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Busch's SmokeHouse in Mendon smokes and serves a variety of meats including pulled pork, ribs, ham, sausage and brisket like the one pictured here.
MENDON - Busch's SmokeHouse isn't Dan and Stacey Buschor's first crack at running a restaurant out of 124 N. Main St. in Mendon.
The married couple from Van Wert previously owned and managed Kozy Korner out of the same venue from about 2015 to just before the pandemic, Dan Buschor said. They also ran The Little Kozy in Spencerville from 2016 to 2023.
"We got rid of this (Kozy Korner) just before COVID-19," he said. "I don't remember if it was the fall of 2019 or the fall of 2020, something like that. We kept just Little Kozy in Spencerville. For some insane reason, we decided to do this one again."
Owner and manager of Busch's SmokeHouse Dan Buschor cuts a piece of brisket at his restaurant in Mendon on Tuesday afternoon.
The business, opened in March, is now Mendon's only restaurant. As such, Buschor said, it is absolutely filling a void in town.
"A lot of the elderly people (in Mendon) they either have to drive to Rockford, Celina or someplace (else) if they want to go get food," he said. "That's the reason we try not to charge high prices."
About half of the people they serve now are returning customers from Kozy Korner, who were "all thrilled," to welcome the couple back to the area, he said.
Many returning customers begged the owners to bring back their well-liked pizza.
Those returning patrons even talked the couple into bringing back their beloved pizza, which Buschor said they initially were not going to do.
"But we had so many people saying, 'Bring back your pizza. Bring back your pizzas.' So we did, and we sell a ton of pizza. I think Friday night she made 40 (pizzas)," he said.
They are not afraid to experiment as well, Buschor said. A recent bout of brainstorming led to the creation of the tenderloin pizza, a unique spin on their best-selling homemade tenderloins.
The dish utilizes Busch's hand-breaded, 10-inch tenderloins as a canvas for pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese and any pizza toppings of the customer's choosing.
The pork-based pies are not only delicious, but they also serve as a gluten-free option for those with special diets, he said. It was recently tested out on a gluten-intolerant customer with great success.
"He ate that entire, basically 10-inch pizza, by himself. His mom said, 'Damn, he loves these.' And she's been ordering them three or four at a time every week now," Buschor said.
A newly added item to the menu is the tenderloin pizza, which can be customized to a customer's liking.
Other than the tenderloin pizza, the restaurant sells a myriad of dishes, including pastas, homemade tenderloins, subs, soups, salads, sandwiches, burgers and more.
But the star of the show is definitely their in-house smoked meats, for which the restaurant is named. Buschor usually comes in at around 5 a.m. to start smoking brisket, pulled pork, sausages, ribs and ham.
It takes about 10 hours to smoke brisket and about 12 hours to smoke pulled pork, he said. Busch's smoked meats have a distinct, sweet, yet smokey flavor profile, which comes from using pecan and hickory woods.
"I used to use a lot of applewood. But we got away from apple. We normally use a mix of pecan and hickory," Buschor said. "The pecan gives it a little bit of a sweeter taste. The hickory gives it a more smokey flavor."
They go through about 20-25 pounds of brisket, 15-20 pounds of pulled pork and 30 pounds of ribs a week, he said.
The restaurant also offers a daily special at just $8.99.
"We try to always do one pasta, one old-fashioned dish and then we try to do a unique dish the other day (during the week)," Buschor said. "This week we're doing cabbage rolls. Country fried steak is so popular that it's (the special) every Tuesday."
Owners Dan and Stacey Buschor went through about six months of renovations before opening in March at 124 N. Main St. in Mendon. Now, the restaurant offers dine-in and carry-out Tuesday-Saturday.
Dan and Stacey Buschor initially came to Mendon to help care for Dan's mother, who lived in town prior to her death.
"I was a human resource director for 17 years at oil companies. And my mom got sick, and we came back here to take care of her," he said. "I told my wife, I said, 'You know, we've had restaurants forever.' And the previous tenants that were in here wanted to get rid of the place (at the time). I said, 'Let's take over that restaurant.'"
Though they're off to a great start already with Busch's SmokeHouse, he said they'd like to eventually acquire a beer and wine license, and branch out more into the community.
"We try to give back. There are things that we would like to do for the community," Buschor said. "Last time we were here, we used to sponsor the whole little league, but it's not here any more. So, there are things that we would (eventually) like to be a part of."
The eatery is open 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. It is located at 124 N. Main St., Mendon. For more information, call 419-296-4403.
