Downtown Mason restaurant will feature contemporary Midwestern fare

The timeline for the opening of The Village Pantry is unclear, but Teresa Wren, owner of the building, said she expects it to be finished by April. Jonathan Fraser, owner of The Village Pantry, said he expects to open 90 days after he is able to take occupancy in the building.

Fraser also owns the Good Bites food truck, which usually operates behind BAD Brewing Company on Jefferson Street.

Fraser, 38, said he has worked in the food industry for 20 years. In 2013, he decided to look into opening his own restaurant.

“The spot we’re opening the restaurant in was actually the first course of action I was looking into before we went food truck,” Fraser said. “There was an existing restaurant in that space at that time… Down the line, the space ended up becoming vacant and now we’re finally getting into the original space we wanted to begin with.” 

Fraser said The Village Pantry will feature contemporary Midwestern options depending on the local produce available.

“We’re gonna work with all sorts of techniques and flavors from the world over but we’re going to have a hard focus on unique and high-quality local ingredients that we can leverage to make it a little something more than just traditional,” Fraser said.

Fraser said he took inspiration for the name of his restaurant from his great-grandparents. He said they ran a restaurant of the same name in Illinois in the 1940s.

Wren, who also owns Kean’s Store Company, said the timeline for finishing the building is dependent upon the repairs necessary for occupancy.

Fraser said the outside of the building will remain similar to its current state. He said he plans to add a mural to the side of the building that faces Ash Street when the building is finished by Wren.

He said the mural will feature the restaurant logo, as well as any illustrations he works out with an artist.

The Village Pantry is next to Kean’s Store Company on Jefferson Street.