Thank you for stopping by!  My name is Candace Rinke and I am the chef/owner of The Hawthorn Grill.  In 6th grade I won a blue ribbon in the county fair for "Best Decorated Cake" and knew then that my goal in life was to own a restaurant.  It wasn't a very direct path, I got here by way of engineering at The University of Michigan, then culinary school in a northern suburb of Detroit, then the automotive industry, relocating to Ohio, a small home-based catering business called The Busy Gourmet and finally an all-too-long business plan with help from the Small Business Development Center of Dayton that finally led me to my home-away-from-home at 1222 East Stroop Road here in Kettering, Ohio. 

My formative years were spent watching my grandma Emily cook, and as I grew I realized this gift of feeding and entertaining us was how she showed her love for friends and family alike.  Our goal at The Hawthorn Grill is to make each of you feel like you're being welcomed into that same cozy dining room for a dinner made with love. 

As we continue to grow and improve, we are also concerned about our impact on the environment.  For this reason, we try to do our part by making responsible choices.  Some ways in which we accomplish this are by using local farmers, to minimize our carbon footprint, like Ed Hill who raises natural chickens in Xenia, and The Lucas Family Farms' fresh produce from Bellbrook.  We get DuBreton pork - the hogs are raised humanely on small family farms in Canada without antibiotics or steroids.  And we've just recently found carry-out containers that are recycled and land-fill friendly.  We are doing all we can to be good stewards of the land for generations to come.

Most importantly, we do our best to serve great American food (we like to call it comfort on a plate!) in a relaxing and casual atmosphere.  As the Dayton Daily said: Chef Candace Rinke's attention to detail is evident in both entrees and side dishes. "Like mom made, but better." 

We do hope you'll stop by soon for a visit! 

Good Eating! 

Candace Rinke and The Hawthorn Grill Staff