Seasoning Bistro
Seasoning Bistro is a founder-owned casual fine-dining restaurant in Southern Illinois serving lunch and dinner Wednesday–Saturday, featuring a full bar, private event space, and online ordering via the Toast platform for local diners and event hosters.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersBenton, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Seasoning Bistro does
Seasoning Bistro is a privately-held, founder-owned casual fine-dining restaurant operating in Southern Illinois. Founded in 2011 by culinary school graduates Troy Ray and Katie Karcher, the business was bootstrapped with $5,000 of founder capital and grew to acquire its original Benton, IL building on the historic town square in 2014. The concept positions itself as a regional destination for steaks and elevated dining in a rural market that historically lacked comparable options. The menu spans lunch (small plates, salads, big plates including tacos, burgers, and pasta) and dinner (entrees including Chicken Marsala, Shrimp Scampi, Salmon Teriyaki, and premium steaks with Filet Mignon priced up to $75), accompanied by a full bar featuring seasonal craft cocktails, premium spirits, craft beer, and a rotating wine list. Lunch items range from $4 to $14, dinner entrees from $12.50 to $75, and sides from $3 to $6, with a 20% service fee applied to parties of seven or more.
The underlying technology stack is entirely third-party and commodity: Toast provides POS, online ordering, gift cards, and the rewards/loyalty program; OpenTable/Toast handles reservations; Google Analytics 4 provides web traffic measurement; and the website itself runs on WordPress with RevSlider, developed by James Arthur Design Co. There is no proprietary technology, no API surface, and no native mobile application. The customer base is exclusively retail consumers — individual diners, couples, families, and small groups from the Southern Illinois region — with a secondary use case in private event hosting supported by dedicated dining rooms, outdoor patio seating, and ADA-compliant facilities at the new location.
The business model is straightforward restaurant economics with light digital augmentation. Revenue is generated primarily through on-premise dine-in food and beverage sales, supplemented by online pickup orders, gift card sales, and a loyalty program that drives repeat visits. Operating hours are limited — lunch and dinner service Wednesday through Saturday only — which caps throughput and labor intensity but also concentrates demand. The company is currently in transition: a new flagship location at 602 Tower Square Plaza in Marion, IL (in the Art District) opened in 2024, with the original Benton location slated to close once the Marion site is fully operational, consolidating the brand from two sites to a single larger footprint. The company employs 7 people and has no institutional capital, parent company, or external investors disclosed.
Seasoning Bistro firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Seasoning Bistro
- Legal name
- Seasoning Bistro
- Website
- https://seasoningbistro.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Seasoning Bistro is a founder-owned casual fine-dining restaurant in Southern Illinois serving lunch and dinner Wednesday–Saturday, featuring a full bar, private event space, and online ordering via the Toast platform for local diners and event hosters.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Seasoning Bistro industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Casual Dining Restaurant
- NAICS
- Full-Service Restaurants (722511)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Brasseries, Bistros & Trattorias (THAFACAI)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Casual Dining Restaurants (THAFACAB), Steakhouses & Seafood Restaurants (THAFACAE)
Keywords
Where Seasoning Bistro is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Benton
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Seasoning Bistro business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Dine-in Food and Beverage Sales: Revenue from serving food and beverages to dine-in customers at restaurant locations. Menu includes small plates, salads, big plates (steaks, seafood, pasta, sandwiches), and desserts. Full bar available with seasonal craft cocktails, premium spirits, craft beer, and rotating fine wines.
- Online Ordering: Customers place orders online through Toast platform for pickup. Revenue from food orders placed digitally.
- Reservations and Table Service: Revenue from in-person dining reservations managed through Toast/OpenTable. Includes bar service with last call timing.
- Gift Cards: Gift card sales through Toast platform, generating revenue when redeemed by recipients.
- Loyalty/Rewards Program: Rewards program through Toast where customers earn points for future purchases, driving repeat business.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Lunch Menu - Small Plates and Salads |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Lunch Big Plates |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Dinner Entrees |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Sides and Add-ons |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Service Fee |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels5 records
Seasoning Bistro product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Seasoning Bistro is a casual yet sophisticated Southern Illinois restaurant operating dine-in service at two locations (Benton and Marion). It offers cooked-to-order lunch and dinner menus featuring steaks, seafood, pasta, sandwiches, and small plates, plus a full bar with craft cocktails, premium spirits, and rotating wines. The restaurant also provides private event/patio dining, online ordering, reservations, gift cards, and a rewards program, all supported by the Toast platform.
Product overview
Seasoning Bistro is a casual yet sophisticated dining restaurant in Southern Illinois, offering a unified dining experience with two locations (Benton and Marion). The restaurant operates as a single-concept establishment with multiple service components: lunch and dinner menus featuring fresh, locally-sourced ingredients and a mix of classic and modern cooking techniques; a full bar program with craft cocktails, premium spirits, and rotating wines; private dining and event hosting capabilities; and digital services including online ordering, reservations, a rewards/loyalty program, and gift cards. The digital and operational services are delivered through third-party platforms (Toast for ordering/payments/rewards, OpenTable for reservations) rather than proprietary technology.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Seasoning Bistro Restaurant Dining Experience A casual yet sophisticated dining restaurant offering lunch and dinner service with a focus on fresh, locally-sourced ingredients, classic and modern cooking techniques, and an ever-evolving menu of specials. Features two levels of dining with vintage and modern decor, a full bar, and private event space across two Southern Illinois locations.
- Food and Beverage Menu (Lunch and Dinner) Cooked-to-order lunch and dinner offerings including small plates, salads, big plates (steaks including Filet Mignon and Ribeye, seafood, pasta, sandwiches), sides, and desserts served to in-house diners Wednesday through Saturday.
