Larry Carius, a retired food inspector who championed the Bloomington-Normal restaurant scene on a popular Facebook page that became his passion project, died Friday at age 82.
Carius built a loyal following on his Bloomington-Normal Restaurant Scene [BNRS] Facebook page, with 43,000 followers. Carius was the first to report most restaurant openings, closings, renovations, and other Twin City food news. As many local media outlets scaled back their coverage of the restaurant scene, Carius found success with a just-the-facts approach that resonated with a restaurant-loving Bloomington-Normal.
Carius’ death was announced Friday night on his Facebook page. His cause of death was not given. His last regular post was Oct. 28, about a new local beer offering.
“BNRS was his passion project for the last 15 years and he enjoyed every minute of it,” the post said. “Please raise a glass of wine to toast his memory, preferably red and dry.”
Before the Facebook page, Carius worked for over 40 years at the McLean County Health Department, where he was the food safety program supervisor. On the job he built deep, lasting relationships with local restauranteurs that he carried even after retiring in 2008.
“Larry always had a soft spot in his heart for us,” said John Koch, co-owner of Lucca Grill in downtown Bloomington. “When you’ve got a person in charge of the Health Department (food program), and he stays good friends with the restaurants in town, you know he’s doing his job. And that he cares.”
In a 2023 interview on WGLT, Carius said it was his wife Kay’s idea to start the restaurant blog.
“I don’t have many hobbies. I don’t play golf. I don’t like to sit around and drink coffee with other old people,” Carius said. “So when I retired from the health department, I kind of retired to my recliner in the TV room. My wife Kay saw there was a problem developing.”
Around that time, other media outlets were scaling back their coverage of the local restaurant scene, Carius said. His connections – and his affinity for Facebook – gave him an opening. Everybody eats, right?
Kay was an integral part of the Facebook page too, Carius would say. He called her the “managing editor” who kept track of Larry's calendar, copy-edited the posts, and chased down stories with him.
But Carius didn’t consider himself a journalist, despite being one of the most popular sources of reputable information in Bloomington-Normal. Media outlets (including WGLT) would chase his scoops. He didn’t get paid for his work.
“And if you notice, when I write, I sit down and talk to one person. That person is the restaurant owner. We sit down and talk. I make copious notes. When I go home and write it up, the computer I have at home is a different type of computer: It doesn’t start at night unless there’s a glass of wine aside of it,” Carius said in 2023. “And all I do is write what the person told me.”
Mourning Larry
News of Carius’ death rippled across the Bloomington-Normal restaurant industry Friday night, as tributes began pouring in.
Fort Jesse Café co-owner Abby Strader Boesenberg first met Carius in 2015, when he strolled in one day while she was painting the walls of her soon-to-open restaurant in Normal. Carius wore a vintage newsboy hat on top of his trademark long hair. “What do you have going on here?” she recalled him saying.
Carius interviewed Strader Boesenberg and did a post about the restaurant a few days later. He kept in touch over the years and would come in to chat or occasionally send her pictures of other restaurants he was especially impressed by.
“He championed restaurants and gave us a platform. His Facebook page gave restaurants a spotlight and exposure to an audience who might not otherwise have known about them. He was an absolute legend, and the scene will never be the same again,” Strader Boesenberg said.
Carius was fully engrossed in the way local restaurants work – “from every single penny that went into a project down to the featured menu items,” said Aaron Francis, owner of Pop-Up Chicken Shop in Bloomington.
“Larry was a great proponent for the local food scene. Some restaurants fully relied on his articles to bring customers to their place,” Francis said. “He most certainly was a bright spot for families to see what new restaurants were coming to fruition. He was really dedicated to this project.”
Carius wrote about restaurants, but he didn’t really write about the food – or at least not explicitly. He wasn’t a food critic. He seemed more drawn to the business of food and, specifically, the people who make it.
But Carius, of course, had some favorites. Carius was a big Lucca fan, telling anybody with ears how much he loved its signature A La Baldini pizza.
“It was a great thing. It was great that somebody knew enough about the restaurant scene to make it real,” Koch said. “Larry literally lived, ate, and breathed the restaurant scene in Bloomington-Normal.”
Another favorite was Lancaster's, a downtown Bloomington restaurant that closed in 2014. He often enjoyed wine at the Lancaster’s bar, said owner Jan Lancaster, who also owns The Bistro downtown. She considered him a huge supporter and friend.
"It was always great to have one of your businesses highlighted by Larry," Lancaster said. "For many years Larry and I could be found at all the Liquor Commission hearings. He liked to always be first to break the news on a new local restaurant."
Other tributes from Twin City businesses, via Facebook:
Lil Beaver Brewery: "Today, lets pause to remember Larry Carius, the heart and soul behind the Bloomington-Normal Restaurant Scene. As you wander through the familiar streets of our town, or find solace in a cozy corner of one of the many eateries and taverns, we invite you to lift your glass in a quiet tribute to Larry. His tireless dedication to our community and the bonds he forged along the way have left an indelible mark. The spaces he celebrated will feel a little emptier now, his absence a gentle ache in our collective spirit. Larry, your presence will be profoundly missed, but your legacy lingers in every shared meal and every cherished memory."
Keg Grove Brewing Company: "We want to take a moment to honor the life of Larry Carius, the heart and soul of Bloomington Normal Restaurant Scene. Larry was passionate about lifting up area businesses to see them succeed and shine a light on their hard work. His posts were always informative, spread positivity, and stirred interest in the local food & drink establishments. We truly enjoyed Larry's contributions and will miss his presence, online and in-person. He was a great guy. Rest easy, Larry. You are already missed."
