Jennifer Surprenant always wanted to run her own little restaurant. Her dream became a reality when she opened the Whistle Stop Café and Bar in June at 141 S. Chestnut St. in Chebanse.

The Whistle Stop is part of a resurgence of retail that’s taken place in Chebanse in the past six months. The village of 1,044 that straddles the Kankakee-Iroquois County line has also seen the opening of a Casey’s and a Dollar General this year.

“It’s a slice of heaven here,” said Surprenant, who moved to Chebanse a year ago. “It is. It reminds me of Mayberry. I have Andy [Griffith Show] on all the time because it’s my favorite show ever.”

Surprenant and her partner, Sal Lopez, were presented the opportunity to buy the restaurant, O’s Place, which had previously been Russ & Rosie’s for decades. They jumped at the chance.

Surprenant chose the name Whistle Stop from one of her favorite movies, “Fried Green Tomatoes.”

“My dream was always to have a little café named Whistle Stop,” she said. “And it was perfect because it was right by the train [tracks] here.”

Surprenant, 43, had some trepidation once she bought the place, but she and Lopez dove right in to make it cozy, comfortable family restaurant.

“It’s scary to own your own business,” she said. “It’s very scary and a lot of fears. Now I know why not everybody wants to own their own businesses. It’s a lot of work and there’s a lot of risk involved, but you just keep plugging away and going. We love it. I would not want to wake up and do anything else.”

Lopez has been in the restaurant business for six years, but he has been a cook for several years at establishments in Bourbonnais and Manteno. He loves the clientele that walks in everyday to the Whistle Stop.

“People here are very, very friendly,” he said. “From here all the way to Ashkum.”

Lopez, 61, runs the back end, kitchen and all, while Surprenant is in her element running the front of the café.

“I was a stay-at-home mom. I have no restaurant experience, but I treat the staff like my children,” she said. “‘Here’s your task list with something to do guys.’ I have to budget. I have meal plan and all that stuff. So kind of the same thing, but I actually get paid now.”

Surprenant said she and Lopez handle about 80% of the business duties, and they have one full-time employee and a few part-timers. It works for now.

Whistle Stop Café is open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and for dinner from 4-9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It’s closed on Sunday. Reservations are recommended for Friday and Saturday nights.

Business has flourished once the doors opened. Rural Chebanse residents Jim and Christine Clausen are frequent patrons. Christine said they first visited “as soon as they opened up.”

“We come here quite a bit,” she said. “It’s wonderful to have a restaurant in town because we haven’t had one for so long.”

The Clausens especially like the homemade desserts. The Whistle Stop has a varied menu with sandwiches and burgers, wraps, fried chicken and pizza. The sandwiches, burgers and wraps run $10.99 to $15.99. The fried chicken entree (half chicken) is $14.99.

Surprenant said the garlic beef wrap, fried chicken and pizza are most popular items in that order. Lopez describes the pies as pizzeria style with the usual toppings available.

“Our food here speaks for itself, and that’s why people come,” Lopez said. “We took it from zero to 150 in four months. … We didn’t know what we were going to be up against, and so far it’s been great.”

Surprenant said they doubled the revenue in the first month from the previous owners.

“It’s just been steadily growing more and more,” she said.

When the Whistle Stop opened June 1, Surprenant said everyone who walked in the door had a story about the former Russ & Rosie’s. So she and Lopez met the former owners to get an idea what it was like.

“The business model was super successful,” Surprenant said. “I mean, it lasted 40-plus years. So what were they doing? And it was really just a small town, community and family gathering place for good food and good service. And so we kind of wanted to leave off of that model and that vibe that they had going, and so far it’s worked well.”

For more happenings in Chebanse, see A6.