DECATUR - The Blue Mill is back for a second helping.
It may come as a sweet surprise for longtime fans of the famed Decatur restaurant, proud bearer of a 70-year history. It appeared to become history itself in 2001, when the last supper was served at its West Wood premises, and the Blue Mill was digested to make way for new development.But the restaurant never died; it just dropped out of regular retail life and checked into Richland Community College: Brent Keyes, who used to run the Blue Mill with his parents, Jim and Colleen, today operates the college food service operation with his wife, Joanie. They're now majoring in diner satisfaction and earning straight A's in the Richland cafeteria."The food is just great," says political science professor Larry Klugman. "I've got a thing I eat here all the time - a salad with diced, seasoned, grilled chicken - and they've even named it after me: they call it the "Klugman Klucker."Other dishes like meatloaf, chicken cordon bleu and fettuccine alfredo - harking back to the Blue Mill's glory days - are regular menu stars. Special college events, which the Keyeses also cater, might be lavished with anything from apple-and-gorgonzola-stuffed pork tenderloin with bourbon maple sauce to swordfish, salmon, bacon-wrapped scallops and a dessert called "chocolate suicide.""The Blue Mill is really here now," says Brent, 33, who has a staff of 10 but does a lot of cooking himself. "They call the college cafeteria the 'The Blue Mill Grill.' "Human resources management student Sara Morgan from Cerro Gordo drops in for lunch regularly but doesn't take too many walks on the gastronomic wild side - a cheese toasty manages her hunger quite nicely. "It's good; I like it," explains Morgan, 20, pausing between bites and a side order of fries."The good thing about the food here is it's not real expensive and they have a good variety." Her 20-year-old friend Brooke Reed, also from Cerro Gordo but majoring in public relations, prefers to relate to something green. "I like the salad bar," she says. "But, really, it's all nice."The Keyes family actually has been feeding Richland's 3,500-student population for four years - since before the restaurant closed - after winning the contract in 2000. They also employ another 10 staffers to nourish 800 workers every day at a cabinet factory in Arthur and are open to bringing a taste of the Blue Mill to other would-be customers, too."What makes Brent good at this is that he finds out what people want to eat," says Joanie, 34. "He also takes a lot of personal pride in the food."Sometimes, after serving hundreds of meals at the college, feeding the cabinet builders in Arthur and maybe catering two or three special college events as well, the Keyeses don't get home to eat themselves until 10 p.m. But, sacre bleu, the upholders of the Blue Mill legacy would never just sit back and nuke something in the microwave."Oh, he'll still do us one of his specialties, like crab-stuffed chicken breasts served with an alfredo sauce on a bed of fettuccine noodles" says Joanie.Her husband smiles. "I never get tired of food," he says. "But we have a good deal - I cook, she cleans up."Tony Reid can be reached at 421-7977.
