Today, Karl's legacy lives on celebrating our 40th year as a family owned and operated restaurant. With hard-working Karl creating delicious meals in the kitchen and charming Sophia greeting everyone at the front door, their warm hospitality soon became the recipe for success. in November of 1982 serving homemade comfort food including breakfast on the weekends. He purchased it against his wife Sophia's wishes and opened Karl's Family Restaurant, Inc. The cabin laid dormant for 4 years until Karl Poulos discovered it in 1981 and fell in love with it's unique log timber design.
And then as The Stock Yard a fine dining steak house with an open pit grill. It was sold and passed through two short lived ownerships in 70's first as Heffner's Hideaway a biker bar with a notorious after-hours operation of illegal gambling, bookmaking and wild clientele. As the years went on, The Rustic Tavern gained a hard nosed reputation with regular calls being made to the police to break up disorderly clientele. The roadhouse was built on a farm and garnered much excitement as a dance hall with live music 4 nights a week, even once hosting a performance by the legendary Johnny Cash & The Tennessee Two. Driving along the rural roads of Salem Township you stumble upon a historic log cabin restaurant that opened it's doors on January 31, 1947.