Those looking for a kale salad or the latest trendy dish probably won’t be visiting The Fork when it opens March 15 in downtown Eudora.

Mellissa Dake, the kitchen part of The Fork’s partnership with Matthew Houser, said the restaurant would feature more traditional food.

“We’ll have chicken-fried-chicken, chicken-fried steak, reubens, open-faced sandwiches and club sandwiches,” she said. “It’s home-cooking. Comfort food.”

Pies and fresh brownies will also be available, Dake said. She doesn’t do cakes, because she’s not good at decorating, she said.

Their menu did turn heads at Dake and Houser’s Fork and Cork in Oskaloosa, earning the No. 6 spot in one magazine’s top-20 things to do in Kansas, Dake said. They closed that restaurant when the landlord hiked the rent. They looked to Eudora at the suggestion of Dake’s uncle, Eudora public works director Mike Hutto, who said the town needed a good restaurant. They started looking just as Lulu’s Bakery relocated from 826 Main St.

Dake and Houser found the site in need of sprucing up and have been busy with a $6,000 remodel, which was aided by a $3,000 downtown grant from the city. They’ve installed a tile floor and a new ceiling. The walls are now covered with corrugated sheet metal, barn wood and fresh paint. The kitchen also gotten a makeover, and they are waiting to install a new vent cover on the stove, Dake said.

The Fork will have room for 14 to 16 diners, Houser said. With such limited space, they welcome carryout and call-in orders, he said.

The plan is to install an L-shaped concrete or paver patio to the south and west of the building, which will have room for four or five tables, Houser said. The goal is to have it finished this spring.

The Fork will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. More hours might be added later.
“We’ll see what the community wants,” Houser said. “We can always add more hours.”

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Baldwin Insurance Services is about to mark its first month in its new home at 604 High St. Owner Mike Rietcheck said the agency moved from its Mid-America Bank location on Feb. 8.
“We were growing and needed more space, and Mid-America is a progressive and growing bank,” he said. “This worked out for everybody.”
Baldwin Insurance Services is an independent agency. Rietcheck said its main carrier was Allied Insurance, which is a member of Nationwide Insurance.
The storefront had been home to Days of Old Antiques before it closed in December. Baldwin Insurance Services’ move to the site leaves only three empty storefronts in Baldwin City’s downtown district.

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A “heartsaver” class for nonmedical personnel will be from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. March 5 at the Eudora Community Center. The class will cover first aid, CPR and AED (automated external defibrillator) training. Cost is $65. Enrollments and payments can be made online at CPR4YOULLC.INFO.
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Open Hearts Pre-School will have an open house starting at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Eudora United Methodist Church, 2084 North 1300 Road.

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Baldwin and Baker University choirs will unite in a “One Voice” community concert at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Baldwin High School. Performing at the free concert will be the Children’s Choir of the Baldwin Academy of Dance and Voice and the Baldwin High School and Baker University choirs.

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The Baldwin City Senior Mix will have its monthly gathering at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Ives Chapel United Methodist Church, 1018 Miami St. Beth Kinnan, nutrition coordinator for the Jayhawk Area Agency on Aging, will present information on the CHAMPSS senior meals program.
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The Baker University Music and Theater Department will present a free evening of jazz, featuring the Symphonic Winds and Dixie Kats at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Rice Auditorium. The “Out of This World!” concert is free to the public.

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