Cities IG - 9-28-24

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hei, everyone, and welcome to Living in Leclair. This is

(00:02):
a periodic segment of knowledge is power, made possible through
the generosity of Rob Kane in City's Insurance Group. I'm
Wayne Wally and I'm currently the president of the LaClair
Tours and Board and your host of Living in Leclair,
where we like to talk about what's going on in Leclaire. Well,
what's happening. We're getting toward the end of September now
heading into October, and there are some October events coming

(00:24):
up that you might want to mark your calendar for. Sunday,
October thirteenth is one of them. That's the Fall Fest
down in the Levee put on by the Optimist Club
with a variety of craft vendors and all sorts of
things all down on the levee. So come on out
and support the group on Sunday, October thirteenth. The following
weekend will be the Autumn Market Days, where different shops

(00:46):
in town will be having either sidewalk sales or other
types of events going on in the downtown area. Again
for your shopping pleasure and to enjoy the amenities that
we have downtown. So again mark that weekend down on
your calendar. We're also working on a special event related
to those buffaloes you've been seeing around town, and I'll
have more about that in a future episode of Living

(01:08):
in Leclair. Now, today, I want to talk a little
bit about, you know, the restaurants in Leclair, and today
I'd like to feature one of my favorites, and that
is the Crane and Pelican. The Crane and Pelican is
on the corner of Second in Dodge Street. It's in
one of the old River Pilot homes. And we're going
to learn more about this from Mandy Harvey. Well, Mandy, thanks,

(01:28):
thanks for joining us today. I'm living in Leclair. Let's
talk a little bit about the Crane and Pelican. First off,
I don't know that everybody knows the story. Where'd the
name come from?

Speaker 2 (01:36):
That's a good question, and I get asked that all
the time. Let's see, when I was a kid growing
up here in the Quad Cities, there was not white
pelicans here.

Speaker 3 (01:45):
You did not see white pelicans when I was a kid.

Speaker 2 (01:47):
And so the pelicans started migrating here again here in
the Quad Cities and on the Upper Mississippi River Valley
about two thousand and five, and the riverboat Twilight has
a great story about the first time I'm Kevin on
the captain there saw Twilight. He called it into the
lock and dam and they told him he must be
crazy seeing a white pelican up here. But so it's
actually the sign of a cleaner, healthier river that we

(02:10):
do it that the pelicans have returned. There's less agricultural
runoff and so there's more fish, and so the river
can support migrating pelicans and that's why they're back. So anyway,
this is a long way of saying we loved the pelicans.
When we were opening the restaurant in two thousand and nine,
it was kind of a new thing that the pelicans
were back, and they're just beautiful. They're just like a big,

(02:30):
gorgeous bird. And so we all knew we wanted the
pelican to be involved somehow, and we couldn't decide on
it was. You know, me and my mom and my
stepdad Don were all deciding. None of us could pick
something that we all liked. So actually, Billy Davids, who
is a friend of the family and a local artist
and went to high school with my mom, she's the
one who suggested the creative Pelican, and we all really

(02:52):
liked it. It just had good There are two beautiful
river birds. So Billy suggested it and we all agreed
on it. And then I actually had a friend from
high school, Mary mm Asodi, did our logo for us.
She's done several logos here in the Quad Cities. She
did Analog Arkades logo and a couple other big ones.

(03:12):
So she did the logo for us and it really
turned out great. And now you know we were the
cran and Pelican.

Speaker 3 (03:19):
That's just how it happened.

Speaker 1 (03:20):
Yeah, I mean at first I would have looked at
and thought, were they naming it after some sort of
English pub because a lot of those are you know,
the dog and whatever, a lot of double names like that.
But that's a very cool story. And I didn't realize
that pelicans had not been here. We've lived here for
eighteen years and I've always thought I've seen pelicans out
in the river, So it is it is kind of
cool when it's that time.

Speaker 3 (03:39):
They're prolific here in the summertime.

Speaker 2 (03:41):
Now you cannot look up in the sky or near
the river and nazi a bunch of pelicans nowadays, so
it's pretty cool.

Speaker 1 (03:46):
Yeah, how do you describe the Crane and Pelican? I mean,
we often have people come in too ant Haattie's and
ask where can we eat, and we'll often suggest the
Crane and Pelican.

