Instead of spending her retirement on the beach or gardening, St. Joseph resident Jan Aten had another idea.
She wanted to start a restaurant.
As a 16-year old, Aten worked at Mr. Steak in Urbana before taking on various jobs in different kitchens before she landed as a manager at Pickles, which was then located on Neil Street, in Champaign.
Aten then worked for 17 years, including seven years as the Executive Director at the Douglas County Mental Health facility.
Upon retirement, she had her heart set on providing the St. Joseph community with a family-friendly restaurant that highlighted real food.
While Aten did not know the name of her restaurant as she eyed the building located at 227 E. Lincoln St., she saw something in the space that many others did not.
The building had boarded windows, drop ceilings and blue carpet, but Aten believed she could make something special.
“I had quite a vision when I leased the place,” she said. “And if you can imagine the look on my husband’s face when I showed him the place I leased. He was like, ‘what are you thinking?’ ”
The couple alongside a few trained professionals, gutted the space, taking it down to it bare bones before they started to add a kitchen, dining space and even a name to their vision.
“A lady stopped and asked what we were putting in here,” Aten said.
“I told her a restaurant.
“We got into this conversation about what kind of restaurant, and I said, ‘Everything. I make everything from scratch.
“She asked what I was going to call it. And I said I haven’t really gotten that far. She said, ‘You need to call it Scratch.”
“I tried forever to come up with names, and that just seemed to resonate with everything because we were building the dining room and the whole facility from scratch.”
Aten even visited garage sales to find the tables that add an at-home feeling to the restaurant. Once purchased, she refinished them before placing them in the dining room.
“Every table has a story,” she said. “There have been card games played, conversations, mom and kid talks. There’s so much history, not just in the building, but in every piece of furniture that’s in here.”
Aten hopes that the restaurant’s atmosphere helps people feel like they are sitting in their own home.
Part of that experience, and the reason people visit Scratch is for traditional food made from fresh ingredients.
Aten said that was something she craved, but was something that is hard to find in many restaurants.
The Scratch menu includes the freshest ingredients in soups, salads, sandwiches and entrees that leave customers full and happy with their experience.
While making the menu for Scratch, Aten doesn’t cut corners.
The lettuce and vegetables in her salads aren’t pre-packaged or processed, but cut fresh in the Scratch kitchen.
“Even with my desserts, I do really simple desserts that you’d get at a potluck or family reunion,” she said.
You won’t find extravagant cakes or fancy desserts at Scratch, but Aten loves to make things like pudding cakes or Texas sheet cake.
“Every meal that leaves the kitchen matters to me and matters to my staff,” Aten said.
“I want people to know that this is so much more than walking in and getting cheap food. It is about the experience, it’s about taking the time to have dinner, having good food, having good people around you,” Aten said.
With just a year under her belt, Aten said that this dream has only been made possible by her supportive family and staff.
Her husband comes into the restaurant after spending all day at work, to talk to customers and clear tables before taking his dinner home with him. Her daughter helps with bookkeeping and waits tables one night a week while her son also puts in time at the restaurant to help pay for college.
But her mother’s support also meant a lot as she got Scratch off the ground.
“My 80-year old mother has been a huge part of this. In the beginning, she came in every single day and helped make the potato salad and man the kitchen,” Aten said. “Just her presence was really, really important.”
Aten said that sense of family has trickled down into her staff, who have worked tirelessly to make the restaurant an inviting place for everyone.
“We’re just a little family here,” she said. “I’m blessed every single day.”
Through that, she also wants to bless her guests with something complete.
“I want people to feel very comfortable here,” she said. “Everybody is welcome here.
“My career was mental health, so this is an extension of that. It’s about making people feel good and enjoying their experience here.”
The biggest compliment Aten receives each day is when people come to Scratch to dine by themselves.
“To me that’s a compliment that they feel comfortable enough to come in here and sit alone and be a part of the good energy here.
“That’s important to me.”
It’s also important that she listens to the St. Joseph community’s needs when it comes to their dining experience.
While Aten likes to prepare familiar foods, even taking requests from guests on old family favorites, she said sometimes it’s what people don’t say that helps her plan the business.
“You watch patterns, and you notice trends,” she said.
In the first 11-months of being open, Aten noticed that active families were absent in the dining room during the weekdays.
“I know the demands that are on parents; they don’t have time to just stop and sit down and have a meal,” she said.
With a curb spot where parking is not allowed right in front of Scratch’s window, Aten decided to offer curbside pick-up so that those parents could provide their children with a wholesome meal without having to prepare it.
“It was about serving everyone here, and making sure that they had access as well,” she said.
The curbside pick-up has also worked well throughout the winter months when guests want something warm to eat, but don’t want to get out of the vehicle to get it.
“That’s actually gone really well and made a huge difference for us,” she said.
Aten also recognizes that menu variety throughout the seasons helps to draw in customers.
“There are so many things I like to prepare, so having an opportunity to be able to showcase those items is exciting,” she said.
Although Scratch is currently open during lunch and dinner hours Tuesday through Saturday, Aten plans to expand into breakfast hours beginning on Saturdays soon. Scratch can also be opened during off-hours to accomodate groups.
“I’m very, very proud of what we’ve done here,” Aten said. “I’m very excited to be part of the community, and I feel like we have a lot to offer the community.
“My heart and soul is in this place. I want people to feel that.”
