry designed the quaint layout and the inviting interior. They purchased antiques to give the restaurant a finished touch.

Original to the old bakery is the restored tin ceiling. Larry also restored the original butcher blocks as counters. A tin ceiling from the basement was removed, restored and placed under the coffee bar. A chalk board behind the coffee bar was designed and made by Steve Rice, another talented relative. Larry’s dad, Lonnie, manufactured the ironwork used as ornament and made wall racks.

They passed inspection on Thursday, are handicapped accessible, and part of the enterprise zone. Saturday they begin training their eight employees. The Main Street Market will be open 7:30 am to 8:00 pm six days per week.

“It’s been a long time, we’re excited about opening, and getting into a routine,” they both agreed.

by Barb Benson, theCity1.com
May 7, 2004