CALHOUN COUNTY, Ill — The owners of Kinder’s Restaurant are rebuilding the place after it was condemned due to flooding last spring.
The History
Kinders started out as a bar and grocery store back in 1939 when Oliver Kinder bought the building, according to current owner Amanda.
Amanda said the Kinder family owned the property the building sat on which made his decision to buy the building that much easier.
A few years after buying the place, he was drafted into the service. His mother Anna Kinder, also known as “Ma Kinder,” took over while Oliver was in the service.
The bar had 10 barstools where Ma served ice cold beer and sandwiches, Amanda said.
Once Oliver returned home from the service, he decided he didn’t want the bar anymore and moved away. Ma Kinder continued running the place until she passed away in the late 1960s.
The bar went up for sale and Henry and Ida Kinder bought it along with the property. Henry added onto the bar in 1971 and later added a dining room in 1981.
After running the business along with their seven kids, they decided to retire in 1986. That’s when their daughters, Amanda's mother Jeni and her sister Carol, became the new owners.
PHOTOS: Kinder’s Restaurant through the years
The Flooding
When the Mississippi River flooded the area in 1993, Kinders was told they didn’t need to rebuild. They were able to replace a lot of things inside and kept the original building.
Last year when they experienced flooding, Amanda said the county condemned the building. She said they had two options – rebuild or use the existing building, gut it and raise it above the 1993 water level.
That’s when Amanda decided to take over as owner and rebuild Kinders. She said she will be incorporating some of the old bar into the new one and the restaurant will stay in the same location, just seven feet higher.
Amanda said she had a hard time deciding if she wanted to take the restaurant over but said the only thing that swayed her was her grandmother, Ida.
“She said to me, ‘I would love to see it stay in the family at least until I’m gone’ how do you say no to that?” she said. “Hopefully, I can run it as well as my family did.”
Amanda said she is hoping to have the restaurant open by the end of the summer.
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