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Republic event venue to double as restaurant

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After opening an event venue last summer, a Republic couple are on the verge of expanding into the restaurant industry.

Michelle Romero, co-owner of PKD Venue, said she and her husband, Javier, are set to open a full-service restaurant of the same name within the space Feb. 8 at 7330 W. Farm Road 170 in Republic. The venture launched in August to host community events.

The eatery’s menu is a blend of cuisines, Michelle Romero said, noting she is Italian, and her husband is Mexican. Street tacos, tamales, breakfast burritos and Italian subs, along with breakfast staples such as waffles, and biscuits and gravy, make up the restaurant’s breakfast and lunch cuisine, she said. Most items are priced under $10.

“It’s definitely a mix. It’s just good home-cooked food,” she said.

Romero said the couple wanted to make use of the available commercial kitchen space in the building in addition to hosting events. The couple also own construction company Perfect Kitchen Design LLC, which she said inspired PKD Venue’s name.

She said renovating the space, which accommodates nearly 50 inside and another 50 outside, was a family project. It was formerly J&M BBQ and Custom Catering, which shuttered around a year ago, she said. The Romeros are on a three-year lease with Mike and Janis McGill for an undisclosed rate.

“We jumped into this with our children and we did it with elbow grease, a gallon of paint and completely transformed the space,” Michelle Romero said, noting startup costs were held to around $10,000. “We made it work with what we had in our shed.”

The couple leaned on their 17 years of experience in the construction industry for infill work. That includes past ownership of Quality Masonry LLC, which she said they owned for about 10 years before starting Perfect Kitchen Design in 2019.

PKD Venue employs three, Romero said, adding the restaurant has a drive-thru for to-go orders and would offer free coffee to all customers. Indoor occupancy is currently limited to 32, due to COVID-19 restrictions, she said.

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