In 1976, Dick and Minnie Henson opened the now iconic Kurly Q restaurant, located near the eastern Illinois border in Paris. These days, EnerStar Electric Cooperative members Jim and Mandy Handlin own the beloved community establishment, and they are committed to preserving its traditional fan favorites while broadening their menu offerings.
Mandy says the idea to open the restaurant first came about back in the ’70s, while Minnie was visiting family in Florida. “Her sister had a little ice cream store — when soft serve and the twist cone was kind of a new thing,” she explains. “She wanted to bring that to our area.”
Many years later, Dick and Minnie sold the business to their son and daughter-in-law, who later made the decision to close in the face of ever-increasing family obligations. Mandy, who was born and raised in Paris and knew the original owners, picked up the torch seven and a half years ago.
“My daughter turned 16, and I was a work-at-home mom. [I] got bored with that and wanted a new challenge,” Mandy says. “The opportunity to buy Kurly Q came into my lap, and I always wanted a restaurant, so I went for it.
“It’s been an honor to carry on the tradition in the community, because it was going to be lost,” she adds. “It was crazy when we opened back up in March 2017. We didn’t even tell anybody we were open, we just put ‘open’ on the little sign out front.”
The positive response they received when the restaurant reopened made it clear the community had missed it and the food it was known for, like its footlong hot dogs, pulled pork barbecue, tenderloin sandwiches and twist cones.
“Back in 1976, one of the things they were [known for] was their cheese curds, but we’ve always called them cheese balls,” Mandy explains. “[And] the little slider burgers, they called them ‘specials.’ To me, they’re sliders, but that’s what they called them back in 1976.” A plethora of other popular sides include mini tacos, fried pickles, fried zucchini, mushrooms, onion petals [and] fried green tomatoes.
The Hensons’ milkshakes were Mandy’s personal favorite. “Kurly Q always had milkshakes, absolutely fabulous, just in a Styrofoam cup. My favorite [was] the hot fudge milkshake,” she says. As it turned out, her daughter inspired her to take those milkshakes to the next level.
Their introduction of “those crazy milkshakes” coincided with the pandemic. “People would tailgate. We bought a big back parking lot, and they’d bring lawn chairs because of the social distancing,” Mandy shares. “They’d all just camp out and have little picnics out there. It was something that people could do during COVID.”
The popularity of the shakes didn’t abate when life returned to normal. Currently, the restaurant offers five signature milkshakes year-round — the Strawberry Celebration, Cotton Candy Craze, Chocolate Supreme, Cookies and Cream, and the Peanut Butter Delight — as well as special monthly creations, all served in souvenir cups.
“It was four years in July that we’ve been doing the crazy milkshakes. It’s getting harder and harder to come up with new ideas [for the monthly specials], because we have been doing them so long,” she laughs. However, milkshakes are not the only desserts that draw people.
“We’ve added a lot … we have over 90 [ice cream] flavors, we have the ice cream nachos, the strawberry and pineapple Dole Soft Serve,” she continues. “We always try to introduce new items. We go to food shows and try to find a new product that fits our niche.”
Mandy says their menu appeals to locals and visitors of all ages. “There’s a man, 91 years old, [who] comes in two or three times a week, [and has been] for years … and, with the signature shakes, that’s helped to bring a lot of out-of-town people into our community,” she explains. “I’ve heard a lot of people say they’ll come to Paris for our shakes, and then they go to Casey to visit the big [things] … That will be part of their road trip.
“We get motorcycle groups, we get bus trips … busloads of kids coming for a school field trip,” she adds. “We have a school a few blocks from us, and at the end of the year, a lot of times they’ll bring all the kids down for a little kiddy cone.”
Mandy says it’s an honor to be a part of a community that comes together and helps each other out, and they pitch in where they can, too, like hosting fundraising nights for their schools, donating gift cards and sponsoring ball teams. “Just whatever we can do to help out,” she says. “We always try to support one another.”
As far as the future of the restaurant is concerned, Mandy hopes to continue to serve the community and grow the business. Most importantly, she says, “I’m just glad we can carry it on for the community.”
Kurly Q
