Aku-Tiki Room at the Andris Waunee Farm Restaurant, Kewanee, IL (restaurant) - Locating Tiki

T tikibars Tiki Socialite Aku Hall, Chicago Joined: Apr 11, 2002 Posts: 2034	T tikibars Posted posted on Mon, Dec 31, 2007 9:45 AM Very sad news - owner Glen Andris has died. Bartender Tom has told me that Glen actually died a month ago, and that Carol is deciding what she will do in the future. It is unknown if she will keep the Aku Tiki Room open. I suggest that anyone able to get out there should do so. Give Carol your condolences, and support this farmland Tiki treasure. With the severe illness of James Zuziak at Tiki Terrace and the death of Hala Kahiki owner Sonny, this is a dark time for Illinois Tiki! From the Star-Courier: Published: Wednesday, November 21, 2007 9:02 AM CST Glen Andris — a man whose heart was in his business, and it showed By Dave Clarke of the Star Courier The place isn’t the same without him, yet the place is the same without him. I stopped by the Andris Waunee Farm for supper last Friday night. In part, because I felt the need for a good steak, but also to just be there, to pay respect, in a way, to the man who built the place — Glen Andris — who died the day before in a Peoria hospital. Glen hadn’t been in his usual seat at the end of the Aku Tiki Room bar for several weeks, fighting an infection following heart surgery but, even at 91, everyone thought (prayed) he would be back. He won’t. And, without his physical presence, the landmark restaurant that bears his name just won’t seem the same. Though he is not there in body, he is certainly there through the eternal presence of his spirit. Although many hearts were undoubtedly heavy Friday night, the staff carried on, as Glen would have wanted, and the place was crowded and buzzing as usual. Smiling hostess Pam Berlin greeted and seated guests, kitchen, dining room and bar staff went about their assigned tasks. It was almost like they knew Glen was watching to make sure they didn’t let his customers down. Friends stopped by tables to talk with friends. There was a constant level of chatter mixed with laughter and tinkling glassware. Elsewhere in the building, the American Legions from Bradford, Wyoming, Toulon and LaFayette were holding a banquet. It was the usual busy Friday night at the Waunee Farm. As Kewanee’s oldest businessman, Glen lived for his customers, his employees, and his family (yes, including the dogs). In an interview he once told me how, as a teenager, he learned how to cook his trademark steaks from his mother when she ran a steakhouse on the south edge of Kewanee. When he took over the Waunee Farm, more than 50 years ago, it was little more than a roadhouse with gas pumps next to a horse barn. Over the years, Glen kept adding onto the building and built up a business and reputation for good food and service that people drove for hours to enjoy. He was generous to a fault and would help anyone in need. “Glen never turned me down once,” said Ted Vlahos as he and his wife, Penny, and the Phil Milers walked in the door ahead of me Friday night. “Whether it was United Way, Chamber of Commerce, KEDC, whatever, he never said no.” The Kewanee YMCA now has the Glen Andris Tumbling and Trampoline Center after Andris donated the funds for it to be built several years ago. He also never forgot who really made the money around the place — the employees. As I sat in a booth carving my English prime rib (which Glen would have been glad to hear was just as good as if he’d cooked it himself) the woman refilling the salad bar next to me leaned over and said “You know, every day when I met him here at work, Glen would give me a piece of candy and tell me how much he appreciated the job I did.” Glen loved people and loved talking to them — sometimes late into the night. One of the last conversations I had with him was just after I did a column about the old Kewanee fairgrounds on East Third Street. Glen recalled how previous Waunee Farm owner Grover Zang once told him that he hauled lumber from the grandstand and exhibit and livestock barns at the fairgounds to his property south of town between 1930 and 1932 to build the existing barn, crib and the original restaurant. People looking for a great meal, or a place to meet, will still find their way to the Andris Waunee Farm, whether Glen is there in person, or not. Wife Carol and the staff will see to it that the warm, friendly atmosphere and good dining are still to be found because even though he’s not there in person, the spirit of Glen Andris will always be a part of the place that is the Waunee Farm.

