Family Restaurant opens in Fulton

By Eve­lyn Long

It’s not sur­rounded by desert sands but the newly opened Boon­docks Restau­rant located on the south­east cor­ner of County Road 25, at the inter­sec­tion of State Route 61, on the east edge of Ful­ton, can be likened to an oasis. It offers food and bev­er­ages in a friendly and wel­com­ing man­ner from a site located in a quiet, rural area.

Boon­docks, owned and oper­ated by Burgess Cas­tle, of Marengo, offi­cially opened Novem­ber 1, just one year after ground was bro­ken for its con­struc­tion. Cas­tle, who describes the eatery as a fam­ily type restau­rant, said he chose its quaint and unusual name from a song he had once heard in which the word “boon­docks” described a site “in the mid­dle of nowhere.”

“Every­one was com­ing to me say­ing we need a restau­rant — there’s no place to go in (this part) of Mor­row County,” explained Cas­tle. So he and his fam­ily planned and designed a busi­ness where “you can bring your chil­dren and grand­chil­dren — a fam­ily friendly restau­rant.” Din­ers have the options of short orders or a full course meal with spe­cials offered. There is also a children’s menu. A stan­dard of the restau­rant are its home made donuts.

The bar serves all legal alco­holic bev­er­ages cov­ered by the D-5 license. Draft beer is also served.

The 4,800 square foot white– sided build­ing includes a del­i­catessen, drive thru, a 40 x 40 foot din­ing room with 12-foot high ceil­ings and a 20 x 40 foot bar and stain­less steel kitchen. The din­ing room seats 80 peo­ple in both booths and at tables. The decor is sim­ple and rural related with antique farm tools art­fully placed around the upper part of the din­ing room walls. “I’m proud of where I came from,” said Cas­tle, explain­ing the farm pieces. Hang­ing from the ceil­ing is a bicy­cle. Five tele­vi­sion screens line the walls of the din­ing room for view­ing by patrons.

The neu­tral tones used in the restaurant’s color scheme add to its serenity.

The floor has been ground and stained to give a rock like appear­ance. Din­ers enter through beau­ti­ful dou­ble doors and a patio where a repast can be enjoyed in warm weather.

On the east side of the build­ing is a deli stocked with ready made sand­wiches, snacks, bev­er­ages, ice cream, and lim­ited gro­cery items and bev­er­ages and wrapped sand­wiches can be pur­chased by dri­ving through the Drive Thru.

Cas­tle said the din­ing room can be reserved for spe­cial occasions.

The drive thru and the deli are open from 10 am to 10 pm Mon­day through Saturday

The restau­rant and bar opens Mon­day through Sat­ur­day at 11 am serv­ing lunch and din­ner until 9 pm. It will remain open until mid­night but only fin­ger foods will be served. The bar will remain open from mid­night until 2:30 am on Fri­day and Sat­ur­day nights. All three areas of the restau­rant will be closed on Sundays.

Wel­com­ing Cas­tle and the restau­rant were Ful­ton Vil­lage offi­cials, Mayor Terri Hick­man and coun­cil­woman Nancy Cic­cone who pre­sented Cas­tle with a flo­ral arrange­ment. “We want to thank him for this busi­ness,” said Hick­man. “We look for­ward to many years of suc­cess and help that it will give the vil­lage in its growth includ­ing the planned park.”

Cic­cone said, “I’m glad it’s here. It will be very ben­e­fi­cial to the vil­lage and to Mor­row County.”

Cas­tle said his daugh­ter, Brandie McDaniel, is the chief cook. His wife, Sheila, will be the assis­tant cook. Assist­ing are daugh­ters Kristina Mor­gan and Kaily Castle.

The restau­rant employs 15 peo­ple, he noted. Cas­tle expressed appre­ci­a­tion to all who helped with the building’s construction.

“I want to thank all the sub con­trac­tors, my fam­ily and friends who helped me,” he said. He also expressed a thank you to Goodge’s Green­house (County Road 170) for plac­ing the land­scap­ing at the business.

The Boon­docks Fam­ily Restau­rant is located at 2987 State Route 61. It can be entered from County Road 25. The Drive Thru can be entered from State Route 61.

To make reser­va­tions please call 419–864-4446.

Posted by Randa Wagner on Nov 20 2012. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS Feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.