Ion Grove launches grab-and-go food | Business

SAVOY — Nobody likes to be stuck because of flight delays, but a local company wants to make the wait a little more pleasant.

The Ion Grove Café at Willard Airport started selling take-out food over the weekend, which proved to be quite busy, said co-founder Phil Rowell.

“We’ve had some flight delays and just knowing that people have access to food and drink has been helpful,” he said, adding that they’ve also sold a lot of books.

The cafe opened in mid-July and is located in the airport’s departure area, in a space that formerly housed Einstein Bros. Bagels. Part of its mission is to highlight local businesses.

In addition to food from vendors like Central Illinois Bakehouse, Industrial Donut and CBPB, the store also offers an “extensive beverage selection,” Rowell said. He estimates brewed coffee will also be available in a few weeks.

However, the store’s coffee serving robot is not expected to be operational until late fall.

“We’re in the process of finalizing the health department approvals for how the robot will work and operate behind the scenes,” Rowell said. “We still have some construction to do. … After that, it’ll take eight weeks to configure the robot. They’re based in Las Vegas. They’ll do all the work there and then they’ll fly in and install it.”

Once the robot is installed, Ion Grove plans to invite the community to a “grand opening celebration,” he added.

Additionally, while take-out options are now available, not all items on the iongrovecafe.com menu are sold in-store yet.

Rowell said the cafe is “just beginning to expand its menu” and that it will post updates on social media as it adds more dishes and additional retail offerings.

“We’re really growing with it,” he said. “We don’t want to release everything at once. We really want to make sure it’s a measured approach. But so far it’s been good to see how the community has responded.”