Editor’s note: This information was composed from Bradford County Telegraph stories published Jan. 21, 1999, and Jan. 22, 2009 — in recognition of Western Steer’s 20th and 30th anniversaries.
BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Analytics and conventional thought suggested a Western Steer Family Steakhouse should’ve been opened in Gainesville or Jacksonville — not Starke.
Harry Hatcher III, however, believed such a restaurant had a chance of making it in his hometown. He was proven right as Western Steer (and then later The Steakhouse in Starke after a name change) did business in Starke for almost four decades before shutting its doors for good in November 2018.
Could Hatcher have foreseen such a long life for the restaurant? Maybe not at the beginning. In thinking back on it being built in 1978, Hatcher said, “It was a rather large-looking building for this little town. We were just hoping, really, that we could get the thing built and stay around here.”
Hatcher never thought about going into the restaurant business until friends Buddy and Sandra Norman said they were interested in opening a steakhouse in Starke and that they’d be willing to partner with him in such a venture.
Later, at a softball tournament, a man by the name of Richard Howard told Hatcher he was part of a group starting a new chain of restaurants — Western Steer. He asked Hatcher if he’d be interested in owning one of those restaurants.
“They actually wanted us to open up in Gainesville or Orange Park,” Hatcher said. “They didn’t think Starke could support a steakhouse.”
Yet what Hatcher and the Normans realized was that table-service restaurants on U.S. 301 (from the Florida-Georgia border to Ocala) at that time were rare. Starke’s only table-service restaurant at that time was the Garden Restaurant.
“We just felt there was a market here,” Hatcher said, adding, “We thought we had some merit to our decision, but it wasn’t real scientific.”
The Starke Western Steer opened Jan. 16, 1979. Approximately five years afterward, a demographics study was conducted for Western Steer on all of the areas in which those restaurants were located. One of the conclusions was that such a restaurant shouldn’t be located in Starke.
A demographics study doesn’t mean much if the customers say otherwise, and that was the case with Starke’s Western Steer, which drew diners from outside of Bradford County. They traveled from places like Bryceville, Keystone Heights, Lake Butler, Maxville and Waldo. Plus, you also had those who were simply passing through town on 301.
As he reflected upon that success in a January 1999 interview, Hatcher said, “All those surrounding areas have really supported us through the years. We really, really, really appreciate it.”
At one time, there were approximately 300 Western Steer restaurants. By the time the Starke restaurant celebrated its 30th anniversary, it was the only Western Steer in existence.
The restaurant’s name was eventually changed to The Steakhouse in Starke because more often than not, when somebody referred to it, they called it “the steakhouse” as opposed to “Western Steer.”
Whatever name you called it, it was a restaurant that defied the odds — at least from the vantage point of people from the outside looking in. Would a Western Steer have thrived in Gainesville or Jacksonville? Who knows. What is known is that it thrived in Starke.
Hatcher said the longevity was due to more than serving up quality food. In his mind, good food is nothing if you don’t provide good service.
“I think what really separates us is our people,” Hatcher said.
Hatcher said no task in the restaurant was important enough to be done while neglecting customers. He stressed to his employees that the ultimate goal was to please the diners. Take care of their needs. Anticipate their needs. If you see that someone’s coffee cup is half empty, go ahead and fill it up without being asked to.
“Just some old, Southern hospitality. That’s what we’re trying to do,” Hatcher said.
The buffet
Other than the Steerburger, perhaps what people remember the most about Western Steer was its hot bar. The restaurant didn’t always have one, and Hatcher was resistant to adding one at first.
When Western Steer opened, it had a salad bar that Hatcher described as “pretty phenomenal back then.” It consisted of 40-50 items — all cold.
“Everybody ranted and raved about how great it was,” Hatcher said.
Salad bars were quite the trend in those times. Eventually, restaurants began expanding upon their bar options. Hatcher said one restaurant would begin offering soup. Then another would start offering hot vegetables. Another would add rolls.
Before you knew, hot bars became a thing. In Hatcher’s eyes, though, adding a hot bar meant that you’d in essence be operating two restaurants as you had to focus on those food items as well as the cooked-to-order food items that were a part of the menu.
“That makes it pretty difficult,” Hatcher said, “but it’s something that the public has sort of demanded.”
The apron
If you didn’t know Hatcher personally, you probably still knew who he was if you saw him out in public because of the Western Steer apron he wore. You just took it for granted that if you saw Hatcher, he’d be wearing the apron, but it didn’t used to be that way. When he would make trips to the post office or to the bank, for example, he would take the apron off.
Hatcher admitted that maybe he was embarrassed about wearing the apron outside of Western Steer. However, when he thought about it, he concluded that he worked at Western Steer, and the apron was part of his uniform.
Therefore, the apron stayed on until the workday was done. That’s how his wife knew that he was done with Western Steer until the next day.
“That’s usually when JoAnn knows I’m not going out anywhere or doing anything else,” Hatcher said. “When I take my apron and shoes off, she knows I’m through for the day.”
