Henderson native plans to open Hometown Roots restaurant in old Soaper Hotel

HENDERSON — Local native Casey Todd is gearing up to open a restaurant here in the old Soaper Hotel building, and the phrases he uses to describe it are intriguing.

"Over the top" is one description. "I'm about to blow these people's minds" is another.

And then there's the catchphrase he uses to sum up the venture, which is called Hometown Roots: "It's Grandmomma's cooking with a twist, and maybe a little more lovin', too."

Wow. How do you pull that off? We'll get into that a little later in the story. But for now, consider this quote from "Heritage," a sort of cooking manifesto by acclaimed Southern chef Sean Brock.

As Todd reads from his copy, he tears up and his voice cracks:

"Be proud of your roots, be proud of your home, be proud of your family and its culture. That's your inspiration." 

"This is what I've wanted to do my whole life," said Todd, 28. "I'm so excited."

How it all started

A lot of Henderson people know Casey, 28, from the business that his older brother started: Nick's Shaved Ice.

The brothers are the sons of Janet and Mickey Todd.

After Nick graduated from college, Casey took over for his brother and ran the shaved ice shack during summers in high school and college.

With that money, he said, "I wrote checks for my cars. I wrote checks for college."

He also started working, at age 15, as a fry cook for Rodney Thomas at Rookies.

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At one point in college, while majoring in hospitality management at UK, Casey decided he was done with the shaved ice business.

He told his parents, "I want to go to the beach, live on the beach, and work at a restaurant."

He sold Nick's Shaved Ice to a friend and days later was in Hilton Head, S.C.

There he worked in restaurants and resorts, doing everything — even being a bell hop and valet. While there, he made a friend and colleague that would be central to his professional life: Dale Augenstein.

Augenstein, originally from Owensboro, owned a successful restaurant in Hilton Head called Steamers Seafood.

Todd said he had it in mind to "season hop" after graduating from the University of Kentucky in 2013 — working in Hilton Head for the summer and then heading west to the ski slopes during the winter.

Augenstein had other ideas.

"He said, 'I see myself in you, and I want to keep you on board,' and he offered me a full-time position with Steamers. Basically, Dale and I really connected and he showed me the ropes."

Todd said that within two or three years, "I was his minion. I became his right hand man."

Augenstein, a very active Western Kentucky University alumni, started catering fundraisers for WKU and then opened "Steamers"-themed concessions at WKU sporting events. Todd was along for all of that.

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And when Augenstein opened a stand-alone "Steamers" restaurant in Bowling Green, he tapped Todd to head up that project.

"We had a vision; it was a really cool vision," said Todd of the location they picked. It was the historic Mariah Moore house in downtown Bowling Green, which used to house "Mariah's" restaurant.

"It was supposed to be an eight-month project, but it turned into a 15-month project ... It's probably one of the cooler, if not the coolest, restaurant in the state of Kentucky, And it was all Dale and mine's vision to build this restaurant ... I did everything, I was on the project every day. We gutted it, completely gutted it" and started over from scratch.

After it opened, Todd stayed on as general manager for two years.

Missing home

This past Christmas, Todd took a two-week vacation from his Bowling Green responsibilities to come back home to Henderson to visit family and friends. "I didn't go anywhere."

Henderson is also the hometown of his girlfriend, Tori Royster, with whom he has a 13-month-old baby girl.

As he was heading back to Bowling Green to resume work, Todd said he did a last drive through downtown Henderson, still thinking about opening a restaurant .... what he had always wanted to do.

He passed by Rookies, his old employer.

"I pulled a U-turn on the riverfront and I'm going home (to Bowling Green) and I pull in and I'm like, 'Oh wow, look at this building.' "

It was the old Soaper Hotel. Several restaurants have operated there, most recently Delizio Gourmet Italian Eatery.

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Todd made some quick inquiries and found out it was available. 

"I went home, freaking out," he said, and started making more calls.

He called fellow Henderson native Justin Jones, a friend and designer in Birmingham, Alabama, to talk about ideas for the interior space.

"Justin, dude, I've got a crazy idea, I want you to meet me in Henderson." He called another friend in Louisville who is a kitchen designer. "It all happened really, really fast."

