The new restaurant, Sisters Squared, brings family recipes from a Wisconsin dairy farm to the historic Rigsby House in downtown Waynesville.
Co-owners and sisters, Lisa Ellis and Tara Brown, opened the restaurant at 103 N. Benton St., Dec. 13, the sibling location of 2 Sisters Café at 103 W. State Road H in Stoutland, which has been open since May 2022.
Open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, the Waynesville spot is a more intimate location, with seating for less than 40 people, about half of the capacity in Stoutland.
The menu is more streamlined as well but features many of the favorites gaining a following in Stoutland. Diners can expect hand-cut, breaded and fried chicken strips, smoked chicken salad, chicken wings, grilled burgers, etc. Ellis particularly recommends the barbecue chicken grilled cheese and flat bread pizzas. She also advises to save room for dessert.
Baker Lynn Imbrunone makes cinnamon rolls, coffee cake, banana bread, pies, etc. Some of her desserts are also sold at the Stoutland location.
“I have an awesome baker in house, and she makes some of the best desserts. I’m concerned about myself that I’m going to just keep eating the product!” Ellis said. “Finding somebody that could bake right there in our kitchen and offer some great desserts was a blessing.”
2 Sisters Café was established in Stoutland, because Brown lives there. So, adventurous as it is to open a second location, it made sense to put it in Waynesville where Ellis has called home as a real estate agent for more than 20 years.
“I love downtown Waynesville. My real estate office (NextHome Team Ellis) is right there in downtown Waynesville as well. I just love that community; that niche that Waynesville has—a lot of other little places don’t have.”
Even before opening the Stoutland location, Ellis has been haunted by the Rigsby Home as a restaurant location. “I always wanted the building—the Rigsby House,” said Ellis. “I just kept going back to that building, it just kept calling my name.”
Although the construction date is unknown, the Rigsby House has a rough-hewn log foundation and the first known homeowners were Claude and Eva Rigsby, who purchased the home in 1924. Claude operated a Route 66 service station by the home and the Rigsby House hosted construction workers who built Fort Leonard Wood.
The home was again bustling with life at the grand opening, where patrons were lined up through the door for hours and gatherings filled every square inch, even overflowing to the front porch swing.
“I really just want to honor the house and the community and offer some really great food for downtown Waynesville,” said Ellis. “I want it to be this little meeting place where people can come in with their friends and sit and have a relaxing lunch.”
The dream of running a restaurant is a family legacy, which was passed on by the sister restauranteurs’ mom. “The reason my sister and I did this was because our mom was a fabulous cook—she was amazing! And one of her dreams was always to have a restaurant,” said Ellis. “We always talked about it as kids—opening a restaurant someday. So, when the opportunity came, we jumped in, in Stoutland.”
According to Ellis, the family moved to the Lebanon area in the 80’s, after a heartbreaking loss of the family dairy farm in Wisconsin. Although they didn’t bring many possessions, her mother saved one precious heirloom—a cabinet made by her brother. The cabinet hangs at the Stoutland location with a picture of the mother who passed the mantel of her dream to her daughters, keeping it alive in Missouri.
“We’re just excited! My sister and I have been best friends, we’re only 18 months apart, so we just grew up best friends. We love to share our love for each other—our love for our communities and offer people a good smile and a good meal,” said Ellis.
Brown has worked in food service for many years, including as a manager of The Stoutland Cafeteria for 11 years. Ellis has a history of working in food service and real estate and maintains her presence in the NextHome office in downtown Waynesville. Ellis begins her day prepping food and sides at Sisters Squared, works there through lunch and clocks in at the real estate office until 7 p.m.
“I’m really tired of course, but I just thoroughly enjoy being there,” said Ellis. “I enjoy the atmosphere, the people—I’ve always enjoyed people and building relationships. That’s no different than the real estate!”
Currently a small meeting room in the house is being renovated to host book clubs and other local gatherings. Ellis said that in the spring she hopes to host events on the patio like date nights and other opportunities to gather.
For more information and menus, visit the Sisters Squared Facebook page or the 2 Sisters Café Facebook page.
