Marseilles restaurant brings chef’s dream to life

Ryan’s Eatery is very much a family affair, from the staff, to the recipes to the name itself.

Co-owner Margaux Dorsey waitresses during the day while her mother, Wendy Ryan, looks after her children. Once her shift ends, her mother goes into the Marseilles restaurant to help her husband, Jim Ryan, in the kitchen with the dinner rush.

Dorsey’s sister, Hailey Underwood, works as a paraprofessional during the day and waitresses a few nights a week.

Dorsey’s brother, Casey Ryan, recently paid a surprise visit to help out at the restaurant. He’s the chef for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and was recently the head chef for the Super Bowl.

While it’s all hands on deck for the family, the longtime dream of opening a restaurant lies mostly with the patriarch of the family.

“It’s always been my father’s dream. His parents and brothers always pushed him to open his own. We all love his cooking,” Dorsey said.

He was in the planning stages of opening a restaurant with his brother, Thomas Ryan, when Thomas was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.

“Unfortunately, my nanny and poppy have all passed. That’s why we named it Ryan’s Eatery — to honor my grandparents and uncles that encouraged my father for so long to open his own restaurant.”

Jim Ryan, born and raised in New Jersey, has been a chef for 40 years. He started out on the East Coast, managing the kitchen and catering in large hotel chains. After Dorsey was born, he and his wife moved to Illinois to be close to her parents. He’s been a chef at many restaurants across Illinois, Dorsey said, and helped open restaurants for others.

In Marseilles, he decided it was time to open his own.

“We chose Marseilles because we live here,” Dorsey said. “We moved here eight years ago and have loved the small town living.”

Dorsey also said she wanted wherever they opened to be close to her father, so he no longer had to commute to work. She also has four small children she wanted to be close to.

The menu consists of appetizers — Dorsey said the most popular are mozzarella sticks, stuffed fried mushrooms, and onion rings, handmade and breaded — three flatbreads, salads, burgers and classic handhelds. The five dinner options are her father’s recipes.

“He’s known for his pasta,” she said. “My favorite is the pork tenderloin marsala.”

She also recommends the stuffed fried mushrooms and anything with bacon jam. For specials, find Ryan’s Eatery on Facebook.

The Eatery part of the name was chosen because the space is small, but so far the family has experienced anything but a small crowd.

“So far the feedback has been great,” she said. “Even with the smaller space, we have been busier than we ever expected.”

When customers visit their family-friendly restaurant, Dorsey said she hopes the small space makes people feel at home.

Ryan’s Eatery

Address: 442 Main St., Marseilles

Hours: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday

Phone: 815-795-4006