Nick Vlahos|Journal Star
ELMWOOD — Justin Arrowsmith loves to cook, and he loves to work in the restaurant business. Even as the coronavirus pandemic has made it more difficult.
Last weekend, the restaurant business loved him back.
More accurately, the love came from at least 25 motorcyclists who on short notice stopped to dine at Cerno's Bar & Grill in Elmwood, where Arrowsmith is a chef. That Saturday afternoon, Arrowsmith was the only cook on duty.
After what they deemed an excellent meal and service, the bikers summoned Arrowsmith from the kitchen. When Arrowsmith emerged, they gave him a standing ovation.
They also presented him with a hat they had passed and filled with cash for a tip — about $70, according to Arrowsmith.
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In the 13 years Arrowsmith has spent cooking in restaurants, including two years at Cerno's, all this was a first.
"I was hoping that there was nothing wrong. That was my first thought, something with the food," the Trivoli resident said earlier this week regarding his command performance.
"It's kind of overwhelming when you walk out and a roomful of people was screaming and cheering you on."
According to Arrowsmith's boss and to one of the bikers, the cheering was well deserved.
"He's an awesome dude," Cerno's co-owner Casidy Tavares said about Arrowsmith.
Said Carlton Miller: "If it was me in this position and I saw 25 bikers walk in, I would have walked out the back door. But he stood tall and did an amazing job."
Miller resides in Fort Madison, Iowa, where for a living he drives a truck. But in his free time, Miller likes to ride his Harley-Davidson, usually with friends.
The day they stopped in Elmwood, Miller and his compatriots were en route to Psycho Silo Saloon, located about 55 miles north of Peoria. The outdoor roadhouse east of Sheffield is popular with bikers.
Food isn't the primary Psycho Silo attraction, so Miller and crew sought a restaurant on their ride. But according to Miller, one they visited was closed because of a lack of staff.
That's become common as the pandemic has eased and restaurants have become busy again, but industry workers haven't returned in sufficient numbers.
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One of the bikers called Cerno's, whose original location is in Kewanee, and gave about 20 minutes' warning about their arrival. To that point in the day, business was steady and staffing was appropriate, according to Arrowsmith.
"If you have a reservation for a big table like that, we usually have extra staff," he said. "But with that short notice, we didn't have enough time to get any other people here."
With help from waitress Kristi Maritano — Arrowsmith was quick to praise his colleagues — the chef went to work. He had a method.
The initial focus was on preparing and serving appetizers, Arrowsmith said. Once that was underway, the main courses followed.
Most were sandwiches. That included Miller's order, the Campfire Burger — topped with American and Swiss cheeses, bacon, grilled onions and a barbecue-style sauce.
"We were thinking, 'Great, we're going to be here three or four hours, with only one cook,'" Miller said. "We weren't there 20 or 30 minutes, and he already had the appetizers coming out. I mean multiple appetizers, not one at a time.
"Everything was properly cooked, tasted amazing, looked amazing. The waitresses did a phenomenal job, too."
They received a gratuity, but Miller was among diners who thought Arrowsmith deserved one as well. Miller said his perspective was honed by his experiences working in restaurants when he was younger.
Miller also compared Arrowsmith to one of the more noteworthy celebrity chefs, not to mention a Chicago-style restaurant chain that has an outlet in Peoria.
"I'm not going to lie — he probably would give Gordon Ramsay a run for his money," Miller said about Arrowsmith. "That guy single-handedly outdid Portillo's.
"He didn't have an assembly line. He was one guy, one grill, by himself, cooking for 25 people, different orders, different foods. He just killed it, blew it out of the water."
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Arrowsmith appeared blown away by the support, particularly after Cerno's posted on its Facebook page about the big order he oversaw. Likewise, Tavares complimented the bikers for their patience.
The cook said it felt good to be noticed and appreciated, something not common among customers regarding back-of-house employees. And this also might help him soothe some of the negative effects COVID-19 has had on the hospitality industry.
"It makes me feel like there is hope that (restaurants) are going to be able to dig themselves out of the dirt," Arrowsmith said. "It was a rough year for everybody. It's what I love doing, and there was a point where I didn't love it."
