'He's a miracle walking': Amid health issues, Peorian runs restaurants with help from family

Elbert Nickerson Jr. has been through a lot since he opened his first restaurant.

Known simply as "Jr." to his friends and customers, he opened Jr's Kitchen in 2018, achieving a longtime goal. Since then, he expanded his business with a second location, but also has had to deal with a global pandemic and serious medical problems.

Born in Peoria in 1975, Nickerson first learned to cook from his mother, Brenda. She gave him the responsibility of preparing food while she worked multiple jobs to support their family.

Nickerson spent time in prison in his 20s on charges of forgery and improper use of a weapon. He said that those mistakes were the product of a "hard-headed" attitude he eventually outgrew. He became determined to turn his life around and set his sights on a career as a restaurateur.

"When I get out, I want to own my own chicken joint," he recalled telling his fellow inmates during his last stint in prison. "They laughed at me."

Path to his own restaurant

Nickerson honed his cooking skills at a handful of Peoria restaurants, including Rumberger's Wings and the since-shuttered Bar Louie on West War Memorial Drive. After years spent in the industry, his dream finally became a reality in 2018.

He opened the first Jr's Kitchen on North MacArthur Highway and achieved the recognition for his cooking that he had so long sought.

"I always wanted my own trophy," he said. "I worked for other places and got them trophies and everything else, but I wanted my own trophy to say like, 'Dang, I did that.'"

The business did well enough that Nickerson was able expand in 2019. He opened another location on West Main Street near the Bradley University campus, where students made up a sizable portion of the clientele. The restaurant has a seating area but carryout orders make up a significant part of the business.

The restaurant serves chicken wings, fried catfish fillets and pork chops, along with sides like fries, okra, jalapeño poppers. The menu also includes a list of "Jr. Special Sauces" that Nickerson formulated himself — some named after his children and grandchildren.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the United States, prompting a nationwide lockdown and forcing restaurants to adapt to a world without dine-in eating. While exact numbers are difficult to determine, the data suggest that the pandemic was a death knell for tens of thousands of establishments.

That his restaurants stayed open is a fact Nickerson attributes to the dedication of his workers.

"I survived through COVID because of my staff," he said. "We all just made sure we were safe."

Though Nickerson said he has struggled to retain cashiers at his restaurants, his cooks have remained with him "from day one."

From 2021: Peoria-area restaurants, businesses that closed for good during coronavirus pandemic

Health issues in 2021

In February of 2021, Nickerson faced another crisis, this time a personal one.

He had been dealing with a variety of long-term health problems for years, he said, when one evening he suddenly went into cardiac arrest and collapsed at his home.

Nickerson's wife, Shelanda, called 911, and EMTs quickly arrived on the scene. It was a "code blue": a cardiac or respiratory arrest or medical emergency that cannot be moved.

He was resuscitated and rushed to a hospital in an ambulance before being moved to the facility's intensive care unit. His heart stopped several times, requiring hospital staff to resuscitate him over and over again. Doctors induced therapeutic hypothermia, cooling Nickerson's body to prevent his cardiac arrest from causing brain damage. He was eventually left stable but comatose.

Shelanda Nickerson said that doctors warned her that her husband might suffer long-term neurological consequences from having been without oxygen: "He might not know how to walk, he might not know how to talk."

The couple had to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary with Nickerson still hospitalized.

One day in early March 2021, Nickerson finally woke up, with no recollection of his time in the hospital.

"Only thing I remember is waking up with tubes all on my body and I hear people screaming, saying 'It's a miracle,'" he said.

Nickerson now has an internal cardiac defibrillator and regular doctor's appointments to monitor his heart.

"I try to take it real slow," he said.

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Family keeps restaurants prospering

He is still coming up with new signature sauces, but not at the rate he once did.

Though he can no longer spend as much time at his restaurants, he said that he has a newfound appreciation for his culinary career.

"It made me love what I want to do more," Nickerson said. "I love to make people happy."

Shelanda Nickerson, who works with her husband at Jr's Kitchen, said she tries to keep him out of the restaurants as much as she can in order to safeguard his health.

"We're pretty much taking it one day at a time with Jr.," she said. "He is a miracle walking."

Jr's Kitchen, like many businesses, has struggled somewhat with the rising cost of food, but Nickerson said his customers remained loyal in the face of steeper menu prices.

"They understand," he said. "I call my customers my family, even if it's my first time meeting them."

Jr's Kitchen

The restaurant has two locations in Peoria and both have carryout options. Here are the locations and phone numbers

123 N. MacArthur Highway, Peoria IL 61605  — (309) 839 - 8144

1024 W. Main Street, Peoria IL 61606 — (309) 839 - 8482

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: With help from wife, Peoria native runs two restaurant locations