Jones collaborated with Henderson architect Tim Skinner, who he has worked for in the past.

Everything started to fall into place, and Todd also told Augenstein he was going out on his own. "He was extremely supportive."

"Henderson doesn't know how lucky it is," Augenstein told The Gleaner in a phone call. "He's going to draw regionally."

Todd is currently working on completely redoing the interior of the Soaper Hotel's ground floor space facing Main Street. It'll have a poured concrete floor, exposed ductwork and lots of patina to the surfaces.

Meanwhile, a back area facing Second Street will keep its tiled floor, chandelier and 1920s vibe. Todd hopes to later open that as a small event and reception space, calling it "The Gatsby."

The food

Back to that claim that Hometown Roots will deliver "Grandmomma's cooking with a twist, and maybe more lovin', too."

"How do you put a little more loving than grandma did?" laughs Todd, "Well, we're going to get creative and have some great ideas for menu items."

He said he wants to focus on "meat and two," or "meat and three" offerings, but "I want to have some cool meats."

Todd talks quickly when he starts discussing recipes and dinner options. You've got to pay attention.

"I want to do fried chicken. I'm going to do a sweet tea buttermilk fried chicken. We're going to have a ground brisket meatloaf. We're going to do fresh Mississippi catfish, and yes, you can still get fresh catfish now. A lot of people have gone away from that by using farm-raised Asian stuff, which is not very good. I want to do the real deal, maybe even do some fiddlers as well. You don't see that much anymore, you know, a whole catfish.

"I've got a passion for barbecue as well, so there will be a little bit of barbecue on there. I also love salads. So we'll have a heck of a selection of healthy options for salads, really cool salads."

"We're going to do a hot brown," he said, but it'll be "over the top."

"Whenever I say these things, they sound so simple to some people, but in my mind, I'm like, 'I'm about to blow these people's minds.' "

For example, he describes his idea of a Kentucky hot brown.

"Shaved country ham, definitely a 'Kentucky Proud' product. Maybe some shaved turkey ... the Mornay sauce isn't going to be like a normal Mornay sauce, it's going to be like a smoked gouda Mornay sauce ... hopefully have some local tomatoes to go on there with some Kentucky Proud bacon, too."

'Instead of just having a normal burger, there's a thing called a bacon burger. Basically they use anywhere from 25 to 50 percent bacon. So talk about juicy and flavor." He said he'd like to team with Jim David meats or another area producer for those kind of specialty meats.

He said his "over the top" offerings won't be out of the price range for most people.

"If we can do this and execute that well and still keep the price point great, then that's what I'm looking for. I want to appeal to the masses .... I'm not going to give anything away, but I'm not going to overcharge either."

Todd has already partnered with another Henderson friend of his, Alex Russell of Greenman Gardens, to start growing vegetables here.

The restaurant may be months away, but the tomatoes, peppers and more are already sprouting in greenhouses in Robards. "I want to partner with as many people as I can," Todd said.

At first, Hometown Roots will be open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday. After opening, Todd wants to add in a Saturday and Sunday morning brunch — complete with mimosas, bloody marys and foods like sausage gravy hash and chicken and waffles.

"There's not a place in Henderson that does it," he said of the brunch offering. "It'll be a few weeks after we open to do the brunch. I only get one chance to do it right."

Todd is excited about the Henderson restaurant scene and sees Hometown Roots as an addition, not competition.

He said his former boss Rodney Thomas, at Rookies, describes it well.

"If it's a pie and we're all going to start stealing people's pieces of pie, it's not going to work. We've got to grow that pie."

"I think if people have an option to come downtown, with a beautiful riverfront that we have, and they have options for four or five different restaurants that all have different menu styles and concepts ... That's the kind of vision that I see.

"I don't want  to just come down here and open a restaurant and survive. I want things to thrive not only for my restaurant but for everyone involved ... CKB, Rockhouse, Rookies. You know, I want everyone to thrive and be successful. I think that's the key to building a strong downtown partnership."

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Follow Hometown Roots on Facebook and Instagram (hometownrootsky) for more developments as the restaurant gets closer to opening.