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New buffet looking to fill void left by Ryan’s

ROCK ISLAND, Illinois– SpagO’s Fresh Buffet opened on 18th Avenue in Rock Island in March. The owners said it could fill a need that was left when R...

ROCK ISLAND, Illinois-- SpagO's Fresh Buffet opened on 18th Avenue in Rock Island in March. The owners said it could fill a need that was left when Ryan's closed two years ago.

"(We) discovered that there was a need here since they closed Ryan," Jeff McCabe said. "Your customers start to feel like family after awhile. When I used to go and visit Dave at Ryan's, you're treated like family. And there are people here at our restaurant now that come almost every day."

Dave Walz and McCabe met about six years ago at Ryan's Restaurant in Moline.

"I actually was a customer of his for Ryan's for years," McCabe said.

Walz was the general manager. McCabe owned his own Chickfila and opened a Sirloin Stockade in Canton, Illinois.

"And we started talking about doing a restaurant," McCabe said.

That's how the idea for SpagO's began to take shape.

"It was kind of a merging of both of our different backgrounds in the food business," Walz said.

The buffet touts fresh ingredients and homemade recipes.

"His wife is a really great cook," Walz said. "She had some recipes like the meatloaf."

The meatloaf is one of the favorites so far, along with the pressure fried chicken. McCabe said he wants SpagO's to become a destination in Rock Island.

The owners said they've been busy getting things up and running at SpagO's. They celebrated being open with an official ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday.

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