Speaker 4 (03:54):
They go, what is it?

Speaker 1 (03:55):
They said, Well, kind of comfort food. You know, you're
in a nice setting, you're in one of the old
River pilot's home. But how do you describe what the
Crane and Pelican is to people?

Speaker 2 (04:05):
I might ask, Yeah, yeah, our in house operation at
the restaurant is definitely I call it classy comfort food.

Speaker 3 (04:11):
You know, we were kind of going for.

Speaker 2 (04:12):
That middle area between fine dining and bar food. So
it's just really good quality, handmade food. And it's not
I don't think it's overly fancy, you know what I mean,
we're pretty down to earth. It's meat loaf, it's mashed potatoes,
it's you know, like salmon and steak. You know, it's
a little bit of something for everybody. But it's not

(04:34):
so fancy that you're not going to be able to
pronounce the dishes. And you know, it should everybody should
feel really at home there. You know, I think we
don't have a dress code or anything like that. But
also you know, it is fancy enough that you could
come there on a nice date night or an anniversary.

Speaker 3 (04:50):
So the food is great really what we focus on.

Speaker 2 (04:52):
And I'm blessed because I have been working in restaurants
here in Leclaire for twenty five years and so I
have deep roots and I've used those to get staff
members that have also been working here since you know,
we all worked up at steven Been's together as they
were in high school. So I have really great kitchen staff.
Like I would say, I would put my kitchen staff

(05:13):
off against anybody in the Quad Cities just they're wonderful,
reliable people and everybody.

Speaker 3 (05:18):
We love what we do.

Speaker 2 (05:19):
And so the other thing we're really focusing on a
lot is catering right now. That's just a huge new
market for us. With the Celebration Center here in town,
we're doing a lot of these big weddings, so that
has really opened up new avenues for income opportunities for us.
And we love doing those special events for people. We've
really gotten good at it, and so it's so fun

(05:41):
to make somebody's wedding just really unforgettable.

Speaker 1 (05:44):
So, Okay, you have one of the more unique locations
in Leclair and that is it's one of the old
River Pilot homes.

Speaker 4 (05:49):
It is.

Speaker 1 (05:50):
It's the Dolly family if I remember correctly. Now, I
don't expect you to be the history expert, but I'm
sure you've looked into when was this house built and
what's so special about it.

Speaker 2 (06:00):
Sure, the house was built in eighteen fifty one. It
is on the National Historic Registry in it the original family.
He was a riverboat captain and she was a universalist
and just a community leader. I found a newspaper clipping
that says they made soldiers, made bandages for the soldiers

(06:22):
in the Civil War in the whole.

Speaker 3 (06:23):
Yeah. Yeah, so that's pretty neat.

Speaker 2 (06:26):
And I think you know, Sabina, the matron of the
house was a universalist, which I think is so progressive
for the eighteen hundreds. That's really cool and an impressive
The house stayed in their family for over one hundred years.
The unwed daughters continued to live there. I had it
the first year we were open. I had a lady

(06:46):
walk in. She was in her nineties and she said
that in the nineteen forties she had rented a room
in that house.

Speaker 4 (06:53):
Oh wow, yeah, And.

Speaker 3 (06:54):
She said, at that time there was still no plumbing
in that house.

Speaker 2 (06:58):
So it has had a long life and a very
you know, seeing a lot of history. It's a very
well built home, like a lot of the houses here
in Leclair. It's got a limestone foundation and kind of
limestone walls around the property. And he, you know, the
Daniel Dally would have been a very i think wealthy

(07:18):
person for that time, and so their whole family was
very you know, they were economically independent. Yeah, and he could.
He was the postmaster of Leclair, one of our very
first early post bars, which makes me think, I don't
know if you knew that Antoine Leclair was also an
early postmaster, they must.

Speaker 3 (07:35):
Have cross paths.

Speaker 2 (07:36):
I just think there's no way that they wouldn't have
cross paths both being postmasters. I think it would be
cool if Antoine Antoine Leclair was actually in the Dolly House,
but I don't have any historical documentation on that.

Speaker 3 (07:46):
I just like to imagine that that's true.

Speaker 1 (07:48):
Yeah, I don't blame you. It's interesting, and I know
there's certain features when you walk in. There are the
large rooms where you people can see for meals, but
you all also can separate it. There's also that giant
mirror above the fireplace. Was that original? Is that something
that was there all alone?

