"It’s our ‘Cheers Bar:” Small Town Indiana Restaurant Makes it onto the National Stage

Just about thirty minutes north of Lafayette, as windmills begin their swoop across the horizon, a merge off 65 will land you in the quiet town of Wolcott, IN. The White County town is home to about 1000 Hoosiers, a strong agriculture community, and one of USA Today’s Best Restaurants of 2025: Roots Eatery and Pub.

“There are so many great restaurants everywhere and it feels great to be recognized for doing something good,” said owner Amber Farrington, reflecting on the nomination that was announced earlier this year.

Growing up on a visionary farm in nearby Reynolds, Farrington always knew where her food came from. A majority of her family’s meals were grown at home and made from scratch. Her upbringing led her to Purdue to study Food Science for her Undergraduate and Master’s degrees, broken up by a stint with Americorp Vista in Utah, working on kids cooking classes and community gardens.

Owning a restaurant had been a bit of a “pipe dream for a second act,” said Farrington. Yet, that dream became reality in 2018 when a previous restaurant in town, the “Old Country Inn,” was for sale and her family encouraged her to check it out. 

“It had been a restaurant for a while. People would drive from all over; Their tenderloins were famous,” said Farrington, adding that her own parents even held their wedding rehearsal at the restaurant. A photo from that day, immortalized in black-and-white, hangs on the gallery wall in the newly updated dining room.

Celebrating Midwestern heritage and the idea of families gathering at the table, Roots balances the elevated touch of a restaurant with the nostalgia of home. The menu features a mix of steady favorites and rotating seasonal dishes. Often the options are inspired by the meals in Farrington’s home and they even include pork and beef from the family farm in addition to many other local partners such as Red Gold tomatoes, XXX Root Beer, nearby Carpenters Creek Winery wines, and many local beers. 

Patron favorites include steaks, pulled pork, fish dishes like the Parmesan Haddock, and a classic tenderloin sandwich that includes a good bite of meat. It is also recommended to leave room for dessert. The menu changes with the seasons, but two staples remain— the ever-popular skillet cookie and a brown sugar twist on Indiana’s sugar cream pie, inspired by a German ‘creme kuchen’ passed down from Farrington’s grandmother.

The simple and delicious menu items that are true to the Midwest made an impact with Lafayette’s Journal and Courier reporter, Jillian Ellison who first reported on Roots as they opened in 2018. “It struck me that this restaurant just a 35-minute drive from Lafayette was offering something that most restaurants even in the city weren’t. Food made from scratch, spotlighting locally raised meat, and it was competitively priced,” said Ellison. 

The Journal and Courier is part of the USA Today Network and when the national publication put out a call to local reporters to identify “unique” eateries in their readership areas, Roots came to the top of Ellison’s mind. She submitted them into the running and she was pleasantly surprised her nomination made the national list. 

As was Farrington. The recognition came at the right time as she reflected on 2024 and how it was harder to picture the future. Since opening, Farrington has continued to set roots in Wolcott. She got married and has had two children. “It is great, but finding a balance with work and family is also really challenging,” Farrington said. “When people appreciate your concept the work is worth it.”

While Roots now has the buzz of national recognition, for Farrington, it’s the people in her community who she credits for anything good that Roots does. 

“I get to see people live their lives here,” Farrington said, smiling. “I get to watch their kids grow up and be a part of their special occasions. It is humbling to realize that Roots will be a part of their memories.”

One of those families is the Demerly’s, a local farming family of six. Mother, Jenna Demerly jokes that she calls Roots their “Cheers bar,” after the show, because the staff is welcoming and, when there, they always bump into someone they know.

“If it’s a Friday night and we are all home, you don’t have a hard time twisting our arm to go,” Demerly said. She added that the menu has items that delight and excite her whole family. But, for the Demerly’s it goes beyond the food. 

“My oldest loves to draw,” Demerly said. Her family spent many nights sitting at a Roots table talking, doodling together, meeting the servers, and trying new things. “Amber has kept drawings she made at the table in her office for years. It’s things like that that really connect us there.”

Even with a national spotlight and uniquely local menu items, Roots stays true to its hometown feel as a place for the community to gather together at the table.

Visit Roots:

Roots Eatery and Pub

114 N Range Street

Wolcott, IN 47995

https://www.rootseateryandpub.com/