When Clint and Sarah Flowers bought a vacant lot on the main street in the center of Aviston in January 2024, they had no idea what they would do with the property. They just knew that after owning an insurance agency for 21 years, Clint was ready for a career change.
Thoughtful consideration was given by the couple to build a retail store, but research revealed the area lacked a family-friendly restaurant and sports bar. Construction commenced in May 2024, and the couple opened the doors of what they named “The County” only 120 days later, on Sept. 1.
“We went in head and feet first,” Clint says. “I had no restaurant experience whatsoever. All we knew was that our first objective was a family-friendly restaurant which appealed to a wide clientele, and a bar second.”
with curly fries
Without experience in the industry, Clint and Sarah, who are Clinton County Electric Cooperative members, turned to family and friends for menu suggestions. “We started with what we like to eat ourselves and added what we thought would be a good variety,” Clint recalls. “A lot of input came from a cousin who is a professional chef in Las Vegas.”
The result is a menu which includes a wide selection of sandwiches, such as a mushroom Swiss burger, a chicken bacon ranch wrap and a Philly sandwich, along with a myriad of unusual selections like steak, shrimp or chicken Poke bowls, and Santa Fe chicken egg rolls.
Daily specials change each weekday and include an entree, drink and a side dish for $10. A unique starter is a “French Fry Flight.” Guests can choose a plate of any three of seven styles of fries, including steak, curly, waffle, crinkle cut, sweet potato, tater tots or homemade chips.
“If we have time, we will even make something not on the menu [that] a guest requests,” Clint says. “Our chefs are unbelievably creative and enjoy any challenge.”
Success has come quickly. The Flowers have already expanded the menu three times. Lately, they have started offering anything on the menu in large quantities for takeout or consumption by a group in the party room. “If you need 30 hamburger pizzas, we will take care of it,” Clint says.
In addition to the menu, Clint and Sarah tried to think of anything that would attract people to the restaurant for reasons other than food. The result is several niches off the main dining area, which appeal to different ages and groups.
A party room is available to groups free of charge and accommodates 60 guests. It has been the location of special events like engagement parties and alumni reunions and is also a popular venue for groups from nearby McKendree University.
To accommodate children, another area features 10 arcade games. To entice golfers inside during inclement weather and at night, two golf simulators able to screen 32 PGA courses occupy two side bays and rent for $45 an hour. “Guests usually bring their own clubs, but we have some, too,” Clint adds.
In the sports bar portion of the restaurant, large screen televisions feature any sport being televised. Throughout the spring and summer, a patio behind the restaurant is popular for outdoor dining and musical entertainment. “Local musicians request to use the space to perform, and we are happy to let them,” Sarah says.
“We have had as many as five grade school and high school teams eating in the restaurant at one time,” Sarah adds, commenting on the family-friendly atmosphere inside The County.
The success of the restaurant is not lost on Clint and Sarah, who seem to know and greet everyone by name. “It is not so much how fortunate and successful we have been, as much as it is how grateful we are,” Clint says.
There is one problem facing The County, however. “We run out of parking spaces every weekend,” Clint says, “but it is a good problem to have.”
The County