Speaker 2 (08:06):
Those are original to the house. They were you know,
I was the painter when I first bought that property.
So the mirrors itself is glued to the wall and
in the frames. We unscrewed the frames and took the
frames down so we could paint without having to do
any damage. But those giant mirrors are definitely original to
the house. There's chandeliers. Those were put in the sixties.

(08:26):
They are antiques, but they're not the original chandeliers. The
floors are original. The fireplaces somebody chopped the chimneys often
about the seventies when they reroofed it. But the fireplaces
are the original. So there's and there. You know, there's
a beautiful kind of winding staircase. There's a lot of
really cool original details. And everything that we did to
the property was to restore.

Speaker 3 (08:48):
It to its original glory.

Speaker 2 (08:49):
So we've got the original pine floor, we restored in
a couple of other little architectural details. I'm blessed because
my stepdad is an amazing carpenter.

Speaker 3 (08:58):
So he was and he.

Speaker 2 (09:00):
Had you know, experience on historic properties, so he was
really able to take some of those architectural details and
carry them forward for us.

Speaker 1 (09:09):
I remember when it was first happening and talking to
Don and you guys actually added a building to it
to become the kitchen so that you didn't have to
mess with any of the historical part of the building,
but yet it kept kind of the same historical flavor, charm,
whatever you want to call it.

Speaker 4 (09:25):
Said, it looks like has always been there.

Speaker 3 (09:27):
It does, it does.

Speaker 2 (09:28):
We actually we put the kitchen in what was the
garage when we purchased that property, so we and we
took that all the way back down to the studs.
So it's the only thing really that's there that was
was is the floor. So so we uh, we were
able to put a commercial kitchen in there with a
hood and all the things. And then we put we
kind of dug a staircase and poured a concrete staircase.

(09:49):
So that's our basement access now as well. So yeah,
that really it worked out great. And then we just
we you know, we we carried the sighting out so
that it does kind of bill nd in and doesn't
stick out.

Speaker 1 (10:01):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. I mean, it is a very
interesting building. And again, if you're ever in Leclair or
you live in Leclair Cranton, Pelican is well worth the
time to come out for dinner, check out the building,
enjoy it because you've got a great view.

Speaker 4 (10:13):
Of the Mississippi River.

Speaker 3 (10:14):
We really do.

Speaker 1 (10:15):
You have the outdoor area too. It looks like that
gets used for maybe special events. So I don't know
how much that gets used, but you.

Speaker 3 (10:21):
Know in the pandemic who used it a lot.

Speaker 2 (10:23):
We were doing jazz on the lawn and we were
doing we added that to our liquor license, so we
were doing outdoor events out there. So we've pulled that
back a little bit as we're coming out of the pandemic,
but we still we just this weekend had a wedding
out on our sideline and it was gorgeous.

Speaker 3 (10:38):
It was a perfect day for it, and so we
still use that space for that.

Speaker 2 (10:42):
And you know, if you wanted to come and have
a special event outside, we could accommodate that absolutely.

Speaker 4 (10:47):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (10:47):
You said you've worked at different places, different restaurants within
the quad Cities or within Leclair throughout the years, and
now you have the Crane and Pelican and you said,
what year did you launch again?

Speaker 3 (10:58):
We opened in two thousand and nine, turn fifteen.

Speaker 1 (11:01):
Exactly, we did too. So aunt Attie's open in two
thousand and nine. Here we have a train going by too,
and which is the usual thing to hear it very LaClair, right,
But yeah, when you look around Leclair and you look
at the different restaurants that are here, you're now one
of the more established restaurants.

Speaker 4 (11:18):
What's been your secret to keeping going?

Speaker 1 (11:20):
I mean, you talked about the pandemic pandemic a little bit,
and I know that hurts plenty of restaurants, but yet
you've made it through. You come out the other side
and seem to be thriving very well.

Speaker 4 (11:30):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (11:30):
To me, it's all about your people, you know.

