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Landmark Goshen restaurant reopens next week
By GINA HAMILTON • CONTRIBUTING WRITER
 | | Preparing for their anticipated Mill Creek Café opening next week in Goshen are, back row from left: chefs Jeff Deckard and Keith Sansom; new owner T. Alexander Moore, and cook Harry Kalista. Front: chefs Katrina Deckard and Terry Sartin. (Recorder photos by Gina Hamilton) |
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GOSHEN - Get those taste buds ready for incredible menu offerings when the Mill Creek Café reopens on or about July 15 under new ownership, with four chefs bringing diverse experience, totally renovated kitchen and deli, and enough variety to tempt diners from the most discerning to early bird truckers or those with late night snack attacks.
With chefs specializing in areas from recipes and menu development to seafood and Asian dishes, pizza, beef and pork, cold foods, fruit carvings and catering, to preparing foods on an outdoor grill and barbecue, the focus will be on using fresh and local products. The focus will also be on providing down-home-style comfort foods, as well as a selection for those with special dietary needs from diabetes to high blood pressure. Also look for Dudley Burgers, named in honor of former longtime owner Dudley Brill, chicken cooked in a new pressure fryer, and in-house baked goods from breads to pastries and desserts.
 | | Just some of the delectable menu selections are showcased here that will be available when the Mill Creek Café reopens in Goshen next week under new ownership and staff. |
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The man responsible for the renaissance of this local landmark, and maybe the town, is T. Alexander "T.A." Moore of Brownsburg, who closed on the property at the intersection of Routes 39 and 42 in mid-February. Renovations to the interior of the 2,400-square-foot building have been ongoing since then; in fact, they began earlier. Moore said he had signed an intent-to-purchase contract with area Realtor Larry Fresh and began renovations last November. The property was advertised at $339,000. The site includes two gas pumps, which will be returned to service in the near future as well.
Moore calls himself a farmer and continues growing organic vegetables on his 160 acres near Staunton, which will now serve the café's kitchen. A quiet, friendly man with an easy smile, he projects a sense of caring about others and the environment that resonates with anyone around him. And besides farming for about 24 years, he has also worked in the construction industry for 15 years, "running heavy equipment all over the East Coast," he said, which included a number of projects for the Army Corps of Engineers.
 | | Chef Katrina Deckard's expertise in vegetable and fruit carvings shows her creativity in this display at the Mill Creek Café in Goshen. |
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Asked why he decided to buy the restaurant, Moore said, "Two years ago, I semi-retired and got bored - or had a moment of insanity - I've never been in the restaurant business. I'm getting tough schooling right now!"
He credits his diverse staff with making his vision for the restaurant a reality. "I do have good people working for me, a tremendous group," he said. "I'm very thankful to have them; I believe we can make this thing fly."
The chefs are stars in their own culinary firmament. Most of Keith Sansom's experience is in volume hosting events and off-premise catering, and he specializes in opening restaurants. Now he takes on the creative responsibility for recipe and menu development. He said they want to offer "good portions, quality foods (some) straight from the garden, friendly atmosphere and top-notch service. We will have everything from charbroiled food to seafood, deli sandwiches, pizza, French-style (recipes), but comfort food is the main focus - home-cooked family meals." Omelets and white cornbread will also be on the menu board, and a limited breakfast menu will be available any time. The restaurant will purchase staples locally as much as possible, from stone-ground flour to meats from a local butcher.
Jeff Deckard specializes in seafood dishes and Asian food. "The location is a crossroads here," he said. "We want to meet the needs of the local community."
The café's menu offerings are sure to appeal to a wide range of appetites, since Goshen is a throughway funneling travelers between Lexington and Interstate 81 to the east, Staunton (via U.S. 250) and Interstate 81 from the north, and The Homestead in Hot Springs and beyond to the west.
Deckard's wife, Katrina, is also a chef and specializes in cold foods, garnisheé fruit (decorative carving of fruits and vegetables), and catering. "I call it fruit whittling," he said with a grin. They have relocated from Florida.
Katrina Deckard's prior experience includes cooking for a four-star restaurant at Lake of the Ozarks, working under French chef André Torrés. She said he periodically "brought in all the top chefs from around the country, including Julia Child, and we fed them all." She hails from the Goshen area and said she "came back home." She'll also be in charge of catering and special events in the future.
And Terry Sartin is raring to make those hand-tossed pizzas he's perfected over the past 15 years in Gatlinburg, Tenn., as well as his charbroiled beef and pork specialties. "I've been cooking since I was five years old," he said, recalling growing up with seven siblings. "I've always loved to cook and make recipes by taste." With his oldest daughter and her children living in Goshen, he said he came here to spend more time with his family.
Harry Kalista came from Washington State and managed the overall construction and renovation aspect at the restaurant, which included floor to ceiling renovation of the kitchen and deli area. According to Moore, he's also outstanding as a cook, especially at the outdoor grill and for barbecued foods.
The restaurant will open with a staff of about 20 people; the diner will be open from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. in summer (earlier during hunting season), and 6-10 p.m. in winter. The deli and gas pumps will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Moore plans to hold theme nights, such as pizza and karaoke night on Thursdays, and computer games night Fridays from 10 or 11 p.m. after the diner closes, and continuing all night.
The smoke-free diner can seat 72 people and more seating will be available in the deli area, as well as picnic tables outside. Alcohol is not available at this time. A horseshoe pit is being set up out back, and there'll be room for a banjo player or two.
Moore said he's putting the history of the Mill Creek Café together and it will be posted on his Web site, www. millcreekcafe.net, which is under construction. "This would've been the 30th year Dudley had it," he said. The former owner died several years ago.
The reopened restaurant is sure to bring back fond memories for many residents and visitors of the area as they enjoy this popular gathering spot once more.
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