Modicum: Marine veterans open 16-seat restaurant in Union

Romain and Marilyn Heuze operate a 16-seat restaurant in Union, Kentucky, where they serve a single seasonal menu to diners each night. Located in a small building off Old Union Road, the establishment is named Modicum, a Latin term that the couple says describes their goal of providing a small but exceptional experience.

The Heuzes arrived in the area three years ago after living in California for 12 years. Their partnership began during military service, as both are veterans of the U.S. Marines. Romain Heuze served for 10 years in the French Marines before joining U.S. forces.

The couple met in Afghanistan in 2009. Romain was deployed with U.S. troops, while Marilyn was on a 10-month tour with the U.S. Marines. They described the meeting as immediate and unexpected.

"You don't believe it until it happened to you, and it did happen to me," Romain said. He spent the next six months arranging transport to visit Marilyn. He volunteered to drive convoys between their camps, swapping shifts with other soldiers to secure a few hours with his partner.

After leaving the military, the couple married and began focusing on cooking, a skill they learned from their grandparents. During their time in Southern California, they worked in the oil and gas industry while Romain designed menus for wineries and Marilyn prepared pastries for catering events.

The decision to move to Kentucky was driven by a desire to provide their five children with a rural lifestyle. The Heuzes undertook the renovation of the Modicum building themselves. They handled tasks ranging from bricklaying to building the kitchen, describing the process as a period of wearing many different hats.

The restaurant currently operates with a limited seating capacity. The owners are now working to establish direct relationships with farms in Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio. They aim to create a local produce network that bypasses third-party suppliers.

"No third-party company is going to establish that relationship with those producers and bring the special plant, the special vegetable for us," Romain said. This direct sourcing strategy is intended to improve the quality of ingredients available for the menu.

The Heuzes plan to expand their offerings based on the produce available from these new agricultural partners. Their goal is to elevate the dining experience using locally sourced items. The restaurant remains focused on maintaining the intimate atmosphere that defined its opening.

Modicum serves its one seasonal menu nightly in Union. The couple continues to build their supplier network across three states. They view the restaurant as the culmination of their post-military life and their commitment to the culinary traditions they inherited from their families.