History behind local family restaurant, community favorite

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Mariah Marsnik

Leo’s is a popular restaurant downtown Stillwater. It is busiest in the summer when the patio is open and the line of customers at the walk-up window is often wrapped around the corner of Main Street.This winter has been a busier one for Leo’s with the Ice Castles and Hockey Day Minnesota bringing many people downtown. “Being the owner of Leo’s is really a lot of fun because everyday is different and the customers are always changing,” Cory Buettner says.

Cory Buettner is the owner of Leo’s Grill & Malt shop, a restaurant downtown Stillwater on the corner of Main Street and Chestnut. His oldest son, Blue, a junior, has learned a lot from the way his dad runs the business and gives back to the community. Every Veterans Day, Cory serves free meals to all who have served, one of the many reasons Blue is inspired by his dad.

“My dad has shown me that with a lot of hard work, you can eventually achieve what you want. Also with a lot of the events that he sponsors and runs I can see that being involved in the community and raising money to help others is a very rewarding thing,” Blue said.

The story behind Leo’s

Prior to Cory buying the shop in 2009 and naming it Leo’s, it was called Lily’s. One day in 2005 when Cory was enjoying lunch at Lily’s with his parents, Blue’s grandpa, Leo, made a comment that if the place ever went up for sale, Cory should buy it.

“Soon after my grandpa passed away, Lily’s went up for sale and my dad jumped on the opportunity and named it Leo’s, after his dad,” Blue said.

There is no doubt that Leo’s has been a successful and popular retro style diner ever since it opened. Blue and Cory both believe there are some specific reasons for the restaurant’s success.

“I think it is so successful because it is a family-friendly restaurant. The food is good, the ice cream is good and the restaurant is just great,” Blue said.

Cory said, “I would say the number one thing that makes Leo’s a successful business is our employees. I think that if it wasn’t for the quality of employees that we have and for how good of a job that our entire staff does, the customers would be affected by both food, service and everything.”

Working at Leo’s

Not only is Blue the owner’s son, he is also a dedicated employee at the shop. He started out as a server’s assistant, but has enjoyed being a cook ever since July of 2016.

“I like cooking a lot. It is a lot more fun than bussing tables and scooping malts. I feel more involved in the restaurant being one of the people that makes the actual food,” Blue said.

Like Blue, a lot of other employees at Leo’s are still in high school. The job continues to help shape Blue and the other young employees into hard working, motivated and confident young adults. The employees learn something new each day and continue to impress the customers.

“Blue has become really responsible and that is really nice. He takes his work seriously and I think that it’s really good for kids to have a job when they’re in high school to be able to balance responsibilities, to make some extra spending money and also to have that experience of becoming a team outside of school or athletics, I think that there’s value to that. We like hiring teenagers because they have good drive and are eager to do a really good job,” Cory said.

Forming relationships

Through working for his dad, Blue has made a lot of friends. He said he has even formed relationships with adults that he would not know if it wasn’t for working at Leo’s. Also, through his dad, Blue has appreciated the opportunities to meet other local business owners. He thinks it is awesome just how many people know his dad. Among other things, that is why Blue considers Cory to be such an influential person in his life.

“My dad has made tons of friends around the state because of his work, one of his better friends is Ted Kozlowski, the mayor of Stillwater. They hang out all the time and seem to really enjoy each others company. I don’t know if my dad would have made this friendship if it wasn’t for being so involved in the community,” Blue said.

Giving Back to the community

One of the main reasons that people think so positively of Blue, his family and Leo’s is because of everything they do to make Stillwater the best community possible. They make the community fun and inviting. Cory organized the Best Burger in the Valley competition that has raised over $122,000 towards finding a cure for Cystic Fibrosis. He is also one of the organizers of Summer Tuesdays and Harvest Fest, two Stillwater events held annually.

“It’s an absolute pleasure to own a small business because your days are always a little different, you’re always looking for opportunities and to build on the businesses strengths. One of the best things is the fact that we love our community and we try to give back to the community. We do fun promotions, for example, we gave away 700 ice cream cones at the last ice cream social and that was super fun. We give away free ice cream on the ‘Bestest Day of the Year’, after the last day of the school year from 3-5 to celebrate the beginning of summer. Giving back to the community is just really rewarding,” Cory said.

“My dad has always been a very influential person in my life, but when he started doing all this community work I realized how much he cares for others,” Blue said.

Looking into the future

Since he is just 16 years old, it is hard for anyone to say exactly what his future holds, but Blue may end up following in his dad’s footsteps and going to college for small business. Although, he has also been thinking of going into the military and getting into a field under law enforcement. His parents would be supportive of either of those decisions.

“I have been working for my dad and Leo’s for more than three years now and I have started to really appreciate the restaurant. I have earned a lot of money there and I will continue to work there until I find what I want to do with my life,” Blue said.

Blue has grown in so many ways with the help of Cory and Leo’s. He has gained more responsibility and has learned just how powerful a helping and caring hand can be.

“Through my dad, I have realized that it’s extremely important to live for more people than just yourself,” Blue added.