ABOUT US

It was a dark and stormy night when Barbara found the old realtor’s office off Highway 50.
He was a strange-looking fellow, with an even stranger business approach. He had only one piece of property for sale.

“All of these antiques and oddities come with the building,” the realtor told her.

When Barbara entered the unique little restaurant on Auburn Boulevard, she felt right at home and bought it on the spot.

“I wish for a home-style restaurant with a big kitchen so I can cook for more people,” she said—and her first wish came true.

Years earlier, Penelope, the restaurant’s original owner, had made her own wishes. She noticed that people often brought their troubles with them when they came to eat. So she said to the cricket,
“I’m ready for my next wish. I wish for my restaurant to always be full of smiles and serve the best food in town.”
And her wish, too, came true.

Penelope was very happy. But fairytales are never without villains, and not everyone was pleased with her success. Cornelius Carbuncle, an evil restaurant critic, was determined to destroy what she had built. He wrote terrible reviews, spread awful rumors, and even left strange packages on her doorstep.

One dark day, Cornelius arrived with falsified tax liens in hand and the sheriff beside him, ready to lock the doors for good. Desperate, Penelope turned to the cricket once more and made her third and final wish:
“I want to be part of this restaurant forever.”

The quick-thinking cricket granted her wish—but not perfectly. In that instant, poor Penelope became a mannequin: classically beautiful, but forever motionless.

The cricket was heartbroken. He explained to her friends that the only way the enchantment could be lifted was if the right person danced the perfect jig in front of her. It could take years, decades, or even centuries—but eventually, someone would come.

The cricket vowed never to leave her side until that day arrived.

Penelope’s family, distraught, closed the restaurant’s doors. Years passed, until 1986, when Barbara opened her restaurant in that very same spot.

You can still see Penelope today, standing at the entrance of Cricket Country Kitchen. Locals now call her “Ms. Cricket,” for obvious reasons.

Are you the one she’s been waiting for?
Perhaps you’re brave enough to dance a jig for her.

And if you ever find that cricket…
Be careful what you wish for!