A dream come true

After four successful years at Northbridge Mall, a restaurant with homestyle cooking has moved downtown in hopes of expanding its customer base.

Grandma’s Kitchen, at 115 E. Clark St., is operated by Bob and Candy Neely and their son Bobby. It is in the former location of the Cuban Island Restaurant.

“This has been a dream of Bobby and mine for quite a long time,” Candy said. “He and I were always in the kitchen together.”

Candy, a former cook at Oak Park Place, said the idea of having their own place where people could come in, be waited on and then sit down to eat their food was a large part of why they moved. Previously, they were the only restaurant in the food court at the mall and had to share food court seating.

Candy said another one of their sons, Joey Neely, owner of The Copper Kitchen on Broadway, played a major factor in the decision to move downtown. Joey, too, started in Northbridge Mall and then moved downtown.

When the opening came up, she said Joey encouraged her to move there.

“He said, ‘Don’t let this pass you by,’” she said. “This is your chance.”

She said it has been her goal from the beginning to start a small business, get their name out there and then expand.

After seeing the success Joey has had on Broadway and seeing an opening come up down there, she jumped at the chance.

They opened at the location a week ago, and the family said the support has been overwhelming.

They estimated they are seeing three times as many customers as what they saw on a good day at their previous location.

“We’re just doing fantastic,” Candy said. “We hope it continues.”

Bob said there have been many old customers who followed them to their new spot, plus several new people, too. The restaurant can seat up to 75 people combined in both the front and the back and they hope to add a few small tables for outside seating in the summer.

They will continue many of the classic menu items from the mall location, plus add new items on the dinner menu.

“Everything that comes out of here is cooked with love,” Candy said.

She said she wants to be known as the home-cooked restaurant in town.

The most popular items on the menu are their burgers, Bob said. They will increase in size to one-third pound. All meat is fresh, never frozen.

In June the restaurant will serve beer and wine.

Asked what makes their restaurant different, and both Candy and Bob said it is their interaction with their customers.

Candy said the business was named in honor of her mother, Ethel Sundberg.

“She taught me everything I know,” Candy said.

Sundberg died right before the restaurant opened in 2010.

The business is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Mondays through Saturdays, with a special dinner menu Thursdays through Saturdays. There are no breakfast hours.