Birmingham's Third Steakhouse Will 'Do Our Own Thing'

Diners who enjoy fashionable steakhouses gain a third Birmingham choice next spring, when a brash "boutique restaurant" plans to open downtown.

Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse is moving into a high-visibility site that has been dark since at the end of May after 16 years at 201 S. Old Woodward. The new tenant, an independent brand that spread from Ohio into Pennsylvania, Florida and New York since its 1988 start, has 13 other Hyde Park locations.

The group has looked at Detroit for 18 years, says co-founder Joe Saccone. After visiting four other Oakland cities, he and partner Rick Hauck decided to go horn-to-horn with two competitors already established in town.

, a 28-state chain, is five blocks away on North Old Woodward. , owned by the publicly traded Ruth's Hospitality Group that runs more than 120 steakhouses, is nearby on Willits.

From Hyde Park Restaurant Group's headquarters in Beachwood, OH, Saccone tells why "we're ecstatic" about the new space and why Birmingham is his first Michigan site.         

Birmingham Patch: When do you expect to open?

Joe Saccone: Late next spring, probably, or possibly early summer. We'd like to catch the patio dining season. We've already hired an assistant manager and will get the top three to four people on board for training by January. We've come up twice so far to meet candidates.

Patch: Are extensive renovations are planned?

Saccone: We're gutting the entire restaurant except the kitchen. We'll do extensive remodeling and guests will see an entirely new look. The kitchen is gorgeous and shows a lot of spending, which we'll benefit from.      

Patch: What type of décor will guests see? Do you have a prototype design for the "chic and modern" atmosphere your website describes?

Saccone: The look for Birmingham is still being developed because we don't use a cookie-cutter design. We're a boutique steakhouse with a modern twist, and we try to have each one reflect the local area.

It won't look like a men's club because over 50 percent of corporate guests are women. So we introduce softer elements to get rid of that old, starched New York/Chicago steakhouse image. It will be casual, yet corporate — something for businesspeople and others. That's where the "boutique-ness" crosses categories.

We use a design firm from Columbus, but probably will have a local partner, as we did in Buffalo and Sarasota. We haven't identified who that might be.  

Patch: How much sidewalk seating is planned?

Saccone: We want to have up to 40 (seats) outside, if the city approves. The intent is to get a little bit of energy outside, even though it's a short season — only about 100 days. Instead of (table) umbrellas, we'd like to have some kind of awning system or structure if that's OK with the city.

Patch: What distinguishes Hyde Park from Fleming's and Cameron's?

Saccone: Well, I don't eat there. We do our own thing. What helps us is that we're smaller. They have hundreds (of units). We're just 13. Our menus are a little more creative than theirs.

We serve dry-aged prime steaks. I think our competitor don't do that — they may have prime, but not dry-aged. And though we're a steakhouse, we also offer fish flown in from around the world.

We don't have a sheet of daily specials — servers bring a little blackboard to the table listing fresh fish. We may have five featured seafood entrees that change with seasonal availability — including stone crab or Alaskan king crab legs that are fresh, not frozen. They're only available a few months, and if we can get them at a reasonable price for our guests, we do.

Right now we're featuring pumpkin swordfish, a variety available just three weeks out of the year. They pick up an orange tint in warmer water (reportedly from eating shrimp or other prey in tropical oceans).

Patch: Why are you confident about competing successfully with those brands a short walk away?

Saccone: We're used to being near other steakhouses. Morton's is across the street from us in downtown Cleveland — directly opposite. Fleming's and others are near us in Pittsburgh, Sarasota and downtown Columbus. We can compete effectively — we're boutique. We're confident, but not arrogant.

Patch: Talk about the "celebrity steaks" on your menus.

Saccone: That's a fun, chef-driven thing at each property. In Pittsburgh, we're next to PNC Park, so lots of (Pirates) ballplayers come in after games and a few have their names on the menu. Sometimes they ask and sometimes their buddies suggest it. And the Steak Rooney there is a tribute to Steelers owner Dan Rooney.

In Buffalo, cuts are named for Bills owner Ralph Wilson and  past coach Marv Levy, as well as former Sabres player Rob Ray. Steak Nicklaus in Columbus is named for the golfer, an Ohio State grad. And in Cleveland, Steak Kosar is a tribute to former Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar, an Ohio native.
We also might name a salad or a drink after someone — it's a lot of fun.

Patch: Any names being considered here yet? Want our readers to nominate some?

Saccone: Someone already suggested a Steak Laimbeer at Birmingham (for Pistons retiree Bill Laimbeer), and we've gotten two others I can't think of. We'll take suggestions, absolutely, so go ahead and ask.

Patch: What demographics and other factors make Birmingham suitable for your expansion?

Saccone: The location is great, right in the heart of Birmingham next to . And the demographics are outstanding. We like areas with over $100,000 in median household income. (Birmingham's was $100,344 in 2010, census data shows.)

It's not just driven by demographics. We look at hotel occupancy, the feel of a place and where a city is going. It's a lot of gut feeling about how we see the community fit.

Frankly, we've looked at Detroit for 18 years because it's so close to our base. We get business people from your area down here and vice versa. It makes sense to connect the dots. We've always looked at the suburbs, though we did consider one spot downtown a while back. Everything was Troy or Birmingham or Farmington Hills — that's all the real estate people were taking us to. We also looked at Southfield and Bloomfield.

Candidly, it was a handshake after two meetings (with building owner Ted Fuller). It was really a no-brainer — it's a perfect fit. We love the area and what city officials are doing. You can see that business leaders and other people care about the community.

This place is perfect. Why would anybody not want to live there?