Speaker 2 (11:33):
So when I've gotten good at recognizing when I get
a good employee, and I hold on to them and
I value them, and I tell them how great they are,
and I reward them and I pay them so that
they stay with me, and so then I don't deal
with all the problems of turnover, which is just a
huge problem in the restaurant industry. I recognized it before

(11:53):
it really got as bad as it was, and took
the steps to making my workplace culture and what it
needed to be for people to want to come stay
for me and doing little things like you know.

Speaker 3 (12:03):
My chef has kids and I have kids. We just
bring our kids to work.

Speaker 2 (12:06):
I have a room in the upstairs of the restaurant
where our kids can stay and play where they're safe,
and there's plenty for them to do up there. And
you know, that really makes me an attractive employer because
you can bring your kids when you're in a pinch,
and so we all take advantage of that.

Speaker 3 (12:22):
And yeah, then I'm able to employ more, more mature,
more you.

Speaker 2 (12:26):
Know, reliable people and those that's that's really what separates,
in my opinion, our restaurant from from other restaurants. And honestly,
it's sad that some of these these restaurants that have
been here forever are no longer with us. So I'm
really hoping, and I got to tell you, LaClair is
a great place to run a restaurant. So I would
love if anybody's interested in running a restaurant take a
look at what we've got available as far as opportunities

(12:49):
here in Leclair. The more awesome restaurant tours we have,
the better so can give Leclaire look if you're looking
to open a restaurant.

Speaker 1 (12:58):
Yeah, Mandy, the Crane and Pelican also does a lot
of different sorts of events. You know, you talked about
doing the weddings and doing some things outside.

Speaker 4 (13:05):
What else do you do well?

Speaker 3 (13:07):
We host a Sunday brunch every Sunday. We try.

Speaker 2 (13:10):
I try and make that a really affordable way for
people to come check out the restaurant. I'm trying to
just get people in my door. What's so great about
a buffa style brunch is that you can just walk in,
You're immediately eating.

Speaker 3 (13:22):
If you got kids, you're putting.

Speaker 2 (13:23):
Food right in front of them, and you know, so
you're not sitting around waiting for the kitchen to make
your food. And it's fifteen bucks a person, ten dollars
for kids, so it's not an unreasonable price point.

Speaker 3 (13:35):
People can come in. I mean, and when you consider it's.

Speaker 2 (13:37):
Breakfast and lunch for fifteen bucks, and you don't have
to do the dishes for two meals, and your kids
are just gonna leave full and happy, and everybody's got
a smile on their face.

Speaker 4 (13:49):
So okay, I'll give my endorsement too.

Speaker 1 (13:51):
We recently went in and had brunch there on Sunday,
and my gosh, I mean your choices. You've got scrambled eggs,
you have the other type of an egg cast role
of a remember right. Then you have the grits, which
my wife Donna just said, these don't taste like any.

Speaker 4 (14:04):
Grits I've ever had before.

Speaker 3 (14:05):
Yeah, they're good.

Speaker 1 (14:06):
You have the biscuits and gravy, the potatoes. I'm just
going down the line. You have fresh fruit. But my gosh,
where did this idea come up for these darn candleope crapes?

Speaker 3 (14:17):
Oh that's funny.

Speaker 2 (14:18):
That goes all the way back to my opening chef
Fritz made We were doing orange crepes and I was like,
we really want to do a savory crepe too, and an
appetizer crepe, and so he came up with the idea
of candle up crepes. And then this is my current
cheft's version of his candle up crapes, which are just great.

Speaker 3 (14:35):
They're so good.

Speaker 1 (14:36):
Yeah, I felt like when we walked in the other day,
I was going to tell the waitress they said, you
should just have him put out two more platters and
crape candle up crates.

Speaker 4 (14:44):
Because they're just going to be gone and sure enough.

Speaker 1 (14:46):
I don't know if I had four or six, So
I don't know if that helps your product and your
brunches when we come in, but it is very very good.
But now on the Sunday brunch, you also have a
special one the first Sunday of the month.

Speaker 3 (14:58):
We sure do.

Speaker 2 (14:58):
We're doing drag br the first Sunday of every month.
Now we raise the price on that because I got
to pay those performers. So that's forty dollars a person.
It sells out every month, hands down. And here's the thing.
We do the buffet all you can eat from ten
to eleven, and then we do our drag show from
eleven to noon.

Speaker 3 (15:14):
And it it is a blast. It is just a
great time.

