No rivalries here

Marty and Tammy McIlvain knew, from experience, that remodeling houses was back-breaking, physically demanding labor. What they didn’t expect was that their next career, running a restaurant, would be even more labor intensive.

The couple revamped houses. She sold real estate and he was a loan officer with a mortgage company for about six years until the lagging housing market made it too difficult for many potential buyers to get loans, crushing their business. The Grain Valley couple knew they had to find a new career path immediately. They heard that a restaurant east of Grain Valley’s downtown, at 206 A E. Harris, had closed a year before and needed a fresh start.

“We heard, through the grapevine, that this place needed some TLC,” Marty said, referring to the outdated wall coverings, making it look like a country-style diner. The couple added fresh paint and decorations to make it look more like a family-style restaurant.

They opened Sisbros Bistro, short for sisters and brothers. Tammy was fond of exchanging recipes with her sister- and brother-in-law, so the four decided to try restaurateering. Tammy’s sister, Laurie, and her husband, Tony Zangeneh, who live in Lawrence, Kan., are business partners in the endeavor while Tammy and Marty operate the restaurant.

Readying the building for occupancy was the easy part, given the couple’s home-improvement background. They worked 18-hour days in preparation for their opening March 10. Since February, when the couple began remodeling the building, they’ve taken only two days off.

“This has been harder,” Tammy said, adding that they are constantly thinking about their next food order and trying to predict how much will sell. “It’s almost like an infant that you can’t leave. A lot of times we leave, and have to come right back.”

Marty added, “We were not prepared for the mental part of running a restaurant, right down to the salt and pepper shakers.”

Despite the work, Tammy has enjoyed having an audience for her home-concocted recipes, such as homemade chips and salsa, “those layered things,” a Mexican dish, hobo’s, fresh-breaded chicken strips, catfish and tenderloin sandwiches. This summer, they plan to fire up the grill for hobo’s, chicken or beef, mixed with fresh vegetables. They also will grill chicken for a roll-up.

“We’ve got an opportunity to do that here ... to cook some unique things,” Tammy beamed. “It’s a mixture of home-cookin’ and 54th Street,” she said, describing the choices.

The couple expects even more business once they open a room with a sliding-glass door, to smokers. Another room, which seats about 80, will be cordoned off for non-smokers. The room, which seats about 40 people, will double as a banquet/party room, available to rent for special events.

On opening day, the couple had a full house. The rest of the week, the restaurant is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and a breakfast buffet, 1 to 4 a.m. Friday/Saturday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays. The telephone number is 816-443-3390.

The McIlvains are so happy with business they don’t plan to stop at one restaurant.

“We hope to have several more in the next three to five years,” he said. Besides, they like the quick, busy pace is fits well with their personalities.

“We like to be doing things even if we have down time,” Tammy said. “We can’t stand to be idle.”