Picnic tables inside Kickapoo Adventures Bar & Grill .
" My vision was to bring the outside in . This park deserves a lot ."
— Julie Monahan
At the time , they were only interested in the kayak rental portion , not the restaurant , from a business plan standpoint because there was the potential for a lot of growth .
" We ' ve been No . 1 in the state for rentals ," Julie said . "( Tom ' s ) instinct and his thought , it worked out ."
Kickapoo Adventures offers tubing , canoes , pedal boats , stand up paddle boards , mountain bikes and other recreational items to rent .
The building next door had been the restaurant , Park Bistro .
Julie said she was working full time and they had no restaurant management experience , when they first took over the concessionaire contract . They asked Kit Lee , who has a Chinese restaurant in Champaign , if she ' d run the restaurant at Kickapoo State Park .
Lee told the Monahans this spring that she no longer wanted to run the park restaurant .
So , this year , Julie went on her instincts in thinking she could step up . She retired from her human resources manager in manufacturing position and has taken over the restaurant building and named it Kickapoo Adventures Bar & Grill . It opened May 12 .
" My whole family is involved with this venture ," Julie said . " All of us bring something to the table ."
Julie , who is Native American , said her father was an avid outdoorsman and she was a tomboy . Tom , her husband , played football and is very physical and wanted to own an outdoor business .
" My vision was to bring the outside in ," she said . " This is a park ; look at the scenery . This is beautiful . This park deserves a lot ."
The restaurant features picnic tables inside near the ordering counter , surrounded by plants that came from her house .
14 ILLIANA MAGAZINE | SPRING 2023