With multitudes of internet tutorials at our fingertips and libraries of cookbooks and recipes galore, anyone can learn to cook. Ian Nutting and Doug Hodge are living proof of this philosophy.
Dynamic duo Nutting and Hodge are the owners of The Space: a restaurant, bar and venue in downtown Champaign. It serves as a concert venue and a place for drag, comedy, open mic events and more.
The Space was born from Nutting’s bizarre obsession with smoking meat. He invited Hodge to share this hobby after fatefully meeting at a party one evening.
In 2021, their newfound partnership blossomed into a hot sauce company, Weird Meat Boyz. The company emphasizes “weird,” offering unique flavors like “ghost pepper. cherry + blueberry. tequila.” Their success online and at local farmers’ markets opened their minds to the possibilities of experimentation with food components bigger than just sauce.
“We came at this whole thing with a couple of things in mind,” Nutting said. “One is food. This town could have a cooler, hipper food scene.”
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It was easier said than done. Both parties had undergone zero culinary education, formal or informal. However, they learned the basics through weekly dinners while Nutting’s wife was abroad in Bulgaria and soon began experimenting.
“I’ve cooked my whole entire life, but I started taking it really seriously during those weekly dinners,” Hodge said. “I think that’s what sparked a lot of just wanting to … be creative and trying new things.”
Nutting later went on to visit his wife overseas. The COVID-19 pandemic rained on plans for Hodge and his wife to join them. Hodge quickly pivoted, devoting this newfound time and unspent cash to more cooking.
“So I took all the money I saved up for that trip and went out and bought dozens of cookbooks … and a bunch of ingredients,” Hodge said.
Combining their experience in the hot sauce business with connections they made in the community and their newfound culinary skills, Nutting and Hodge decided to open up their own space — pun not intended.
The Space officially opened its doors in April of 2023. It was hosting shows before even a single meal was served. According to Hodge, the pair always intended to combine their love of music and food to create more than just a restaurant.
“The pandemic kind of wiped out the Champaign side of the music scene with all the venues and everything,” Nutting said. “And so we wanted to help bring that back to life and help the culture.”
Hodge had experience in the music industry as a drummer in punk groups and as a tour manager. But even after a lifetime of preparation, nothing could have prepared them for the struggle of being business owners in 2025.
“We found out very quickly that, unfortunately, the reason that there’s not a bunch of local music venues is that local music doesn’t make any money for the establishment,” Nutting said.
His love of the craft and the ability to give the gift of food to others is what keeps him going — not the money.
“If you’re following the rules or just doing what makes money … we would be McDonald’s plus very generic, stupid music,” Nutting said.
Instead, he puts his heart into concocting recipes unique to Champaign, like his favorite on the current dinner menu, “dressed wings” fried in duck fat.
For Nutting, the opportunity to cook something special for a customer is unmatched. It brings him happiness that makes the pair’s efforts worth it.
“I find joy in cooking for people, for specific people, and in delivering them that, giving them that sort of experience,” Nutting said.
He explained that when you cook in a restaurant or prepare a meal for your family at home, what makes it special is that sitting at the table with a fork in hand is a real person who gets to savor and indulge in something you created.
The vibes of The Space begin in the kitchen with the decadent smell of food. The staff’s passion helps to amplify that unique atmosphere. Liv Orlandi, the bar manager, pours more love into the craft of mixing drinks and brewing a unique cocktail menu than the average bartender.
“I love working here,” Orlandi said. “It’s like we’re all genuinely friends, and I think that’s a really cool dynamic to have in the workplace.”
Hard at work keeping The Space spinning on its axis are its employees. Known affectionately as “The Space Force,” they have as much love for each other as they do for the job. Without this bond between the staff, The Space would not function as is.
“A big thing that we do is we all dance on the line, which just makes the shifts go by faster,” Orlandi said. “It makes them more fun. And it’s like, we all just try to have a good vibe, no matter what.”
Hodge feels that The Space has created a place for the C-U community to come together in many ways. For one, they provide a safe space for identity expression and an audience for overlooked local music. Furthermore, many of their ingredients are sourced from local farmers.
“It’s also like, if it hits the fan and things aren’t going well, we will have supplies for things because we know farmers, and we get our produce and our meat and our eggs and things from local farms,” Hodge said. “And so we also want to be thinking about being a community hub for that, too.”
While Nutting and Hodge may not have grown up in C-U, they are townies. They hope The Space can continue to be a space within the community they have grown to love.
“What makes me fulfilled at the end of the day is when people say that they can feel safe here, they feel happy here, and that they love what’s going on, and they like the vibes, the energy, that sort of stuff,” Nutting said. “That’s when I know we’re doing things right.”