Speaker 2 (15:18):
Everybody leaves just full of joy, full of you know,
it's about music and fashion and dancing and interacting with
a crowd and it just is a great time. So
I have I have never had anybody leave without a
big smile on their face on those drag brunches. So
I knew the first couple that we did we were
onto something good. And so we're going to continue doing

(15:39):
those good fun events.

Speaker 1 (15:41):
Yeah, I've seen a few pictures in some of the
comments people have made that have gone, they just say
it's just a fantastic way to just spend a Sunday.
So it's the first first Sunday of every month, right now, correct.

Speaker 3 (15:51):
That's right?

Speaker 2 (15:51):
And you know, I'm hoping that people come and enjoy
drag Brunch and then come down and shop The Claire,
because there should be some real synergy there between the
people who are wanting to come to drag Brunch and
then wanting to come just spend an afternoon and go
to distillery and have a cocktail or to the brewery,
have a beer, and just enjoy the retail that we
offer here. You know, Sunday afternoon's such a great time

(16:12):
to just enjoy everything that Leclaire has.

Speaker 1 (16:15):
Now, how did you end up in the food industry,
so to speak, or the restaurant industry? You said you
worked at different places, but was this something you were
targeting yourself at when you were young or what.

Speaker 3 (16:25):
Not at all? I went to college.

Speaker 2 (16:27):
I graduated with an English degree from the University of Illinois,
and pretty much my entire college career I worked in
restaurants as well. And so I graduated, got out of college,
got a job selling car wash parts, car wash and
agricultural industrial sprayers in Davenport, And that lasted about six months.
I was miserable, and I said, I've got to get

(16:49):
back into a restaurant. So then I started working at
Steventon's for a year, and then I moved Iwa City
for about five years, got a bunch of really great
experience there, you know, and then moved back here was
it Stepenton's again.

Speaker 3 (17:01):
For five years. Stevens was a great place to work
and I really learned a lot there.

Speaker 2 (17:06):
Was that the faithful pilot for one year before we
opened our own place. So I had a really good
idea before we opened our own restaurant of what the
flow of Leclair was. And then I had good connections here,
and then of course we had Don and Mom, and
we got such a great deal on that building in
two thousand and nine. I mean, it was a steal.
It was an opportunity way too good to pass up.

(17:26):
So that's another thing about businesses and Leclair. If you
pick the right time, it's such a great place to.

Speaker 3 (17:32):
Open a business.

Speaker 1 (17:33):
So yeah, yeah, exactly. I remember when that building was
for sale. I think we also looked at it too,
And then talked to you. And that's something else people
may not realize is that your mom, Debill Laurette, was
the owner of Arts Works, one of the popular spots
for shopping in downtown Leclair. I'm sorry arts Works still
isn't here, and my condolences again on your mom. But

(17:54):
you're about to have or at least it will have
happened by the time you hear this broadcast.

Speaker 4 (17:58):
But you're having a remembrance. Is it this week?

Speaker 3 (18:01):
Thursday?

Speaker 2 (18:01):
What September twenty sixth, so with this layer on the Saturday,
so it will have happened already.

Speaker 3 (18:07):
And yes, it is going to be a really nice event.

Speaker 2 (18:10):
And I you know, if I'm being honest, we'll probably
do it once a year in September because we do
twelve food events a year, so we'll probably just keep
the September one being a deb Willer at a tribute dinner.
So even if you miss this one, there'll be an
opportunity to come celebrate her again.

Speaker 3 (18:26):
And you know, she had such a huge influence.

Speaker 2 (18:28):
Because mom not only was a great shop owner, she
was an amazing cook, and so she had a big
influence on our menu and our culture at the restaurant
as well.

Speaker 3 (18:38):
So she was, you know, an amazing person. She touched a.

Speaker 2 (18:41):
Lot of lives, so we're really awesome happy to have
the opportunity to celebrate her.

Speaker 4 (18:46):
Yeah, I mean, I wish I cooked tomorrow. I know.
My mom was the same thing.

Speaker 1 (18:50):
She knew how to cook anything and everything all the time,
and that was her way of showing love to people,
was making food. And she would do these holiday trade
that were just unbelievable. Was homemade fudge, it was homemade
cookies and all this, and she pack them up and
then they would go to everybody that gave her good
service in town.

