When James and Angie Hunt opened AJ’s Grindstone Restaurant and Bar in Montgomery City over the winter, their mission was to open a dining room.

After six months, their mission was accomplished.

The non-smoking dining room officially opened in June. The hours are from 4:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.

“It’s nice to have that weight off your shoulders, that’s for sure,” James said.

James said he just wanted his restaurant to get more employees before opening the dining room to the public.

“We’ve got a little bit of help to at least have a dining room waitress during the evening,” James said.

Now, the Hunts’ next plan is to add an 1,100 square foot outdoor patio to the restaurant, which has been open since Dec. 20.

The restaurant is located at 960 North Sturgeon. It has a bar and serves all kinds of sandwiches such as the turkey bacon club and ham and cheese as well as burgers, chicken and salad. It also has pool tournaments every Wednesday night at 7 p.m.

“Our vision was to open a restaurant first,” James said. “Then, we realized the real estate space we had here, so we decided to up it and open a bar back here to hold up the business when food sales are slow.”

James has been living in Montgomery County for seven years. Angie has been a county resident since she was a teenager.

Before opening AJ’s, James had plenty of restaurant business experience.

“I’ve been in the restaurant business throughout the years as side work,” James said. “I was a chef at some high-end restaurants in the city (St. Louis). I managed a few restaurants and bars.”

The Hunts started working on building the restaurant in June 2021. It took them six months to finish.

“We knew the owners of the building, so we bought it and renovated the whole thing from scratch,” James said. “We ripped up the floor and added some insulation and drywall.”

The bar is open every day from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 a.m.