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Chef turns family drugstore into restaurant

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When you leave the drugstore, you hope you’re walking out with something that will make you feel better.

On Main St. in Smithville, you will walk out feeling extraordinary!

Justus Drugstore is the domain of not a pharmacist, but a culinary artist: Jonathan Justus.

After years as an artist — his artwork adorns the restaurant’s walls — and chef in France and San Francisco, Jonathan returned to his hometown about nine years ago. 

He was able to purchase the building on Main St. that had been his family’s drugstore.

Freshness matters here.  Vegetables grown on their own property and beef raised by small area farmers make the finished dishes spectacularly fresh and tasty.

Thursday morning he whipped up a beef dish and a great fruity dessert.

This is a special time for Jonathan:  he is a finalist for the prestigious James Beard Award for Best Chef.  He’ll find out if he’s the winner in May in Chicago.

So if you need the cure for what ails you, try Justus Drugstore.  They have the prescription for delicious.

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Joel Nichols can be reached at joel.nichols@kclive.tv

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