Former Huddle House becoming Yamato Restaurant in Portsmouth

[orange-n-brown 365]

I was ready to start a collection plate to raise the money to buy it

[mvlnewlex]

i thought you were talking about JJs. LOL

[TheMalteseFalcon]

[quote="Tobias"] Excellent opportunity for success!
/quote]

Then why are they closing up??

[biggdowgg]

Excellent opportunity for success!
/quote]

Then why are they closing up??

after only 1 year

[kantuckyII]

I shouldn't say anything but...what the heck. The truth is, the Huddle House is in negotiations with the OBDTF who are considering buying this to have a nice place to meet when Ironton is using their stadium for Ironton's playoff games. This will keep us from having to have to associate with them disgusting Portsmouth people while we're there

[farmer]

I thought that SEOP would buy it then rename it Better than the Huddle Place.

[biggdowgg]

I shouldn't say anything but...what the heck. The truth is, the Huddle House is in negotiations with the OBDTF who are considering buying this to have a nice place to meet when Ironton is using their stadium for Ironton's playoff games. This will keep us from having to have to associated with Portsmouth people who bum us out

yeah, you looked pretty bumed out after after our football game this past year

[valleyfan07]

I thought that SEOP would buy it then rename it Better than the Huddle Place.

[ballparent]

This is funny, it's going out in one place but yet in today's Ironton Tribune they say they're coming to Ironton and wanting to expand in the area :roll: .

Huddle House coming to Ironton

By Mark Shaffer/The Ironton Tribune

First Portsmouth, then Flatwoods, Ky. and now Ironton.

The franchise restaurant Huddle House is expanding into the Tri-State and has chosen Ironton as the next spot to open one of its stores.

Debra Webb, franchise development director for the Huddle House chain, said the reason Ironton was chosen was because it’s their kind of town.

“Huddle House is very specific to be the hometown, neighborhood diner,” she said. “We actually don’t look in major metropolitan areas. Our food seems to fit better in the small towns.”

She said the company typically puts in restaurants in towns with populations between 10,000 and 25,000.

The Huddle House menu includes breakfast food like country ham, waffles, hash browns and dinner foods like hamburgers, BBQ sandwiches and ribeyes.

The small town strategy goes back to Huddle House’s roots. The Sparks family had the restaurant and got the name for the football fans who would “huddle up” at the restaurant after games.

“The families of the players on their son’s high school football team would get the name,” Webb said. “The fact we are franchise driven is why you don’t see thousands of Huddle Houses, yet.”

The chain got their start in Georgia in 1966 and has been expanding since then. It is currently building throughout the Midwest. It has recently built a distribution center in Arkansas to supply those stores.

Webb said they would be in Ironton after the first of the year to scope out sites and to talk to potential franchise owners.

“We’re coming,” she said. While she is here, she will also be speaking to people in Wheelersburg and Gallipolis about opening stores.

“Ironton, Flatwoods, Ashland, Westwood, Portsmouth, these are very much the type of communities we like,” Webb said. “Our franchises are from the community and they are generally very involved in the community and they just want to have the restaurant everyone will come to.”

[valleyfan07]

Scary for that franchise owner, wonder if they knew about the one in ptown closing before they signed on the dotted line!

[valleyfan07]

Being from the area, I do know that they were having a terrible time getting good help!! Service wasn't good and the owners were working there daily serving customers, you just don't see that in franchises like that.

[sportsfanatic85]

I have never ate there, but I have been past there a couple times, and it
never really looked very busy.

[rockhillbasketball]

i thought you where talking about jjhuddle.. my bad.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

thats what i thought, i was gonna say, who gives a flip.

as far as locating in ironton, we have plenty of empty buildings to put one in.

[farmer]

In the Tribune article it didn't say where it would be located and who the owner would be. This is not the first time something was going to come into town and people are still waiting. Like the hotel project. When they start to build I will believe it since the one in Portsmouth and others are closing.

[ballparent]

In the Tribune article it didn't say where it would be located and who the owner would be. This is not the first time something was going to come into town and people are still waiting. Like the hotel project. When they start to build I will believe it since the one in Portsmouth and others are closing.

I agree, it all just seems a little fishy to me.

[ManitouDan]

I don't see that as 1.2 million dollar place . Thats the problem to begin with ---very overpriced at the start. I'd guessed maybe 800K for the place. Now it could be reasonably sold for 600-700K. I guess I'm finding out why the banks won't loan me way less than that for a profitable business that has been under 1 owner for nearly 20 years. They have too many bad loans to cover. banks= MD

[TheMalteseFalcon]

OBDTF who are considering buying this to have a nice place to meet when Ironton is using their stadium for Ironton's playoff games.

Hmmm.... that COULD be the reason the Huddle House is going out of business. Think about it...

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

if the tips don't improve at these meetings , we are going to have to start havbing them at the poo-bah's house.

[The Instructor]

I ate at the Huddle House several times for dinner.

Each time I went it was packed.

They did have trouble with the staff.

At times, the service was very slow.

I am looking forward to the new one opening in Ironton.

It is very similar to the Waffle House.