Speaker 4 (19:08):
Nice.

Speaker 1 (19:09):
So it was the bank, it was the post office,
it was the police station, the fire department, her hair
dressed her, even the grocery store. She just went around
and did that. And those are the sorts of things
that you start to remember of what your mom could cook,
you know. And I know a few of the recipes,
but not enough of them to ever think of doing
my own restaurant.

Speaker 4 (19:26):
But you've done it, so that's fantastic.

Speaker 1 (19:29):
Yeah, Well, are any of the recipes your mom's on
your menu at the time.

Speaker 3 (19:32):
Absolutely?

Speaker 2 (19:34):
Yeah, My mom's influence will persist at the Crane and Pelican.
As you know as Fritz, my opening chef, he still
has quite a quite an influence. So you know, those people,
they get into your they get into your heart, so
it's hard to.

Speaker 3 (19:47):
Let him go.

Speaker 4 (19:48):
Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 1 (19:49):
And I think Arts Works has also missed as one
of the downtown shops. Just to remind me, what was
your mom's intention with Arts Work? What was that shot
to be?

Speaker 3 (19:59):
That's a good question. I think she.

Speaker 2 (20:04):
When she opened Arts Work, she was leaving a Johndeere
executive husband and got married to Don, and she wanted
to do her own thing, and she was willing to
bet on herself. And so ultimately she had been the
person that was now going to be her customer, you know,
and so she knew what those people were looking for.
And so I think her intention was to and well,

(20:27):
here's the real truth. She saw a lot of potential
in the city of Leclaire as an opportunity of a destination.
And she wasn't just going to open a shop here.
She was going to build the culture around having a
successful community, things like the Marketing Alliance. You know, that's
when that all started. It wasn't just Mom, there was
other people involved in all of that. But she was
certainly early influential person as far as building up that

(20:51):
infrastructure of having a community of great small businesses.

Speaker 1 (20:54):
And I think you followed in her footsteps in that regard.
You've been president of the Claire Tourism Board, You've been
involved at the marketing alligne, and it's just something you.

Speaker 2 (21:01):
Do, right, absolutely, I mean, I mean, I think Leclaire
is a much stronger better when we pull on the
rope together. And ultimately, the retail here depends on the restaurants.
The restaurants depend on the retail. We all depend on
the twilight and you know, as a tourism destination where
you're just better if everybody's on the same page. And
once we get the Mom's philosophy was once we get

(21:23):
into them into town, you know, it's up to us
to keep them here and keep them coming back.

Speaker 4 (21:27):
So yeah, that's what we're doing.

Speaker 1 (21:28):
Yeah, and that's what we hear a lot of too,
you know, that whole idea of getting people to go
that last mile and a half from the interstate and
get into the downtown. But people seem to come here
year after year or twice a year, five times a year.
Who knows, but it is what makes it fun to
be a part of Leclair and being part of the
business community. And like I said, Crane and Pelican is

(21:49):
one of those stops that we hope people make and
I hope people continue to think of Crane and Pelican
when you're looking for a great place to eat. Yeah. See, personally,
meat love sliders fantastic. Other people love the salmon. You know,
I'm not much of a fish guy, but those meatloaf
sliders are excellent. So hopefully we'll get some people there.
And Mandy, thank you for joining us today. Much appreciated.

Speaker 3 (22:10):
Thank you, thanks for taking over the show once again.

Speaker 1 (22:12):
I'd like to thank our guests for living in the
Claire Mandy Harvey from the Crane and Pelican restaurant right
on the corner of Dodge and Second Street in the
Dolly House, the old riverboat captain's home that overlooks the
Mississippi River. Be sure and check out the Crane and
Pelican with their great, great meals and also their Sunday
brunch fantastic stuff. Like we talked about earlier, those crape

(22:34):
cantelopes are the cantalope crapes are much much worth the visits,
so check it out again, thank you for listening, and
remember the other things that are coming up in the
clare again in October, we've got the October thirteenth Fall
Fest down on the Levee with the Optimist Club putting
that on. Be sure and come down and check out
all the different vendors that'll be on the levee. And

(22:55):
also then we're looking at having Autumn market days in downtown,
so be sure and come check out the great deals
and great stuff that your downtown shops and Leclair have.
This is living in Leclair.