The bright purple walls, roomy seating and designer drinks that Dirty’s Bar & Grill offers is not what comes to mind when one thinks of a bar in a small college town.

Beverly Herr, general manager, owner and the drink and menu designer of Dirty’s Bar & Grill, said she felt Charleston lacked diversity when it came to the food industry.

“The town really needed somewhere to go out to eat,” Herr said.

Although Eastern students are a big part of the clientele at Dirty’s, Herr said most of the regulars are residents of Charleston.

Larry and Melody McGrath of Charleston said they are weekly patrons of the restaurant because of how much they like the food and drinks.

“We love it,” Melody said. “It’s one of the best things to come to Charleston in I don’t know how long.”

Most bars and restaurants that cater to the college crowd are often left empty once students return home for breaks, but Herr said Dirty’s did not suffer the same fate.

“It was a lot slower and the town is really quiet,” Herr said, but she said there were still certain nights when Dirty’s was packed.

Herr said she is hoping to incorporate fundraising with the restaurant in the future and is looking for different charity opportunities.

Dirty’s has only been open since late October, but Herr said she had been planning the restaurant since the middle of September.

Herr said the idea of the fresh, never frozen food, as well as their signature food and drinks made from scratch, is almost unprecedented in the restaurant industry.

Dirty’s is currently working on expanding the menu to include newer items as well as new lunch specials, Herr said.

Herr also said she has heard some people complain about the higher prices of Dirty’s food and drinks, but said the reason the prices may be higher is because of the quality of the food that Dirty’s offers.

Dirty’s also offers a lunch menu every day until 4 p.m. that include cheaper meals that are often smaller in portion size but offer the same quality of food as the higher priced meals.

“You’re really getting what you pay for,” she said. “You don’t know how bad the food you’re eating is, until you eat something better.”

Kathryn Richter can be reached at 581-2812 or kjrichter@eiu.edu.