Carol Johnson, Southern Indiana Business Report
SALEM – The way Raquel Trautwein sees it, going out to eat for a steak dinner shouldn’t require getting in the car and driving an hour just because you live in a small town.
That’s why Trautwein offers a hand-cut ribeye steak topped with compound herb butter and served with a jumbo baked potato and salad at Raquel’s Restaurant, which opened on the Salem square in 2021.
The Salem native and professional chef who worked in prestigious hotel kitchens more than a dozen years before she opened Raquel’s Restaurant, is giving Salem area diners a taste of something different.
“My goal is to give people what they want, but make it nicer than a diner atmosphere so they don’t have to go to Louisville or Bloomington to get a really good meal,” Trautwein said. “The biggest thing for me was to serve a really good steak dinner, so people have that option here.”
Raquel’s serves up an American-style menu of salad, sandwiches and soups for lunch and takes it up a notch for dinner.
“For lunch, we try to get food out to customers quickly but still allow people to come in and sit if they want to,” she said.
Figuring out the menu wasn’t hard. As a Washington County native, Trautwein knew what people like and expect from dining out.
Located in the former Christie’s on the Square, Raquel uses her years as a chef to give diners a meal they won’t forget. For that reason, the salmon patties are made with fresh salmon, the croutons and most of the dressings are made in house and the chicken cordon bleu is rolled by hand. In 2022, Raquel’s was voted as having the best steak in a Leader Publishing Reader’s Choice awards.
“We have a beautiful restaurant that we want people to enjoy,” she said.
Tammi Gibson, executive director of Washington County Economic Growth Partnership, said the restaurant’s impact on the area extends beyond dining customers.
“To have natives of the city and county return to the community to open a business and live out their dreams is one of the goals we have in economic development,” Gibson said. “Those people have a draw to return to their hometown. To open a business to serve that community and contribute to a positive quality of life makes their business that much more valuable. It also inspires others to do the same.”
From banquet cook to executive chef
Trautwein spent years working her way up from a banquet cook to executive chef of a large hotel kitchen before returning to her hometown to open a restaurant.
Trautwein grew up in a home where everyone cooked and took part in creating meals, but she never saw herself as a professional chef. She had planned to go to school to be a computer programmer, but when that didn’t pan out, her mother suggested she apply to culinary school.
A graduate of Sullivan University, Trautwein got her start at the Seelbach Hilton in Louisville, where she worked for five years, going from banquet cook to garde manger chef (preparing cold foods like fruits and charcuterie) and to eventually being in charge of the kitchen for the Oak Room, winner of the AAA five diamond award.
From there, she went to Myrtle Beach, S.C., where she was executive sous chef at a hotel that hosted large events. She worked in Myrtle Beach two years before returning to Louisville to work at the Galt House and then the Marriott East in Louisville, where she served as executive chef for five years.
The disruption in the hospitality business caused by COVID pandemic led to Trautwein’s decision to return to Salem. The pandemic completely upended the industry and the rebound was slow, prompting her to seek a change.
The restaurant may bear her name, but Trautwein said it is very much a family business. Her husband Victor left his job in construction to join her in the restaurant. Her mom, sisters, brother and 10-year-old daughter Trystin all help out.
Raquel Trautwein is the namesake and chef at Raquel’s Restaurant in Salem. She, her husband Victor, daughter Trystin and other family members help out in the restaurant.
Raquel’s is open for lunch and dinner and serves a monthly Sunday brunch. The business also offers catering services for any size gathering, both onsite and offsite.
The 2004 Salem High School graduate said she loves being in Salem and operating a business in her hometown.
“My entire family is here and I love being here. This is home and where we want to be,” she said. “I never wanted to leave. I left for opportunities in Louisville, but before deciding to open a restaurant, I had moved back.”
As for the restaurant, Trautwein said, “We saw a need for something that wasn’t here. Salem has some really good restaurants and some that have been here for many years. We’re trying to find something they’re not doing and give the community something else to try.”
The next chapter for the Trautweins is adding a food truck. Trautwein explained her sister currently operates the food truck and will be giving it up to enroll in nursing school.
Serving hours at Raquel’s Restaurant
Raquel’s is open Tuesday 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday-Saturday 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and offers a monthly Sunday brunch, which usually coincides with a holiday.