Brookville Hotel's location has changed but those famous chicken

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Apr 15, 2001 by Chris Grenz Capital-Journal

By CHRIS GRENZ

The Capital-Journal

ABILENE --- At least one thing remains the same even when so much has changed.

The chicken still tastes great.

Next month will mark one year since the Brookville Hotel and its famous family-style chicken dinner moved about 40 miles east from tiny Brookville, where it had existed for 130 years, to Abilene. And owner Mark Martin, whose great-grandparents once operated the hotel, said the chicken business is thriving in the former cow town.

"It was an absolutely excellent move for us," said Martin, who has operated the restaurant with his wife, Connie, since 1982. "Overall, the first year, there haven't been a lot of detractions. And with Abilene being 7,000 people out my front door, they like us and we like them."

Heavenly honeymoon

After the relocated restaurant opened on May 4, 2000, a "honeymoon period" of increased business lasted for nine months, where most new restaurants see business fall off after their first three to four weeks, Martin said. Plus, the restaurant's trade area doubled to about 180,000 people living in Manhattan, Junction City, Topeka and Clay Center, to name a few of the close cities.

"Our summer was awesome," he said. "We've had a lot of people come in wondering if it's still the same as it was."

It is. The restaurant continues to have just one choice on the menu --- the chicken dinner with all the fixin's that Martin's grandmother, Helen Martin, began serving in 1915. When ordering supplies, Martin's inventory fits on one sheet of paper.

The dinner, which runs $10.95 for adults, includes one-half skillet fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, cream-style corn, baking powder biscuits made fresh daily, relishes, sweet-sour cole- slaw and cottage cheese. And for desert, home-style ice cream.

Re-creating history

When Martin moved the business, he started from scratch on a tract of donated land. He re-created the original facade of the Brookville Hotel, which now stands just off Interstate 70 rather than off K-140 highway in western Saline County.

Overall, the new building is about an "80 percent re-creation" of the original restaurant, Martin said. Many of the original tables, chairs and light fixtures were carried over from the old location. The wallpaper was selected for its 1920s feel. He even re-created the neighboring bank lobby and hardware store where the old restaurant had extended in search of added dining space.

Upstairs, Martin had the old hotel's guest rooms reproduced and brought over the antique furniture that occupied the former facility. The Brookville Hotel didn't stop hosting overnight guests until 1972, when a room cost $5 for a single, $6 for a double or $7 for three guests.

New to the Abilene restaurant is a Spirit of Kansas dining room, with murals depicting the Old West, and Brandy's Opera House, in memory of the couple's late daughter. But while the restaurant jumped from 6,000 to 16,000 square feet, most of that space isn't in the dining areas. In fact, the new facility can hold only about 40 more people than the 200 who fit inside the old building.

'A lot of birds'

At the old facility, Martin had a storage building behind the restaurant to hold his supplies. Before beginning production each day, the staff had to trek out into the alley to get materials. Not so in Abilene.

"In Brookville, we didn't have this kind of space. Everything now is encompassed in one building. It's wonderful," Martin said. "The nicest thing about starting with a clean sheet of paper is you get to design things yourself --- like the kitchen. We may have overdone it!"

The kitchen is four times larger than the one that existed in Brookville. The staff affectionately calls a wide corridor running east and west "I-70" and the corridor that runs north and south through the kitchen was dubbed "I-35."

An attached, heated garage also houses the business' three catering vans. The Brookville Hotel caters 2,000 to 4,000 meals each month.

Martin is approaching his goal of serving 150,000 customers per year in Abilene, which is an increase over the 100,000 who visited annually in Brookville. He also has doubled the number of employees to about 80.

The five large skillets working together in the kitchen can churn out 100 chickens --- some 800 pieces --- every hour. The restaurant fries up to 75,000 chickens a year.

"That's a lot of birds," Martin said with a smile.

Complimentary fit

Abilene beat out about 30 communities in Kansas and Nebraska that were vying to attract the restaurant. Even the Topeka Chamber of Commerce contacted Martin, albeit after the decision to move to Abilene had been made. An Abilene resident donated the land for the restaurant, which was a big factor in the decision, Martin said.

Abilene Mayor Linda Scheele said the town and the restaurant were a good fit whose histories complimented each other.

"It's given us an awful lot. We couldn't be happier with their choice to move to Abilene," said Scheele, who completes her third term as mayor on Monday. "Anytime you can stop people off the highway to have them come to your town, it's great. They may come just to eat this time, but maybe next time they'll stay a while."