The Redding Roadhouse Prospers on Name Alone

The restaurant is a cozy, upscale establishment that has been a part of Redding for more than 100 years — and they’ve got almost as many wines.

“We’ve got, oh, about 90 bottles of wine,” said Donna Roberts, doing a quick inventory of the menu.

Roberts is one of three partners who own the Roadhouse. The others are her husband, Michael, and their long-time friend Louis Macol. The three have worked together for many years and have developed a successful system: Michael is the chef, Macol does the storefront work, and Donna operates the business behind the scenes.

They re-opened the Roadhouse — formerly Mackensie’s Roadhouse before it closed — in September of 2001, and have since prospered. The Roberts have been in the restaurant business their whole lives. Donna, who was born in England, sojourned over to the United States at the age of 18 for an extended vacation but met Michael instead. They fell in love, and have been working together ever since. They currently have two children and reside in Newtown. Macol lives in Redding.

The restaurant know-how has paid off; their business needs little promotion. According to Donna, the Roadhouse gets by on name alone. They don’t need to advertise or throw events for Thanksgiving or other holidays. They fill up automatically.

That may be partly due to their Sunday brunch, which was so popular the customers advised that they should up the price.

“The customers told us to increase the price, that we were giving the food away,” said Donna.

The trio complied, and the Roadhouse upped the price last year for the first time. The price of brunch sits at $21.50 for adults and $11.25 for children, and is served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The price includes a complimentary cocktail and an array of breakfast items such as eggs Benedict, bagels, muffins, cream cheeses and five different salads. Entrée items often change, and have included roast beef stew and salmon with rice. A dessert table piled with Italian pastries, cookies, lemon bars and peach cobbler is available for the picking, if customers have room.

Sunday brunch is an “inexpensive way to throw a party,” said Donna. The Roadhouse has more than enough room for catering up to 100 people — there are four dining areas, each with a fireplace, and two of the three bars are reserved for private use. In the summer, a large outdoor patio is available.

Regular dinner-goers have a rich assortment of steakhouse-style food to choose from. From the menu, a sampling: 1 ¼-pound live Maine lobsters; pistachio-crusted sea bass with Thai curry coconut sauce; grilled sea scallops with chili lime butter; pan-seared tuna with wasabi mustard, scallions and watercress; braised lamb shank with a plum and port wine demi-glace; New York strip Au Poivre, pepper crusted in a green peppercorn and brandy cream sauce; Thai BBQ filet mignon brochettes served with wasabi mustard; 14-ounce spice rubbed grilled pork chop, porterhouse cut, with pineapple and red bell pepper butter. Roadhouse favorites include an upside-down chicken pot pie and meatloaf with mashed potatoes.

A notable dessert item is the banana cream pie, which is served in a wine glass. “All the fudge and biscuit drips to the bottom,” said Donna.

Recently the Roadhouse added cheaper options to the menu in response to the recession. Burgers and sandwiches can be had for as little as $10.50, making for friendlier drop-in dining.

While the Roadhouse caters more to “25- to 55-year-olds” and “isn’t a teeny bopper place,” according to Donna, the restaurant isn’t a somber establishment either. On Wednesday, two- or three-member bands with string instruments or fiddles and guitars weave symphonic; Thursday nights continue with lighter music; but on Friday and Saturday, larger bands take the stage at 9 p.m.

Early buzz-seekers can grab selected wines at half price and a dollar off regular drinks. Keeping with the upscale theme, there are no cheap domestic beers. Instead, the taps are stocked with Guiness, Sam Adams, Stella, Sierra Nevada, Harp, and — Donna’s favorite — the rich English lager, Boddington’s.

Two events that the Roadhouse is known for are its Oktoberfest and St. Patty’s festival, where loads of German and Celtic food, respectively, are served — not to mention beer. Seats fill up quick, with requests starting as early as the summer, so plan ahead.

The Roadhouse is located at 406 Redding Road in Redding. The restaurant can be contacted at 203-938-3388 and visited online at reddingroadhouse.com.