Down-home cooking on the menu at this new Granite City restaurant opening Monday
Regular readers of my food-centric stories know that I’ve been to a number of excellent places with vibes that I not only enjoy but revel in.
I have another to add to my list. I must say, it’s probably among my top five favorites.
Scratch that (as I scroll through my collection of stories). Make that my top three favorites.
The Sugar Shack Café is located at 1416 E. 20th St. in Granite City and opens Monday, April 1, when owners Trecie Wilson and Steven Perkins of Millstadt will start serving up home-cooked comfort foods.
A blast from the past
Walking into The Sugar Shack Café is like going back in time … without the DeLorean.
Done up like a 1950s diner, the place is spectacular, and although the look is well before my time, I love every bit of it.
The Sugar Shack Café has all of the key elements, from the black and white floor tiles to the chrome and blue vinyl stools at the counter. The matching booths and tables are also just right.
The vibrant red wall behind the counter draws the eye to it, and one can’t help but notice all of the little details around it.
The décor includes a good deal of vintage-style displays, some of it totally authentic.
Signage and other items feature old-school Coca-Cola-branded pieces, a vintage Pepsi soda machine (the kind that dispenses bottles), Texaco and gas station signs, Route 66, classic cars and trucks, and LIFE magazines from back in the day.
And music.
The back wall is covered in vinyl albums, album covers, posters and other themed items.
It was hard to resist reading every record label there but I noted a few that included Connie Francis, Pete Seeger and Dean Martin.
Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Jimi Hendrix, Tina Turner and many others are also featured, and a cardboard cutout of Marilyn Monroe from “The Seven Year Itch” stands out on the same wall.
In addition to incorporating music in the décor, oldies played in the restaurant.
Songs like Dion’s “A Teenager In Love,” “Sh-Boom (Life Could Be A Dream),” and a tune from “West Side Story” played the entire time.
More important than the sights and sounds of The Sugar Shack Café are the amazing smells.
On the menu
Wilson and Perkins held a soft opening Thursday, March 28, for family, friends and city officials.
Standing at the back near the kitchen during the event, I caught a whiff of every plate that passed me by.
Honestly, if I ever decide to start eating meat and dairy again, The Sugar Shack will be my first stop because I’d have to have that barbecue pork steak or the baby back ribs. Maybe both. And the mac and cheese. (Don’t judge me.)
Other menu items include hand-breaded cod, catfish nuggets, fried chicken, meatloaf, burgers, Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, pork chops and fried tripe.
Sides on offer are pinto beans and rice, spaghetti, fried green tomatoes, mashed potatoes, fried okra, coleslaw, fries, green beans with turkey and ham, potato salad and the aforementioned mac and cheese.
I should also mention that for dessert, you can get peach cobbler and ice cream.
Perkins said they will have pop-up menu items, such as some Mexican fare (tacos, burritos, chimichangas).
Moving to Granite City
Wilson and Perkins originally opened their restaurant in Madison as a takeout place a little more than two years ago.
Perkins said that part of the decision to move was being able to go from a takeout-only to a sitdown restaurant.
The Sugar Shack Café is located at the former Petri Café, an institution in Granite City that opened in 1946 and served home-cooked meals for more than 70 years. It closed at the end of 2019.
Petri Café was a staple in Granite City, said Mayor Mike Parkinson.
After the city bought and renovated the property, he said that they tried to find another home-grown business to occupy it. They approached Wilson and Perkins.
Then, when the Petri window came down during the remodel and the couple asked to keep it, Parkinson confirmed that the city made the right choice.
That section of window was framed and now hangs prominently in The Sugar Shack as a tribute.
Perkins said he used to get breakfast at Petri Café.
He and Wilson wanted their restaurant to honor Petri’s history and keep things old-school.
Good for Granite City
Folks at the soft opening seemed to enjoy themselves. Some tables were quiet as diners focused on enjoying their meals.
Others, including Parkinson, Alderman Brad Evanson, Public Works Director Rick Daily and former Alorton Mayor JoAnn Reed, were more social.
Also at the event was a small group that Perkins referred to as the “Final Four” and “The Fantastic Four.”
These four were the last customers of the Petri Café and the first of The Sugar Shack Café.
Evanson and Conrad “Babe” Champion, a well-known community activist and volunteer from Granite City, were among this foursome.
“We’re excited to have them in Granite City,” said Evanson of Wilson and Perkins.
Their business is “exactly the kind of place we need” in Granite City, he said. “I think they’ll be very successful here.”
After the guests were fed and watered, a quick ribbon-cutting was held in front of the restaurant.
“This is a partnership that we do with good business people when trying to bring new business to the city,” said Parkinson. “This is our building, we give fair rent here to good business people … to realize their dreams.”
This is the dream of his administration, he said, to build the city back up. This is one of the big upstarts for Granite City’s downtown area.
“I think that once everybody tastes the product that’s coming out of this kitchen, you’ll see a lot of people coming in and out of this door,” said Parkinson.
(Parkinson said earlier that he doesn’t like spaghetti and never eats it. Except at The Sugar Shack, he admitted as his side order was brought out.)
“It only gets better from here,” said Wilson.
Wilson said that cooking was always a passion for her. Growing up, she watched her mother cook and saw how she catered to her dad.
Cooking is a passion that she and Perkins share, and that passion inspired them to open a restaurant.
Cooking and entertaining is what she loves, and The Sugar Shack expresses both of their personalities.
“We’re a team,” she said.
“It’s been our dream. We basically birthed cooking together. You find a person who has a passion for it like you, and you just make it grow,” said Perkins.
“Our staff … they have been everything,” he said. “This is what we do.”
About The Sugar Shack Café
The Sugar Shack Café is located at 1416 E. 20th St. in Granite City.
Hours are 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Friday, 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday. The restaurant is closed Saturday-Sunday.
For more information, call 618-876-2915 or check out the Facebook page.
