Chucks On 60: A Small Diner with a Big Legacy
Sasha Bush
Ashland Beacon
Living in the Boyd County area, I am sure that by now we have all heard of the iconic little diner that used to occupy Route 60. Rosie’s Restaurant was a staple in the area for many years, and it wasn’t until recently that not only did the diner receive a facelift but a new name as well. The diner formally known as Rosie’s is now lovingly renamed as “Chucks on 60 and Baked & Brewed.”
Chucks On 60 and Baked & Brewed are owned by Keith Watts, Samantha Watts, and Tori (Watts) Castle. Keith was gracious enough to give the Beacon a look into what makes this family-owned restaurant so special. Keith shared, “We’ve seen the question ‘Who is Chuck?’ floating around, and we will never pass up the opportunity to talk about the greatest man to ever live. Chuck was the best dad, grandpa, great-grandpa, friend, and anything else you could imagine. But if you’re one of the lucky ones, you only knew him as Pa. Pa loved spending his days at Rosie’s, which is now deservingly named after him. He and our granny brought all the kids here, and we all loved it just the same as them. But, we never realized how much this place really meant to us until it was gone and so were they.”
The family had an ongoing joke about opening a restaurant or bakery for years. Keith commented, “When I was driving by the old Rosie’s on 60, I noticed the people were moving out. I immediately contacted the owner of the property. We couldn’t imagine a better place to turn into a reality. Rosie’s was more than a restaurant to us for generations. It was happiness, memories, and love. Here we are today doing our best to provide our community with some of the best home-cooked meals daily. Our biggest hope for Chuck’s is that we can be exactly that for everyone who walks through our doors.”
The Watts take great pride in what they do and shared that their favorite thing about owning a business is honestly just getting to meet all the people, talking to them, learning from them, and especially listening to their input and ideas on what they could do as a business to better serve them. “We are a completely family-owned and operated business. My daughters and I take pride in everything we do here and so do our employees,” stated Keith.
You will find that Chucks On 60 offers an entire smorgasbord of good home-cooked food. Keith shared, “We offer gourmet burgers and specialty burgers, homemade fries & chips, wings, deep fried banana peppers, potato cups, open face roast beef, our famous shrimp and grits, cordon bleu mac & cheese, grilled pork tenderloin, hot dogs with homemade sauce, specialty sandwiches and of course we have shrooms with honey mustard dipping sauce. We are also planning to add new items to our menu daily.”
Chucks On 60 is more than just a diner. Inside you will find another Watts family-owned business… Baked & Brewed. Samantha Watts has always enjoyed baking and began to do so at a very young age when she was as she stated, always under her mother’s, grandmother’s, and great-grandmother’s feet as they cooked in the kitchen. Looking back, Samantha recalled the first thing that she ever baked on her own was a peach cobbler. Peach cobbler is one of her favorite desserts. Samantha declared, “It was so good that I could have eaten the entire thing myself.” Owning and operating a bakery and coffee shop has always been a dream of hers. It wasn’t until Samantha’s husband looked at his wife adoringly and said to her, “Stop dreaming about it, and let’s make your dream a reality.”
Baked & Brewed offers a wide variety of home-baked goods and unique blends of brew. Samantha said, “We have cookies, cupcakes, pies, cakes, and pretty much anything you could want. We can do it all, and we are always up for a challenge if we've never made it before.” Samantha shared that her favorite baked good to eat personally is a good brownie or chocolate chip cookie. Baked & Brewed is located inside Chucks On 60 and is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday through Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and on Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Chucks On 60 and Baked & Brewed are both located at 8869 US 60 in Rush, Kentucky. While Baked & Brewed has its own separate hours, the diner itself is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and plans on extending their hours very soon. Both officially opened in November of 2022 and have been thriving ever since. If you have not had the chance to visit the amazing little diner and bakery, I highly recommend that you get in your car right now and head on out to Route 60 and get some grub from some great people.