After they took their seats at the bar and said hello to one of the owners, Rob Hatker and his father, Ed, ordered their food.
The duo have been regulars at Tupelo Grill for the last five months, typically visiting the restaurant five nights a week.
Rob usually orders the flavor-filled conch fritters and a lemon drop from the bar, while Ed favors a scotch-soaked rusty nail and any seafood on the specials menu. However, the food and drink selection is not the only thing the Hatkers value about Tupelo, 4401 NW 25th Place.
“I like the people,” Rob, a 47-year-old auditor said. “The servers are top-quality. Rich hires the best people in this town.”
It’s been more than a year since Susan LoMonte, Richard Wenk and Ritchie Reynolds transformed the old Las Margaritas Mexican Restaurant into their own culinary endeavor.
Tupelo Grill, formerly Tupelo BBQ Bar and Grill, celebrated its first anniversary last month with a name change and the introduction of a new menu.
Ed, a 74-year-old retiree, said he thought Tupelo’s recent name change was a smart move.
“I think it’s a good idea because people may have thought it was only a barbecue place,” Ed said, “and I think it’s important that they understand it’s not just a barbecue place. It’s a grill and a restaurant, and they have a lot of specials.”
One of the new specials is a succulent, hand-cut filet mignon topped with chimichurri sauce and served with garlic mashed potatoes and fresh seasonal vegetables.
LoMonte, co-owner, said Tupelo Grill changed its name to better reflect its menu’s scope.
“We really wanted to express our style of cooking that we’ve developed over the years,” co-owner Wenk said. “There’s a lot of stuff that comes from backyard cookouts.”
The restaurant’s new menu contains all of the previous items as well as 28 additions. LoMonte said the new menu includes more grilled food, salads, soups and vegetarian meals. She also said the menu used for the first year had about 60 percent of the originally intended items.
Wenk has been cooking in Gainesville for 22 years. At 42 years old, he has worked at and managed local restaurant staples like Leonardo’s 706, Ichiban Sushi and the now-closed Ristorante Deneno.
Wenk’s wife, LoMonte, has worked with her husband for the last 14 years. LoMonte, 46, also teaches 10th-grade English at Gainesville High School.
After years of shared experience at restaurants, Wenk, LoMonte and Reynolds opened Tupelo.
Reynolds, 44, is Tupelo’s head chef. Having lived and sampled food in London, the Middle East and the South Pacific, he incorporates an eclectic mix of influences into the restaurant’s menu. LoMonte said Reynolds has been cooking with Wenk for 22 years.
When Las Margaritas closed its doors, LoMonte saw an opportunity. The trio had found a home that seemed right for them.
Badger Moring Jr., an accountant and UF alumnus, has been eating at Tupelo twice a week since it opened. Moring, 32, said some of his friends used to work at Tupelo, one of whom still bartends.
“I like the food because it’s things you can’t get anywhere else. Where can you get shrimp and grits anywhere else in town?” Moring said. “The way they make the New York strip is unlike anything I’ve ever had before. I really like the uniqueness of the food, and the fact that I have friends working here doesn’t hurt.”
Like Ron, Moring espouses the quality of Tupelo’s conch fritters. His usual: sweet tea and shrimp and grits with Gouda cheese. He can also be seen stopping by Sunday brunch for a bloody mary or two.
LoMonte said while running the restaurant requires a lot of hard work, it is also very rewarding.
“There’s a certain satisfaction in making things for people,” Wenk said. “It’s satisfying to give someone something that makes them feel better.”
