Saturday Business Spotlight: Dovetail Inn
[October 04, 2025] Emden’s
Dovetail Inn, established in 2022 by Todd Schmitgall, offers a fine
dining experience with a variety of tasty menu items.
Schmitgall is no
stranger to the restaurant business. His parents bought the Village Inn
in Minier when Schmitgall was just seven years old. He said his first
job there was scraping gum off the bottoms of the tables with his
parents paying him 50 cents for each table.
At age eleven,
Schmitgall started working in the kitchen at Village Inn. His grandma
floured chicken and fish and told him she would retire when he was ready
to take over.
When Schmitgall graduated from high school, he decided to further his
culinary skills by enrolling in culinary art school at Johnson and Wales
University in Providence, Rhode Island. After he finished culinary
school, Schmitgall went to Miami, Florida to attend a hotel and
restaurant management school.
For a while, Schmitgall worked in restaurants in Florida. He then
returned to Illinois and worked for his parents. In addition, Schmitgall
started his own catering business.
To get even more
experience, Schmitgall went to work at some other restaurants before
once again returning home to work for his parents until they closed the
Village Inn to spend more time with family.
Schmitgall soon reopened the Village Inn and kept the place running for
a few years before deciding it was time to take a step back from the
restaurant business around 2002.
During the next twenty years, Schmitgall was a truck driver, which led
him to move down to Texas briefly before returning to Illinois. He was
driving a truck for Nutrien Ag in Atlanta, Illinois when one of the
local banks asked him if he would be interested in purchasing a
restaurant that was for sale in Emden.
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After Schmitgall
called his longtime friend Jeff Vaughn, who lived in Kentucky, Vaughn
agreed to come cook for him.
The most popular dishes at Dovetail Inn are fried chicken, walleye,
whole catfish and chicken gizzards. Schmitgall said his chicken gizzards
are the best around. There are also a variety of dessert offerings every
night such as chocolate pie, key lime pie and apple pie.
Though Schmitgall can often be found in the kitchen helping prepare the
food, he tries to come out and talk to his customers. Schmitgall said
his favorite part of running a restaurant is the people. Since
Schmitgall was raised as a people person, he loves talking to people.
Something else Schmitgall loves is being part of a small community. When
Schmitgall’s son Gage was in high school, Gage and a friend died in a
tragic accident. Schmitgall will always remember the way the community
supported him by giving him a lot of help after Gage died. For example,
the community set up a scholarship fund at the bank in Emden for Hartem
High School.
For Schmitgall,
the restaurant is a way to give back to the community and honor his son.
A large metal cross on the wall behind the counter has Gage’s name and
the words humble and kind and Stag Nation below his name. Schmitgall
considers the restaurant a tribute to Gage.
As another way to give back to the community, Schmitgall cooks during
harvest and sells tenderloins, sandwiches and chips for ten dollars. On
some Fridays, he will cook for the people working at the Hartsburg
elevator. He will be doing a Pioneer Seed Appreciation Day for Daniel
Eeten in the fall, too.
Schmitgall also caters for events on site. Recently, he cooked 135
ribeye steaks along with green beans and potatoes for a golf outing in
Elmwood, Illinois.
The Dovetail Inn is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Tuesdays
through Saturdays. Breakfast is served from 5:30 - 9 a.m. Tuesday
through Friday and 5:30 - 10 a.m. Saturday. Lunch is served 11 a.m. – 2
p.m Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Saturday. Dinner hours
are 4:30 - 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 4:30 - 9 p.m. Friday and
Saturday. Come on over to Emden and enjoy some good food.
https://thedovetailinn.com
[Angela Reiners] |