- Full Bar & Cocktails Full bar service featuring seasonal craft cocktails, premium spirits, craft beer, and a rotating selection of fine wines, available during dinner hours.
- Private Dining & Events Private dining space and event hosting service available at the Marion location with ADA-compliant facilities, communal areas, private rooms with patio access and high-tech enhancements, and outdoor seating for celebrations and group gatherings.
- Online Ordering
Quantifiable outcome
- Founded with $5,000 in 2011, grew to purchase building and expand operations
Companies that use Seasoning Bistro
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Seasoning Bistro technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Seasoning Bistro partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Omaha FurniturecoreOmaha Furniture designed the stylish interiors for the new Marion location. Their creative touch was brought to life with additional input from Katie Karcher's sister, creating the distinctive interior design of the new restaurant space.
- Fowler Heating and CoolingcoreFowler Heating and Cooling installed an advanced climate control system for the new Marion location. Their top-of-the-line hood vents are specifically designed to keep the kitchen consistently at a cool 72 degrees, ensuring chef comfort and consistent temperature throughout the restaurant.
- ToastcoreToast provides the integrated platform for online ordering, payments, gift cards, reservations, and rewards/loyalty programs. The restaurant's website links to Toast for all customer-facing transactional features.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Seasoning Bistro competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- LongHorn Steakhouse: Large national steakhouse chain with broad menu and lower price points than Seasoning Bistro. Relevant as the mass-market alternative that defines the steakhouse category in the same regional geographies where Seasoning Bistro competes for occasion dining.
- Texas Roadhouse: National casual-dining steakhouse chain serving hand-cut steaks at value price points. Demonstrates the steakhouse category's broad consumer appeal and provides a competitive benchmark for pricing and menu strategy in the Midwest.
- Bonefish Grill: National casual-upscale chain emphasizing fresh seafood with a full bar and similar "city vibe but friendly" positioning. Comparable on the seafood-forward portion of Seasoning Bistro's menu and the polished-but-approachable dining atmosphere.
- Outback Steakhouse: Established national steakhouse chain with broad demographic appeal and Australian-themed casual dining positioning. Provides scale benchmark and competitive context for casual-to-premium steakhouse operators.
- The Cheesecake Factory: Casual-upscale chain with an exceptionally broad menu and full bar service, serving as a destination dining option in many Midwestern markets. Relevant as a benchmark for menu breadth, occasion dining, and check-averages in the casual-upscale category.
Direct peers
- Ruth's Chris Steak House: Iconic fine-dining steakhouse known for USDA Prime steaks at premium price points ($50-$100+). Comparable on occasion-driven dining, full-service model, and emphasis on steakhouse core menu with seafood supplements.
- Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar: Upscale steakhouse chain emphasizing prime steaks ($40-$60+) and a rotating fine wine program. Closely matches Seasoning Bistro's premium-dining, wine-forward positioning and full-bar service model.
- Sullivan's Steakhouse: Fine-dining steakhouse chain serving prime steaks, fresh seafood, and a curated wine list in a clubby atmosphere. Closely matches Seasoning Bistro on occasion-driven dining, full bar, and the casual-yet-sophisticated positioning the restaurant explicitly describes.
- The Capital Grille: National fine-dining steakhouse chain operating at comparable price points ($40-$90+ entrees, premium steaks, full bar with craft cocktails) and similar destination-dining positioning. Directly comparable on menu structure, check average, and occasion-driven customer base.
Regional players
- Cracker Barrel Old Country Store: Family-style restaurant chain concentrated in the Southeast and Midwest with strong presence in rural markets similar to Seasoning Bistro's Southern Illinois footprint. Comparable on rural-market sit-down dining competition and broad-appeal comfort food positioning.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Seasoning Bistro social profiles
Digital presenceSeasoning Bistro financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Seasoning Bistro leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Seasoning Bistro funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Seasoning Bistro M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Seasoning Bistro
What does Seasoning Bistro do?
Seasoning Bistro is a casual yet sophisticated Southern Illinois restaurant operating dine-in service at two locations (Benton and Marion). It offers cooked-to-order lunch and dinner menus featuring steaks, seafood, pasta, sandwiches, and small plates, plus a full bar with craft cocktails, premium spirits, and rotating wines. The restaurant also provides private event/patio dining, online ordering, reservations, gift cards, and a rewards program, all supported by the Toast platform.
Is Seasoning Bistro a public or private company?
Seasoning Bistro is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Seasoning Bistro founded?
Seasoning Bistro was founded in 2011. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Seasoning Bistro based?
Seasoning Bistro is headquartered in Benton, United States, in the North America region.
How does Seasoning Bistro make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Dine-in Food and Beverage Sales are the primary driver. The others are online Ordering, reservations and Table Service, gift Cards and loyalty/Rewards Program.
Who are Seasoning Bistro's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are LongHorn Steakhouse, Texas Roadhouse, Bonefish Grill, Outback Steakhouse and The Cheesecake Factory. Direct peers are Ruth's Chris Steak House, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, Sullivan's Steakhouse and The Capital Grille. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store is listed as a regional player.
Does Seasoning Bistro have an API?
No public API is recorded for Seasoning Bistro.
What industry is Seasoning Bistro in?
Seasoning Bistro's product category is Casual Dining Restaurant. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFACAI, Brasseries, Bistros & Trattorias, with a secondary code of THAFACAB, Casual Dining Restaurants. Its NAICS code is 722511 and its SIC code is 5810.