From the Buffet Line to the Doughnut Line
Similar to Fogelsong and the Cohen brothers, Casey McGaughey is no stranger to the restaurant business. Growing up, he spent many days in his family’s well-known buffet-style eatery, MCL Restaurant & Bakery, formerly known as MCL Cafeterias. And, he says, though there were plenty of benefits like the “complementary” takeout dinners, being a part of the family business was about so much more than food.
“I always enjoyed getting to know the folks who worked in the stores (MCL has 14 location in Indiana, Illinois and Ohio). Making friends and seeing those people made me feel like I had a second family when we’d visit an MCL,” he says.
As McGaughey got older, he eventually learned more about what goes on behind the scenes and what it takes to run a successful restaurant.
“In high school and a few summers of college, I worked in all aspects of the restaurant except the dish room. I was at work baking cinnamon rolls and pies from scratch at 5am, frying chicken, working in the front of house … literally doing everything.” His favorite job: the days he got to be the lead cook at the entree station, working the grill. As for his favorite dish, McGaughey believes fried chicken and pecan pie is the best combination one can possibly have.
Nowadays, though he is still very involved in his family’s original business as the president of MCL, McGaughey’s taken on a new role as franchisee by opening Indiana’s 12th Rise’n Roll Bakery.
About his decision to continue his career in the restaurant industry, he says he “never thought of doing anything else.” Although, while he—like most people—loves a good doughnut he admits baking isn’t his thing. Fortunately, as Rise’n Roll’s offerings are made mostly by Amish hands and delivered to the store each morning around 4am, he doesn’t have to test his doughnut-making skills.
Read more about McGaughey’s recent venture and the highly coveted Amish-made doughnuts sold at Rise’n Roll Bakery online at EdibleIndy.com. For more specifics on daily offerings at the bakery and hours of operation, visit RiseNRoll.com.
