Tammy Jeffries changed careers a couple of times before fate dealt her a different hand.
“I was a bartender and waitress until 1995 in the Mt. Vernon area,” Jeffries said. “Then I worked at Technicolor in Pinckneyville until 2006. I was part of the first permanent layoff and returned to school at Rend Lake College in the Culinary Arts Department.
“I graduated in May of this year and did my co-op training at the Rend Lake Resort. Then, this restaurant became available — and I jumped on it.”
Jeffries now operates Tambo’s, located at the intersection of Illinois Routes 37 and 154.
The restaurant is nestled between a bar and a service station.
“I named the place Tambo’s because that has been my nickname for years,” Jeffries said. “We opened on Oct. 21 and offer breakfast and lunch specials.”
Tambo’s is open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week.
“I enjoy cooking breakfast because it is fast-paced,” she said. “I also liked making pastries when I was in school. I want to work those into the menu eventually. I am treading lightly at the moment to see what works. I made a pumpkin cheesecake recently that people seemed to enjoy, and I want to expand the pastry menu from there.
“I also make homemade pies,” Jeffries said. “The favorites so far are pumpkin, coconut and chocolate. I would also like to add homemade cakes to the menu after I get more settled in here.”
She said the workday begins with breakfast specials, served from 6 to 11 a.m.
Lunch specials, which vary from week to week, are served from 11 a.m. “until we run out,” Jeffries said.
“If we run out of lunch specials, we usually make more. Sometimes we still have lunch specials until 6 or 7 p.m. — it depends on the day and what is on the menu.”
Jeffries and her 14 employees take customers’ schedules into consideration.
“People who are working on the new water treatment plant at the Rend Lake Conservancy District only get 30 minutes for lunch,” Jeffries said.
““We want to make sure they get a hot meal that is served promptly so they will have time to eat it before they go back to work.”
Patrons commend her for more than food preparation, she said.
“People want to sit down at clean tables and see that the place is clean,” she said. “People are pretty impressed with what we have done with the place. I am pretty proud of that.”
Jeffries said her love of food and people did not begin recently.
“I have been around restaurants since I was 3 years old,” she said. “My mother, Rosemary Faulkner, has been working in restaurants for almost 45 years. She was working full-time at the Hitching Post in Mt. Vernon for the past 12 or 13 years. When I told her that I was opening Tambo’s, she said she would like to come and work with me and I said, ‘Yes.’ I am glad she is here. Mom works the breakfast shift and helps with the front while I stay in back and prepare the food.
“Many of the employees work part-time and they like it because they also have other jobs or are going to school,” Jeffries said. “Some of them work one or two days per week.”
She said the lunch and dinner menu includes appetizers, soups, salads, specialty entrees, sandwiches, pizza and more.
“We feature a different soup every day, as well as homemade chili. Patrons can also enjoy chef or chicken breast salads and there are dinner salads for lighter appetites,” she said.
Specialty entrées are a Big T chili burger, beef Manhattan, a horseshoe with chopped sirloin on Texas toast, and a pony, which is a half portion of a horseshoe, she said.
Sandwiches are served with a choice of french fries, onion rings or coleslaw,” she said.
Jeffries said pizza is also a popular choice.
“We did not forget about food for the kids. Our children’s menu includes grilled cheese, chicken strips, mini burgers and cheese sticks. All are served with french fries,” she said.
Dinner entrées range from a variety of steaks and pork chops to catfish and deep-fried flounder.
“We also serve jumbo shrimp, seafood dinners, chicken strip dinners, grilled chicken breast and a one-half chicken dinner,” Jeffries said. “We have plenty of tables and booths, a large parking area and fast, friendly service. I look forward to adding more items to the menu in the future.”
Tambo’s is located at 14711 State Highway 37. For more information, call 629-2474.
