Three Bartlett couples recently partnered to save the Side Porch Steak House — an important city landmark not only to them but the community at large.
The newfound collaboration began in early August after they learned on Facebook that the Side Porch closed indefinitely due to staffing issues and COVID-19. Bartlett’s oldest steakhouse appeared in danger of not surviving through the summer.
That gave former county School Board member and County Commissioner David Reaves an opportunity to cross one goal off his bucket list.
“That’s always been one (thing) I thought would be awesome to do,” Reaves said of owning a steakhouse.
That became the first piece in solidifying the Side Porch’s newest ownership group. Reaves, his wife Stephanie, Jeff and Jan Jones, and Emily and BCS School Board member David Cook make up the rest of the new owners.
They officially announced their venture into the restaurant industry on Facebook last Saturday, Sept. 11. Facebook played a key part in the group’s formation and immediately the group saw strong support of its decision via hundreds of comments on their individual pages.
“We’ve heard of people crying. People called (and) told us: ‘When we read that my daughter began to cry. My wife was crying.’ All this kind of stuff,” Jeff Jones said. “I like food, but I didn’t realize there’s that much attachment to it.”
The Side Porch on the west end of the suburb at 5689 Stage Road, opened in 1976, and in the 45 years since became known for its affordable steaks and arguably just as famous for its croutons.
The croutons — that start about the size of a dinner roll then cut into four pieces — served as the social media rallying cry for the new ownership group whose group text is now unsurprisingly named “save the croutons.”
Since its opening in 1976, the Side Porch has become much more than a locally based steakhouse. The new owners viewed this opportunity as a preserving a community asset, one that happens to be a restaurant.
“It’s a piece of families’ histories,” Emily Cook said. “That’s where you went for your birthday. For graduations. If you had a big family event to celebrate, you went to Side Porch.”
There are no plans to make radical changes to the menu. The main differences people can expect when the Side Porch eventually reopens is to the building that’s currently undergoing renovations.
“It’s hard to ask them to be willing to change when there’s things they love on the menu,” Stephanie Reaves said. “I think it’s very important for us to keep the menu as part of the historical side.”
All six new investors became well-known for their community service in Bartlett within various capacities — including serving as PTA or booster club presidents and to elected positions — over recent years.
Another reason this opportunity seemed feasible was all of them are entering the empty-nester phase of their lives. That meant figuring out their next chapters.
None of the Side Porch’s owners have any restaurant experience, but they are hoping a community approach can be effective in turning around the steakhouse’s fortunes.
That starts by taking their time with the renovations, and ultimately hiring a high-quality staff to carry out their mission.
“We could have opened it up quicker, but we all felt like it was better to use the time that it’s closed to do some refreshing and to address some of the things that needed to be addressed to make it a more pleasant experience for everybody,” Jan Jones said.
As for when the Side Porch plans to reopen? Anticipation seems to build each day based on social media comments and all of the owners constantly asked about a reopening date.
“We’re still hoping for the holidays but that’s about as much as we can say right now,” David Cook said.