Candlelight Inn expanding into Lake Carroll

LANARK – Folks looking to play some golf, followed by a big plate of Chicken George, will soon have the opportunity to do some one-stop shopping.

The Candlelight Inn, which currently has restaurants in Sterling, Rock Falls, and Clinton, Iowa, will soon be opening a site at Lake Carroll Golf Course, 2911 Ironwood Blvd., in rural Lanark. It will be in the existing golf course clubhouse and be called Candlelight at Lake Carroll.

Matt Prescott, who owns the Candlelight Inns in Sterling, Rock Falls and Clinton, accepted the deal on May 12, and it was formally approved by the Lake Carroll Board of Directors 2 days later.

“They came to us and it was a great opportunity,” Prescott said. “They reached out and they were looking for someone to operate the facility. We all say things are turn-key, but there’s nothing that’s turn-key. It just doesn’t work that way, but the infrastructure is there. They’ve done an amazing job with a great facility.”

Chicken George will continue to be a staple of the menu, along with sandwiches and a limited number of entrées.

“It will be a smaller menu because of the kitchen capabilities,” Prescott said. “With the kitchen being a little smaller in the way it’s set up, we couldn’t run a menu like we run at a Candlelight, because the kitchen’s different.”

New to the menu will be pizza – an area that Prescott will be learning about on the fly.

“That’s the new market for me that I’ve got to figure out,” Prescott said, “but I have an amazing team that will guide me through that and show me how to do that.”

There are 15 tables in the restaurant, some others around the bar, as well as outdoor seating. Prescott is hoping to attract not only golfers looking to eat after a round, but Lake Carroll residents in general. He noted there are 2,000 homes in that immediate area.

“In order to go eat, you’ve got to go to Shannon, Lanark or some other town,” Prescott said. “Now they they can come right on their site.”

Prescott plans to have a limited menu available by Wednesday, June 2, with a regular menu available a week after that.

Prescott is excited to add new employees to his team.

“At the end of the day, taking care of our team is what comes first,” Prescott said. “If we don’t take care of them, it all falls apart.”