KINGSVILLE — Larry Hill of Lewiston, N.Y., plans his truck driving work schedule so he can be sure to enjoy a good home-cooked meal at Kay’s Place.
Kimberly Thomas, who is the manager of Kay’s Place, 5552 Route 193, said because of their location near Interstate 90, a lot of their most loyal customers are over-the-road truck drivers.
“Truck-stop food is not healthy. Eating at Kay’s is like being at home, and the people here treat you like family,” Hill said.
Owned by Kay and Dave Conley, Kay’s Place opened in 2002.
In 2007, the Conley family gave Kay’s Place a complete face-lift, including a redesigned floor plan.
Thomas, who is the Conleys’ daughter, is proud of the family-owned and operated business they have built.
“We offer dishes you cannot find in a chain restaurant,” Thomas said. “Coming here is like eating at your mother’s house. You are never quite sure what is on the menu.”
In fact, the Conley-Thomas family makes it their habit to keep an eye and taste buds, out during their travels for new tempting recipes.
“We continuously work at making ourselves more unique than anyone else, and everything is made from scratch, even our spaghetti sauce,” Thomas said. “People tell me all the time, we never expected food or an atmosphere like this along the interstate.”
As a natural progression of Kay’s Place, the restaurant now offers Kay’s Katering, which features the popular homemade recipes of the restaurant. Kay’s Katering does not offer a standard menu; instead, the customer and Thomas plan the menu together based on the type of event, ages of attendees and the customer’s budget.
“It is important to let me know what your budget is, because we can serve anything from finger sandwiches to prime rib,” Thomas said.
Since Kay’s Katering has the whole restaurant behind it, customers can expect the same food served at Kay’s Place.
“We book a lot of groups in our banquet room, which holds around 40 people, or we can bring our food on-site,” Thomas said.
A big hit for the restaurant and the catering business has been Kay’s barbecue, which is in its third season.
“Our barbecue is great for open houses, family reunions and picnics. We can cook it on site or cook it here and take it there,” she said.
Wherever they cook it, Kay’s customers can expect barbecue ribs, chicken, baked beans, pulled pork and more, with Kay’s signature barbecue sauce.
“We have tried to develop a sauce that customers can’t get anywhere else,” Thomas said. “We offer unique food to unique customers.”
Thomas’ philosophy behind her food is simple.
“Your food should be an extension of your event. It should have entertainment value and comfort value,” she said.
Speaking of comfort food, Kay’s Place offers breakfast, lunch and dinner with surprise special entrees every day. For breakfast, regular customers ask for sausage gravy and biscuits or skillet dishes. Lunch and dinner feature six different varieties of soups, salads, chicken-pot pies, chicken salad, homemade pies, Icelandic cod and much more.
“We have expanded our family to include the community, and it gives us great satisfaction to know that we make a difference in people’s lives,” Thomas said.
Hill agrees and looks forward to Kay’s Friday night fish fry.
“They use a good cut of fish. It is very meaty with excellent flavor. The servers bend over backwards to make me feel at home,” he said.
Visit Kay’s Place 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information about Kay’s Katering, call 440-224-2104.
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March 9, 2009
Kay’s Place Restaurant now offers Kay’s Katering
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