222 Ale House in Tiskilwa opens

In the summer months, John Blair devotes his time to his pool business, JJ Elite, but he recently started a new business to keep him busy while many people are spending time indoors.

In September, he opened 222 Ale House at 222 W. Main St., Tiskilwa.

”I’m a pretty good cook. I’ve always liked it,” Blair said. “It was something I could pour a little passion into over the wintertime, and have good local food but nothing that’s going to break the bank.”

The restaurant occupies the former home of Kelly’s Place, which closed last year after almost 25 years.

He kept many of the menu items, including fried chicken Tuesdays, ribs Wednesdays and tacos Thursdays.

”A lot of the menu items stayed the same because we didn’t want to take away anything the locals liked,” Blair said.

Blair also wanted to elevate the menu with new items, such as fresh grouper. He was inspired to add it to the menu after a recent trip to Florida.

”I fell in love with the idea you could get fresh grouper all over the place,” he said. “I felt like it was an amazing fish.”

A few other favorites are the hand-pressed burgers and the parmesan-crusted chicken. The restaurant also serves hand-breaded onions, mushrooms and chicken tenders.

”The chicken tenders are hugely popular,” he said, adding that he sells about 60 to 80 pounds a week.

Pina colada shrimp and an Alfredo dish soon will be added to the menu.

Blair said he wanted the space to feel bright and open, so he removed partitions, rearranged the layout and painted the walls.

The Kelly’s Place décor from the old Tiskilwa High School was donated to the Tiskilwa Historical Society, leaving bare walls that Blair has slowly been decorating.

”I put a little splash of color to make it feel more modern, a little home-y, but not getting rid of the old vibe entirely,” Blair said.

So far, Blair said, the feedback from customers has been positive.

”I think a lot of it in the future will really just come down to the vibe, the cleanliness, the food,” he said. “We always tend to have a pretty good crowd in here after dinner.

“People have drinks, and we tend to hang out and talk to people, have a good time. That’s kind of the whole point of it. After dinner is over, you can hang out and have a place to escape, have a good time, play some darts and just unwind a little bit.”

For information, find 222 Ale House on Facebook.