PEORIA MAGAZINE December 2022

D I S H A N D D R I N K

MOM RULES THE RESTAURANT ROOST Rhythm Kitchen’s Julie Maag says motherhood prepared her well for the restaurant business

BY NICK VLAHOS PHOTOS BY RON JOHNSON

Julie Maag is owner and chef at Rhythm Kitchen Music Cafe

F rom one woman to another, Rhythm Kitchen Music Café appears to be in good hands. Motherly hands, even. That’s among the ways Rhythm Kitchen owner Julie Maag describes herself. She’s a mother of four, but she also might be a mother figure for the 10 or so employees of her NewOrleans influenced restaurant at 305 SWWater St. in Peoria. 'SHE HAD HER OWN VISION OF WHAT SHE WANTED THE PLACE TO BE ... AND SHE HIT IT' — Jason Zeck

opened in 1999. Maag once was their peer. In 2019 she purchased Rhythm Kitchen, where for the previous 13 years she was a server. “Customers like to see the same faces when they come in. I try to take good care of them,” Maag said about her staff. “In the way that I’m a mom at home, I try to be a mom here.” It ’s appropriate, then, that the riverfront restaurant’s aroma might conjure a mom’s kitchen. Particularly if that mom is from the bayou. Gumbo, crawfish etouffee and shrimp creole are among the creations Maag and longtime Rhythm Kitchen chef Jason Zeck produce. Meatloaf, salmon, salads and vegetarian fare also are on the menu. Much of it is no different fromthe base

founding owner Shelley Lenzini created before she retired and sold her business toMaag. The interior, a blend of Bourbon Street baubles and avant-garde artwork, also resembles Lenzini’s era. But the “Music Café” part of the restaurant’s name might now be a misnomer. Maag decided to no longer feature live entertainment, which had been a RhythmKitchen staple. Obvious costs and hidden ones, like music licensing fees, were among the reasons, according to Maag. There was another, more ambient reason. “We have a higher percentage of calls asking if we have music, because they don’t want us to,” Maag said. “People want to sit together and talk. They want to visit with their friends, enjoy a meal

Someof those employees haveworked for a decade or more at an eatery that

16 DECEMBER 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE