Ruddy Duck restaurant on Carlyle Lake open for business

Jessica and Cole Butcher pose for a picture outside of the Ruddy Duck, a restaurant on Dam East Access Road in Carlyle.    A new restaurant that hopes to become Carlyle Lake's social destination has opened in Carlyle.
    The Ruddy Duck opened Memorial Day weekend and is located near the Dam East boat ramp.
    The Ruddy Duck is owned by Jessica Butcher and is managed by her husband, Cole.
    Jessica said opening weekend was very busy. They ran out of food twice and had to supplement on Sunday.
    Jessica has never owned a restaurant, but has owned several business before. She owned Kiddos Closet & Clips in Fairview Heights for 19 years.
    The Butchers live in the Swansea/Caseyville area, but they have a place in Lakeshore Acres on Carlyle Lake. They have been coming to Carlyle Lake for the last 20 years for camping and boating.
    Every summer when they are on the water, Jessica would keep looking at the current Ruddy Duck building and knew something was needed there. They did come to the building when there were other businesses there.
    "The view is just beautiful," Jessica said.
    Jessica contacted the Army Corps of Engineers last August about the building and has been talking to them ever since. They made a deal in the middle of March and got the Ruddy Duck open for business in about six weeks.
    Most of the Ruddy Duck's food is outsourced. Their full menu is located on their website ruddyduckcarlyle.com.
    They have 24 premium ice cream flavors from a Wisconsin creamery.
    They tried to keep their menu simple so they could manage without getting a big kitchen and tons of people working. They also wanted to still make it a draw for people.
    They don't have a fryer, so they have chips instead of french fries. They might get a fryer in the future.
    "We spent a lot of time tasting and planning the menu," Jessica said. "We will see what does well and what doesn't, and we will tweak it if we need to."
Merchandise is available at the Ruddy Duck restaurant in Carlyle. Photos by Matt Wilson    Jessica said the restaurant's name has a special meaning to her. She was with her parents and she said she wanted to have a bird name for the restaurant because she always liked looking at the birds on Carlyle Lake. She didn't want to do pelican because that is relatable to the beach and she wanted to keep it a Midwest theme.
    Her dad suggested Ruddy Duck, so she went with that name. Her dad unexpectedly passed away the Sunday after Easter and she was at the restaurant working to get things ready when she got the call.
    "It even means more to me now because my dad named it the Ruddy Duck," Jessica said.
    The Ruddy Duck is open Thursday through Sunday. Hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursdays and Sundays and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. The kitchen closes at 7 p.m. Thursdays and Sundays and 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
    It is a seasonal business that will be open from Memorial Day to Labor Day. They currently have about 12 employees.
    They have karaoke every Friday night from 6 to 9 p.m.
    They hope to do some events in the offseason. Their deal with the Corps is that they are open to the public through the season, but can do private parties outside of that season.
    They also have 10 kayaks that can be rented out. They rented out five kayaks over Memorial Day weekend. They have cornhole boards, darts and Golden Tee.
    "We want it to be a family friendly environment, but also a place where the fishermen can come and have a drink," Jessica commented.
    Jessica said she has heard both negative and positive feedback so far. They asked for grace as they are still trying to figure everything out and serve the community the best they can.
    The Ruddy Duck is located at 13551 Dam East Access Road on the south shore by Dam East boat ramp.