By Patrick Yeagle
A new "chef-driven" restaurant opened downtown on Monday.
Long 9 Junction is a gourmet eatery on Springfield's Old State Capitol Plaza, offering fresh bread and roasted meat as part of its menu of New American cuisine.
Chef and owner Corey Faucon, an Athens native who trained at Chicago's Le Cordon Bleu culinary institute, says the restaurant's name comes from the nickname of the nine tall lawmakers - Abe Lincoln included - who lobbied to make Springfield the state capital.
"It's sort of embracing history and embracing the future," Faucon said.
Owning a restaurant has long been a dream, he says, and downtown was the natural place to open his.
"I've always wanted to do something for Springfield," he said. "There's a need for chef-driven restaurants here in our hometown. I think it's a great market."
Faucon describes the food - including his slow-roasted beef - as "ecclectic, hearty and down-home simple," while the seating area in this former Quizno's is filled with wooden tables Faucon and his father built.
"I like to think that the restaurant reflects my style," he said. "My motto is to give people what they want, but like they've never seen before."
Contact Patrick Yeagle at [email protected].
