Farmhouse on Boone going gangbusters as doors open

New operation in old Copper Grill starting strong
 
Being a restaurant owner has been a long-time ambition for Leslie Day.
“I’ve always wanted a restaurant, since I was 18 or 19 years old,” she said. “I worked in one all through
high school.”
Day and her husband, Ryan, are the owners of The Farmhouse on Boone Cafe, a new restaurant in Ash
Grove. They opened for business Thursday, Jan. 7, in the building that used to house the Copper Grill
restaurant.
Day said they began to seriously consider going into the restaurant business a few years ago.
“The last few years, we got back into doing fairs and festivals food stands, basically as a fundraiser for
our kids’ competition cheer, and I realized how much I missed it,” Day said. “So, we talked about it; we
just weren’t sure if we were going to do it or not.”
Eventually, they found the building in Ash Grove on Highway 160, and they knew it was time. Day said
she knew they made the right choice to open their restaurant there because everything worked out
nicely.
“I have a friend here in town that asked me for 10 months, ‘Hey, you should open up the old Copper
Grill,’” she said. “And it was just the right time and the right place, and it all kind of fell in line pretty
quickly.”
Managing the restaurant requires a lot of time, but Day said they are learning as they go.
“We had no idea we were going to be so busy, so the first couple of initial grocery orders was a
challenge on inventory, but we’re working through those kinks,” she said. “We’ve had a few hiccups and
kinks along the way, but we’re getting there. Every day is better than the last.”
The Farmhouse on Boone serves a variety of country-style foods, including omelets, sandwiches,
burgers, steaks, chicken tenders, salads, soups and much more. There are also daily specials, and
carryout is also available. Day said she wants people who eat there to feel like they’re “going to
grandma’s house.” She added that the menu is a good fit for the area.
“Small towns love homestyle food,” she said. “I always said (the restaurant) was going to be (in) a small
town somewhere.”
Ash Grove itself, Day said, has proven to be the perfect town for the Farmhouse on Boone.
“This town is amazing,” she said. “They have been absolutely wonderful, far more than we could have
ever expected, and the kindness is great. We’ve enjoyed meeting people, getting to know people. We
already have regulars that we see every single day.”
Info box:
The Farmhouse on Boone is located at 106 East Boone Street in Ash Grove, and is open on Wednesday
and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Sunday from 6
a.m. until 2 p.m. They are closed Monday and Tuesday. For more information, call (417) 672-1063.