Staymaker Restaurant at Journeyman Distillery — Restaurant in Three Oaks Township

It all started in 2010 when a guy named Bill called me, inquiring about space in Three Oaks to start his micro-distillery. I'm a local Realtor who had a "main-street" building listed for sale at the time. Bill felt the building he called about had a ceiling "too low" for his still. Without pause, I told Bill of some warehouse space behind our Post Office that wasn't listed for sale, but that "I knew the owner...." I took Bill to see the buildings that are now Journeyman Distillery and Staymaker Restaurant...and the rest is modern history! The look in Bill's eyes the moment he walked into the vast space that once housed a garden decor market told me he had a vision and a plan. Just over a year later...Bill opened Journeyman Distillery with just a few craft spirits. I love a good Manhattan and the first drink I ordered was just that, a Manhattan made with their Ravenswood Rye. Yum. Since then the product line has expanded with many offerings, including a limoncello. A few years later in 2015, Bill expanded into the adjacent space and opened Staymaker. The vibe of Journeyman and Staymaker is awesome. A huge 100+ year-old post & beam corset stay factory with so much of the original architectural details remaining. Staymaker serves something for everyone! Bill is vegan so he ensures the menu has vegan/vegetarian options. The spirits are also certified Kosher too! I love their pizzas. They use mash from the distilling process to make the pizza dough which ties-in the distilled spirits to their restaurant menu. The menu is quite extensive from burgers, entrees, sandwiches, salads and more! It's easy for me to pair my favorite cocktails to my meal. While the room can be loud...it's the reminder that you're in a really cool space. You'd expect this level of sophistication to be in Chicago's River North neighborhood...but it's located in a small rural village surrounded by thousands of acres of farmland. The location is fabulous! Just steps from other shops, galleries and guesthouse / inns. With the fabulous drinks and food they serve, you can enjoy a night of dining/drinking...then find a room and spend the night just 50 steps across the street at Sycamore Guesthouse! Enjoy! Three Oaks...

I have a new favorite in Three Oaks. First visit to the Staymaker restaurant at the Journeyman Distillery. It made enough of an impression that we returned for the distillery tour the next day, and dinner the next night.

Let's start with food. The fried Brussels sprouts are sinfully delicious. The meatloaf is falling-apart tender with a flavor profile that wakes up all your taste buds. Simply delicious! For dessert, the brownie is good...but when you top it with 2 Oz of bourbon cream, you've got a decadent delight.

Next is the booze. Take the tour. See the pride that these folks have in their products. Enjoy the tasting to get a better idea of your personal preferences, and maybe exposure to some new favorites! There's literally something for everyone here.

Now the facility. Clean, welcoming, comfortable, impressive. An amazing transformation of a dilapidated and abandoned warehouse. Take the time to learn the history, it's pretty cool.

Finally, the people. Just incredible staff everywhere you look. From the moment you're greeted until you walk out the door, you'll see a staff 100% committed to customer satisfaction. The idea of putting bourbon cream on a brownie came from our server the first night. I didn't catch her name, but she's definitely changed my life with that helpful hint! The second night we met Addison and she was simply awesome. Attentive without being intrusive, she made certain our every need was met. I wish I could remember more names, but, well, did I mention the whiskey? Suffice to say they've got an incredible crew who will make sure your visit is memorable.

Pro tip: This place is wildly popular. Make reservations for the distillery tour and for dinner if you want to be sure...

Updated review for 2022: 4th visit, last time we order steak here. This round we asked for medium rare again and received raw. Floating in a pool of boring corn. The polenta was awesome, wanted a whole plate of just that. Our server was excellent, so was the charcuterie board- thank god we ordered that because we could only eat corners of the blue steak, could not get around the major silverskin either. But we were certainly made to pay for it, even after the new manager came over and we had no time for them to ‘throw it back on for a minute’. So upsetting- that plate passed in front of at least 3 people before it got to us. AND they cut it up first! No excuse for that. Stick with burgers if your guys don’t care the most expensive dish on your menu has no chance of arriving as ordered. P.S. the Hucklebuck drink is garbage, don’t do it. Order a classic old fashioned and do not deviate. We've been here 3 times. The most recent experience was the best so far. It was a little busy for Tuesday at 8pm, but we got a perfect spot right at the bar. The old fashioned is lovely. We also ordered dinner- last time had a burger (which was great tho pretty sloppy) so we wanted to try the steak. Our medium rare came out medium well and the bartender was quick to replace it. The second one was...