Very sad news - owner Glen Andris has died.

Bartender Tom has told me that Glen actually died a month ago, and that Carol is deciding what she will do in the future.
It is unknown if she will keep the Aku Tiki Room open.

I suggest that anyone able to get out there should do so.
Give Carol your condolences, and support this farmland Tiki treasure.

With the severe illness of James Zuziak at Tiki Terrace and the death of Hala Kahiki owner Sonny, this is a dark time for Illinois Tiki!

From the Star-Courier:

Published: Wednesday, November 21, 2007 9:02 AM CST

Glen Andris — a man whose heart was in his business, and it showed

By Dave Clarke of the Star Courier

The place isn’t the same without him, yet the place is the same without him.

I stopped by the Andris Waunee Farm for supper last Friday night. In part, because I felt the need for a good steak, but also to just be there, to pay respect, in a way, to the man who built the place — Glen Andris — who died the day before in a Peoria hospital.

Glen hadn’t been in his usual seat at the end of the Aku Tiki Room bar for several weeks, fighting an infection following heart surgery but, even at 91, everyone thought (prayed) he would be back. He won’t. And, without his physical presence, the landmark restaurant that bears his name just won’t seem the same.

Though he is not there in body, he is certainly there through the eternal presence of his spirit.

Although many hearts were undoubtedly heavy Friday night, the staff carried on, as Glen would have wanted, and the place was crowded and buzzing as usual. Smiling hostess Pam Berlin greeted and seated guests, kitchen, dining room and bar staff went about their assigned tasks. It was almost like they knew Glen was watching to make sure they didn’t let his customers down.

Friends stopped by tables to talk with friends. There was a constant level of chatter mixed with laughter and tinkling glassware. Elsewhere in the building, the American Legions from Bradford, Wyoming, Toulon and LaFayette were holding a banquet.

It was the usual busy Friday night at the Waunee Farm.

As Kewanee’s oldest businessman, Glen lived for his customers, his employees, and his family (yes, including the dogs).

In an interview he once told me how, as a teenager, he learned how to cook his trademark steaks from his mother when she ran a steakhouse on the south edge of Kewanee. When he took over the Waunee Farm, more than 50 years ago, it was little more than a roadhouse with gas pumps next to a horse barn.

Over the years, Glen kept adding onto the building and built up a business and reputation for good food and service that people drove for hours to enjoy.

He was generous to a fault and would help anyone in need. “Glen never turned me down once,” said Ted Vlahos as he and his wife, Penny, and the Phil Milers walked in the door ahead of me Friday night. “Whether it was United Way, Chamber of Commerce, KEDC, whatever, he never said no.”

The Kewanee YMCA now has the Glen Andris Tumbling and Trampoline Center after Andris donated the funds for it to be built several years ago.

He also never forgot who really made the money around the place — the employees. As I sat in a booth carving my English prime rib (which Glen would have been glad to hear was just as good as if he’d cooked it himself) the woman refilling the salad bar next to me leaned over and said “You know, every day when I met him here at work, Glen would give me a piece of candy and tell me how much he appreciated the job I did.”

Glen loved people and loved talking to them — sometimes late into the night.

One of the last conversations I had with him was just after I did a column about the old Kewanee fairgrounds on East Third Street.

Glen recalled how previous Waunee Farm owner Grover Zang once told him that he hauled lumber from the grandstand and exhibit and livestock barns at the fairgounds to his property south of town between 1930 and 1932 to build the existing barn, crib and the original restaurant.

People looking for a great meal, or a place to meet, will still find their way to the Andris Waunee Farm, whether Glen is there in person, or not. Wife Carol and the staff will see to it that the warm, friendly atmosphere and good dining are still to be found because even though he’s not there in person, the spirit of Glen Andris will always be a part of the place that is the Waunee Farm.

Post #352124 by tikibars on Mon, Dec 31, 2007 9:45 AM