Photograph courtesy The Kentucky Millstone
To many, opening a restaurant at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic might have seemed like a risky move, but Lori Himmelsbach has the culinary business in her blood. In December 2020, she launched The Kentucky Millstone, a continuation of the eatery her parents ran in Falmouth, Kentucky, in the late ’80s. Five years later, the new and improved Millstone—located in Butler, Kentucky—is thriving with an array of services to offer customers.
“We’re a place where people can gather, where we supply wholesome food,” says Himmelsbach, who runs the restaurant with her husband Tom. “I grew up here, so I just feel like nourishing our community is the biggest win that we have.”
Photograph courtesy Kentucky Millstone
About 40 minutes from downtown Cincinnati, Butler is a small town along the northern end of the Licking River, a place not necessarily known for its culinary scene, but Himmelsbach, a self-taught baker who attended the former Cincinnati Culinary Academy and worked as a chef at various restaurants in the Louisville area, wanted to add her own touches with her restaurant and bakery.
“In this rural area, we have to have a lot of concepts that go into operating the business,” she notes. “If we solely relied on the restaurant alone, there’s not enough foot traffic in this area to support that. A lot of people that patronize the restaurants in Newport and Covington don’t understand that during a Saturday we may have four people in the cafe. Unless you’re here it doesn’t really make sense that you can’t survive on the foot traffic alone.”
To make up for the limited local traffic, Himmelsbach offers a variety of services, including cooking classes and a four-day, one-on-one farmers’ market course for those interested in opening a bakery or operating a market stall. And she recently purchased a larger grain mill, which will help The Millstone supply its students and customers with more locally grown grains.
The Himmelsbachs also attend farmers’ markets, running stalls at two different markets each week, using the time as outreach to gain new customers.
“Reaching out to the community beyond our community not only brings more people into our community that wouldn’t normally come here, but it helps support the business as well,” she says. “We go to the markets and they’re like ‘This is amazing,’ and we’re like, ‘Hey, we got this little cafe, come see us.’”
Photograph courtesy Kentucky Millstone
Still, at the center of the business is the food and baked goods, where Himmelsbach keeps staple menu items while offering specials to keep things fresh. From oysters to shakshuka, soups, and curry, there is a wide range of items for customers to try.
“There’s always something different changing on the menu,” she explains. “But there’s also those classics, especially for this area. Like biscuits and gravy, country ham sandwich. They’re very approachable. That allows us to be creative while allowing those patrons that are in here all the time different things. There’s always something weird on the menu. I think that’s what we thrive on, the creativity of it.”
Five years into running the restaurant, Himmelsbach says she and her husband are most proud to support the community that raised them. “I feel very proud of the fact that we supply freshly milled grains in our products, sourdough, everything is from scratch,” she says.
Looking to the future, she says they’re feel comfortable where they are.
“When we were in Louisville, we burnt ourselves out,” she says. “We both made the commitment that we want to enjoy what we’re doing as we age. Sometimes I’ll think an additional concept would be really cool and awesome, but then we realize that we’re happy right where we’re at.”
The Kentucky Millstone, 201 Mill St., Butler, (859) 955-9099
Facebook Comments