Story by Robin Seaton Jefferson | Photo by Michael Schlueter
Thirty years ago Diane Blythe took a job waitressing in a small restaurant in an old barber shop in Maryland Heights. That restaurant is now located in one of the most progressive developments in the area and Blythe owns the place.
Reynolds Roadhouse Restaurant, an old favorite for those who frequented its former Dorsett location, has relocated to 3150 Elm Point Industrial Dr. In the New Town area in St. Charles.
Blythe worked breakfast and lunch six days a week for 12 years before taking a short hiatus to be a drywall taper. “That was ridiculous,” she said.
In any event, she returned to the restaurant business and has never looked back. “At 5 am that place was booming,” Blythe
Said remembering her days at Reynolds in Maryland Heights. “I thought, ‘Am I going to be able to do this?’ We had three girls. We were the servers, the cashiers. We cleared the dishes. We washed the dishes. It was incredible.”
Sixteen years ago, Blythe and her brother John Bell, bought Reynolds Roadhouse, but kept it on Dorsett. (Bell owns jjs Restaurant in St. Charles and used to own jjs in O’Fallon.)
But as businesses began moving to St. Charles County—their customers with them—Blythe started thinking westward expansion. “New Town seemed like a place that was growing. I realized a lot of my customers from Maryland Heights lived or worked out here,” she said.
Blythe opened Reynolds Roadhouse Restaurant in St Charles on July 28. She said her kitchen is three times the size of the Dorsett location and the dining room seats about eight additional people. Formerly the site of Chuck-A-Burger, the new location has car hop slots and a patio.
Famous for its hand-pattied ground beef burgers grilled to perfection, big breakfast fare and country meals, Reynolds is open Sunday through Thursday 5 a.M. To 9 p.M. And Friday and Saturday
