Page 18 - The Peorian, Vol 3 Issue 2

The Present
Harvest Café was started
nearly four years ago by Libby
Mathers, an area business woman
and farm owner who decided
to open the restaurant because
she likes Delavan and fell in
love with the 1890s building she
bought and renovated to house
it. “It’s something I’ve always
wanted to do so I just went for
it,” she said.
But she also wanted to do
something that would help the
area economy beyond selling
food. She is a fan of the farm-
to-table concept because it not
only means the freshest foods
possible coming into and out of
the kitchen, but it also helps local
farmers and their families.
“It was becoming increasingly
obvious we need to get the
chemicals and preservatives
out of our food. And we have
received amazing support from
everybody around here, local and
the surrounding area. We make
everything fresh every day, even
the buns for the burgers, and we
try to have something on our
menu that suits everyone’s price
point,” she said.
“We are proof that if you have
a good product, people will find
you.”
The dinner menu ranges from
$12 to $32 per entrée, of which
there are relatively few. But
perhaps befitting its pastoral
locale it contains such dishes
as rabbit, duck, wild flounder,
pumpkin gnocchi, chicken pot
pie and brisket. Classic American
cuisine made fresh with the
creativity of Chef Lanning.
If your taste is a bit more
exotic, at least in terms of what
you usually find in central
Illinois, the menu has rabbit,
duck, wild flounder…you get the
picture.
“I think our menu fits us very
well. It changes pretty frequently
because we have to go with what
is available from our farmer
suppliers, many of whom are
regular customers, as well,”
Mathers said.
When she bought the building,
she decided to keep the original
wood flooring and tin ceiling
because both were in good shape.
More wood was added to the
walls along with the earth tone
paints, the bar that is noticeable
the second you walk in was
custom built and the original
artwork depicting farm scenes
were acquired from a painter in
the state of Washington.
Mathers, however, did not
want a place that was going to
be over-the-top fancy. “I wanted
warm and casual. That’s what I
got. The main thing is to come in
and enjoy the food, the drink, the
live entertainment every Friday
night. It might be wise to make
reservations on weekends. We get
pretty busy,” she said.
Myszkowski said that while
approaching Delavan might
seem pretty far out, it really
is centrally located between
Peoria, Bloomington-Normal and
Springfield, all about a half-hour
away. Smaller cities like Pekin,
Morton and Lincoln are even
closer.
He and Lanning fell in love
with the town so much they
moved here, Myszkowski with
his wife and daughter. “We love
it here,” he said.
18 thePeorian.com
The custom-made bar at the back of the Harvest Café dining room shows off
the top brands of liquor sold at the restaurant. The photo below shows the
brands of local beer Harvest Café has on tap.