SATURDAY, SEPT. 29, 2018 • KOKOMO TRIBUNE
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Restaurant serving up
home-cooked comfort
food has tripled in size
Dutch Cafe in Peru has a dedi-
cated following.
With locals regularly packing
the house, the restaurant also
has diners who make the drive
from as far as Huntington just to
eat at Dutch Cafe.
Owner Wilbur Jess chalks the
success of the restaurant up to
good food and even better ser-
vice.
“We have great service and
make people feel at home,” he
said of the restaurant located at
6665 U.S. 31 #300 in Peru. “And
we serve a whole lot of good
home-cooked comfort food.”
Just how much food do they
serve? Running through an in-
ventory list, Jess rattles off some
pretty impressive numbers that
show just how popular the eatery
is.
“We go through a ton of
chicken every month,” he said,
speaking literally and not figura-
tively. The restaurant serves 400
pounds of chicken every week.
The restaurant bakes more
than 80 loaves of a bread each
week and serves 300 pounds of
bacon in that timeframe as well.
“We go through between 60
and 90 pounds of bacon just on
Saturdays alone,” Jess said.
Every day is a good day to eat
at Dutch Cafe, but there’s just
something special about the
weekends. For Jess, the Saturday
evening buffet is his favorite
meal of the week.
“Saturday is barbecue day,” he
said. “The buffet has some amaz-
ing pulled pork, great barbecue
ribs and wings, and even baked
steak. It’s the best buffet we do,
in my humble opinion.”
The Dutch Cafe buffet is a pop-
ular choice for diners at the
restaurant. They serve a lunch
buffet daily starting at 10:30
a.m., with breakfast and dinner buffets offered Thursday through
Saturday.
“Our breakfast is a big deal,”
he said. “We give big portions,
and we do breakfast right.”
An insider tip from Jess: “If
you want it all, come out on Sun-
day. We have the brunch buffet
all day on Sunday. And it also has
our melt-in-your-mouth roast
beef. There’s no end to the com-
pliments we get on our roast
beef.”
EXPANDING OPTIONS
The restaurant has been open
for 12 years and has tripled in
size in that time. Jess owned the
restaurant but was renting the
building in which it was housed.
That changed in January 2018
when he was given the opportu-
nity to purchase the building
and its 7.7 acres.
The building had been split
between two tenants but the
second tenant left shortly after
the sale. Its departure left Jess
with the opportunity to open the
space to solely accommodate the
Dutch Cafe. He has been making
improvements to the restaurant
ever since.
They’ve added a deli featuring
Walnut Creek cold meats and
cheeses. They have deli sand-
wiches available, both hot and
cold, during all open hours.
They’ve also moved their wide
selection of homemade baked
goods to the deli side, making
shopping more convenient for
guests to the restaurant. The
regular offerings include home-
made breads, cookies and cinna-
mon rolls.
They’ve also added a coffee
shop serving specialty coffees,
cappuccinos, smoothies and
more. It features seating for
about 20 people and is a great
meeting place. And last but cer-
tainly not least, Jess said,
they’ve added ice cream.
A lot of ice cream. They have
around 16 flavors of hand-
dipped ice cream from Choco-
late Shoppe.
But there’s still more room to
grow inside and Jess said that’s
just what they’ll do as he has
more plans for the popular
restaurant.
A DREAM EVENT VENUE
While news of Dutch Cafe’s
amazing food has been spread
far and wide, the same can’t be
said for the outdoor venue lo-
cated behind the restaurant. But
Jess is looking to change that,
too.
“The outdoor space we have
here is beautiful,” he said. “We
hear so often from people that
they had no idea this amazing
space was here. It’s just 400
yards off [U.S.] 31 but you’d
never think you were that close
to it. “
The nearly 8-acre outdoor
venue has played host to wed-
dings and retirement parties.
There’s a 40X80 tent for
events, a wooded area, and a
small rustic cabin with a front
porch overlooking the acre-
sized pond, which is spanned by
a 60-foot walking bridge. Cur-
rently the cabin is serving as
groomsmen quarters for wed-
dings but Jess plans to convert
the space to a bridal suite.
Having the venue so close to
the restaurant allows them to
cater the events, ensuring the
best possible experience for the
customer, Jess said.
“Every event we have done out
here has been a great experience
and we are excited to do more of
them,” Jess said. “There’s no
other outdoor venue around
that’s like what we have here.”
He said there’s already events
booked for 2019 but dates are
still available. For more infor-
mation or to rent the space,
contact Wilbur Jess at 765-689-
0028.
PAID ADVERTISEMENT
Dutch Cafe
6665 U.S. 31 #300, Peru, IN 46970
Phone: 765-689-0028
/ or find them on Facebook
HOURS OF OPERATION
Monday to Wednesday: 6
a.m.-2 p.m. (lunch buffet
available)
Thursday, Friday and
Saturday: 6 a.m.-8 p.m.
(breakfast, lunch and dinner
buffet available)
Sunday: 8 a.m.-2 p.m.
(brunch buffet served all day)
Dutch Cafe draws crowds in Peru
