Tell me what day you are going, and I can already tell you what might steal your attention.
Wednesday has the old-school crowd covered with livers and gizzards.
Thursday belongs to wings.
Friday brings fish and shrimp into the argument, while Saturday lets the chef change things up.
Through all of it, fried chicken keeps its seat at the table.
This family restaurant has been doing country meals since 1934, and that weekly rhythm still gives regulars a reason to know what day it is before they grab the car keys.
The Indiana setting only helps the mood.
You make the drive, settle in, and let the buffet handle the rest.
Then homemade pie shows up and exposes the one flaw in your planning.
And really, after all that, are you going to let dessert sit there unanswered?
A Rural Indiana Restaurant With Roots Going Back To 1934
Stone’s Family Restaurant has been serving families since 1934.
That gives the place a long history in rural southeastern Indiana, but the practical part of the story is what still matters most to a visitor today.
The restaurant remains open four days a week and keeps its buffet at the center of those operating days.
That means the history is not just a date attached to the business. It connects directly to the kind of meal Stone’s still serves now: fried chicken, rotating buffet specials, familiar sides, and homemade pie.
The building sits in Millhousen, a small community in Decatur County, away from busier commercial corridors.
That makes planning ahead useful.
This is not the kind of stop you want to approach without checking the day first, especially because the restaurant is closed Sunday through Tuesday.
The long-running format also gives the meal a straightforward rhythm.
Pick the day that matches the buffet special you want, arrive during buffet hours, and let the rest of the meal stay simple.
No complicated order is required.
A little advance planning matters more here than squeezing extra stops into the drive, especially when each buffet day has its own main feature.
The Buffet Runs Four Days A Week
The all-you-can-eat buffet runs Wednesday through Saturday, but the hours are not identical each day.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the restaurant is open from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., while the buffet runs from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Friday starts earlier, with the restaurant open from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. and the buffet running from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday has the longest window. The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and the buffet runs from noon to 8 p.m.
That schedule gives each day a slightly different shape.
A Wednesday or Thursday visit works as an evening meal. Friday opens the door a little earlier. Saturday gives you the broadest range of arrival times.
The regular buffet components include green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, fried biscuits with apple butter, and a salad bar.
Stone’s also offers family-style dining and individually prepared meals from its regular menu.
So if one person wants the buffet and another wants a different route through the meal, there are options.
Wednesday And Thursday Bring Different Chicken Specials
Wednesday and Thursday do not use the same buffet lineup.
Wednesday features fried chicken along with chicken livers and gizzards.
That makes it the more traditional poultry-focused night of the week.
If livers and gizzards are part of the reason for the visit, Wednesday is the day to remember.
Thursday changes direction with chicken wings.
The difference is simple, but it matters if you are choosing a day based on one specific dish.
Fried chicken is not listed as the Thursday special, so do not assume the midweek buffets are interchangeable.
That is where a quick schedule check helps.
The regular sides still give you familiar options around the main feature, so the plate does not have to depend on one item alone.
Mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, fried biscuits with apple butter, and the salad bar can all play a supporting role.
The easiest strategy is to let the daily special choose the first plate, then use the regular sides to fill in the rest.
That keeps the meal focused without making it repetitive.
Friday Adds White Fish And Fried Shrimp
Friday broadens the buffet with seafood.
The current Friday lineup includes fried chicken, Alaskan white fish, and fried shrimp.
That makes Friday the most varied of the regular weekly specials because it brings chicken and seafood into the same buffet window.
If fish or shrimp is high on your list, Friday is the clear choice.
The buffet starts at 4 p.m. that day and runs until 8 p.m., giving you a little more flexibility than the Wednesday and Thursday schedule.
There is no need to overload the first plate.
Take a smaller portion of chicken, fish, or shrimp, then use the second trip to decide what deserves more space.
The regular sides make it easy to keep the combinations different.
Mashed potatoes and gravy can sit beside fried chicken, while green beans or salad can shift the plate in another direction.
Fried biscuits with apple butter add another option without needing a separate order.
The point is not to fit every item onto one plate.
Friday works better when you use the buffet the way it is meant to work: compare, return, and leave enough room for what comes later.
Saturday Keeps Fried Chicken And Adds A Chef’s Special
Saturday keeps fried chicken in the buffet and adds a chef’s special.
The chef’s special changes, so the exact extra dish should not be treated as fixed from week to week.
That makes Saturday the day with the most uncertainty, but also the broadest time window.
The restaurant opens at 11 a.m., and the buffet begins at noon and runs until 8 p.m.
If your schedule is less flexible during the week, Saturday gives you more room to choose lunch or dinner.
The safest plan is to go for the fried chicken and treat the chef’s special as an extra rather than building the entire trip around a dish that may not be offered that day.
If one particular special matters to you, checking ahead is the better move.
Stone’s also takes reservations for parties of eight or more, which is useful for larger groups planning a Saturday meal.
Smaller groups can keep the plan simpler.
Pick the arrival window, note the buffet hours, and leave the rotating special to the day.
That keeps expectations realistic and the meal easy.
Homemade Pie Gives The Meal A Separate Finish
Stone’s serves homemade pie, with flavors that vary depending on what is available.
That makes dessert its own decision rather than a fixed ending.
The best move is to remember pie before the buffet fills every bit of available room.
If dessert matters to you, ask which pies are available that day instead of assuming a particular flavor will be waiting.
That keeps the choice current and simple.
The pie is separate from the buffet, so treat it as an add-on rather than part of the all-you-can-eat spread.
That makes portion planning useful.
A smaller second plate leaves more room for dessert than one last return to the hot bar.
There is no need to turn the meal into a challenge.
The buffet already gives you plenty of choices, and pie gives the day a natural final stop.
The important part is remembering that the dessert case is a separate choice, not something automatically included with the buffet.
A quick look at the available pies before filling another plate can make that last decision much easier.
A Little Planning Helps Before The Drive To Millhousen
Stone’s sits in rural Decatur County at 2376 E County Road 820 S, Millhousen, IN 47240.
Because the restaurant is closed Sunday through Tuesday, checking the day before making the drive matters.
Buffet hours also end before the restaurant itself closes, so arriving late can change what is available.
Wednesday and Thursday buffet hours run from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday runs from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday runs from noon to 8 p.m.
That is the practical framework for the visit.
Choose the day based on the special you want, arrive inside the buffet window, and keep the first plate manageable.
Wednesday is the choice for fried chicken with livers and gizzards. Thursday is wings. Friday adds white fish and shrimp.
Saturday keeps fried chicken and adds a rotating chef’s special.
For parties of eight or more, reservations are available.
Everyone else can focus on the simpler decisions.
Pick a day, check the hours, leave room for pie, and let the country roads handle the rest of the trip.
A weather check is useful too, especially if the drive includes smaller rural roads after dark.
If you are coming from outside the immediate area, it also helps to save the address before leaving, since rural road names can look less familiar once you are away from the main highways.
By the time dessert arrives, the only question left is whether one slice is enough to end the meal.