WESTVILLE – The sign and the ownership are the only changes at the former Castle’s Country Restaurant, according to the new owners.
Castle’s became Studebaker’s Country Restaurant on Dec. 1, new owner Curt Studebaker said. The name change does not mean longtime customers are going to see anything different.
“We’re not changing anything, because it doesn’t need to be (changed),” he said.
The restaurant at 4679 W. U.S. Route 36 kept the same staff, menu and hours, Studebaker said. The business will continue to use the same vendors.
Studebaker said he and his wife, Melissa, moved into the restaurant business in 2005 when they purchased the Castle’s in New Carlisle from owner Jeff Castle. Castle is Curt Studebaker’s brother-in-law, so the transition was smooth in that instance and in the most recent switch. Studebaker grew up in Clark County and was a UPS driver when the New Carlisle restaurant was purchased. Melissa Studebaker is currently director of nursing at Heartland of Springfield. When they purchased the New Carlisle restaurant, she took the lead in running it. Curt has since resigned from UPS after a back injury and now spends his time managing the restaurants.
When the Studebakers purchased the New Carlisle restaurant, they did not know a thing about restaurants, but the system Castle set up worked fine, so they continued it.
“We didn’t have to go in and recreate everything,” Curt Studebaker said. “It was kind of comforting to him to know that, what he had already set up was going to continue.”
Curt Studebaker said the new Studebaker’s Country Restaurant has the same employees, same menu and hours familiar to longtime customers. No one was let go, unless they chose to leave for their own reasons, he said. The local Studebaker’s employs 16, and the New Carlisle restaurant employs 22.
Studebaker added he and his wife are not considering purchasing the Mechanicsburg Castle’s restaurant; Jeff Castle still operates that facility.
Studebaker’s hours are 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday, 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. The menu continues to feature all-day breakfast and broasted chicken, among other longtime country favorites.
For more information, call the restaurant at 937-653-8078.
