Acre Restaurant Owner
Finnis Springer
The 75-seat dining room features a custom wood-burning hearth, putting an emphasis on locally raised meats and dry-aged steaks. The menu also includes seafood, fresh pastas, craft cocktails, amazing wines and imaginative desserts.
Acre is an homage to Rolling Acres in Liberty, Missouri. The farm owned by Chef Andrew Longres' grandparents brings back fond memories and the wealth of knowledge that he gained over the years of traveling and working at some of the best restaurant in the country and placing it in the heart of Parkville Missouri.
acre features a custom wood burning hearth in the heart of the restaurant and is the foundation of our cooking style and cuisine. with our extensive dry aging program featuring steaks ranging form 21 days up to 45 day the live fire and open kitchen concept acre brings hospitality and warmth to the northland
How did the concept for Acre come about?
Well, I guess really stemming from my last restaurant, which was called Wally Joe. I was getting ready to leave there and looking for another opportunity with a new partner. My current partner in Acre was a regular guest of ours at the restaurant. He really loved our food and we got to know each other. This is a very well-traveled man with very sophisticated tastes and a lover of food and wine. And he was interested in becoming my partner in this new venture. So we thought it was going to take a year to get this project up and running. And a year turned into four and a half. It was really a labor of love.
And at the same time were you getting a lot of inquiries?
Absolutely. It was a very high-profile project. I've developed a pretty nice reputation locally, as well as regionally and nationally. So there was a lot of anticipation. People were always asking, "Well, when is the new restaurant opening?" Every time I would give 'em a date we had to push it back because there was always some kind of delay.
Was there any backlash?
Surprisingly very little. I guess inevitably there was the thought that, "Oh, you're not going to get a restaurant open. You're just making all this up. It's not going to happen." After a year or two, I guess it was sort of like The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Anyway, after we finally got open, it was a reality and it was good.
How did the opening go?
The opening went great. As I said, there was a lot of anticipation and just a big sigh of relief that it finally happened after all this time. So it made a big splash here locally. Of course, there's always a honeymoon period for new restaurants where everybody wants to go and you're going to be packed every night and there's always a wait and there's always a long list of people who are trying to get reservations. But after a year it's still like that for us. We're very lucky. But we're working very hard for our good luck, too, though.
And how about the design of the building? I understand the renovation was quite intense.
It really was. What we did is we took an existing property, we completely gutted it to basically start from scratch. It might as well have been brand new construction. But Mary Stanley, who is the wife of my other partner Frank Stanley, is very much into interior design. We had many conversations about the look and the feel of the restaurant and we worked with another interior designer and a local architect about how we wanted the restaurant to feel and look. We wanted to keep the integrity of the existing property. We're set on an acre, hence the name. A lot of beautiful oak trees. A lot of lush landscaping here. So that's how we arrived at the look and the feel now.
And what changes have you made throughout this first year?
Naturally the menu changes quite a bit, but as far as everything else, not a whole lot. We're always tweaking things, we're always constantly trying to improve our product and the service that we give. Just the details really, just paying more attention to things. If something goes wrong we always try to learn from our mistakes and try to improve on how we do it and why we do it.
How were the reviews?
The reviews have been great. The Commercial Appeal, which is the local paper here in town, gave us a great review. Memphis Magazine did a cover article on us and gave us a glowing article. Memphis Flyer, another local publication, gave us a great review. Local bloggers gave us some great reviews as well. So overall it's been really positive.
You have mentioned that you got a lot of attention locally and regionally but not as much nationally. I'm curious how that is for you breaking through to the national recognition.
I think nowadays it's a little harder. In the past, when I developed my reputation nationally, we were in the middle of nowhere in a small town called Cleveland, Mississippi. Two hours from Memphis, two hours from Jackson, Mississippi. So really it was a small town literally in the middle of nowhere. But we garnered great national accolades. CBS Sunday Morning did a whole segment on our restaurant and my family. The NBC Today Show noticed and I was invited to come up there to do a segment with them. Esquire magazine picked us as one of the best restaurants in the South. Just a whole list of things. But now I think it's because of all the 24-hour news cycle and all the publications and the internet and everything, it's harder to get more attention, even though people know me. I think it's just much harder these days.
Does it feel like it's been a year?
It does not feel like it's been a year. We've just been so busy every day and time has really flown by. I guess if I had to sit down and think about all the things that have happened in the past year, it would look like a year. But it doesn't. Time has just flown by so quickly.
And what's next for you?
To continually improve with this restaurant and to make it an institution. But I'll eventually want to branch out and do other projects as well. Maybe another restaurant. Another concept. Just other projects that might come along.
Kicking up dust clouds behind us on a long winding dirt road, and passing cacti interspersed amongst the dry landscape, our Uber ended the drive at a lush green oasis of palm trees and picturesque treehouses. Nestled in the hillside of Animas Bajas approximately 6 kms from the centre of San Jose Del Cabo is Acre.
Acre is a multi-faceted hospitality business spanning 25 acres of land with a boutique hotel featuring treehouses, a restaurant and bar, an animal sanctuary, a thriving events business, a farm, and even its own line of mescal. Wander the design-centric property and you will find some secret gems like a bocce court, a cozy fire pit with a homemade Jenga game, and even a dining table in the middle of the jungle.
Wood-fire grilling also plays an instrumental role on the current menu at Acre, as noted by the whole hens and large tomahawk steaks cooked it. Likewise, the whole grilled catch of the day is rubbed with guajillo chile then cooked with fire. The fish is served whole with greens and housemade blue corn tortillas, and likely to exude oohs and ahhs when it is brought to your table.
Wildacre Rotisserie is a fast casual restaurant in Cos Cob, CT offering a contemporary take on the traditional rotisserie. We're proud of the delicious food we make, and can't wait for you to try it.
We're proud to partner with Freebird, who sources directly from family-owned Amish and Mennonite poultry farms in Lancaster, PA. Our chickens are GAP-2 certified, vegetarian-fed, antibiotic- and growth hormone-free, and absolutely delicious. Learn more about Freebird here.
The famous 1912 Natirar Mansion has been lovingly restored to the grandeur of its past. Re-opened in June 2017, the Mansion is available with its expansive lawns, rolling hills, and historic architecture for your upcoming social or business event. Learn more here or call us at 908.901.4708.
The now-500 acre property is owned by Somerset County. In March 2003, Bob Wojtowicz executed a 99 year lease for the upper 90 acres to create Natirar: The Farm, Cooking School, Mansion, Club and Ninety Acres restaurant.
That restaurant was Green Acres Caf, which is located in the downtown Birmingham Fourth Avenue Historic District, one of the largest commercial sectors for Black-owned businesses in Alabama and across the Southeast.
Gratton grew up in the Norwood community with his brother, Charles Jr., and sister, Regina Witherspoon. He attended Our Lady of Fatima Catholic School, John Harbert Phillips and Arthur Harold Parker high schools. Gratton enrolled at Phillips in 1965, the year after the school was desegregated. He was treated so poorly that he had to leave after his freshman year.
The family tried to franchise the restaurants and opened a location in West End as well as others in Center Point, Forestdale, and Hueytown. The businesses thrived until around 2010, when some of the franchise owners lost interest, Gratton believes. The downtown, Ensley, and Center Point sites are still going strong.
At Eighty Acres Kitchen & Bar, we offer a refined, modern approach to contemporary American cuisine with a strong emphasis on local, farm-to-table products. We are a family-owned and operated restaurant located in the Monroeville/Plum area of Pittsburgh. Our passion is crafting contemporary, seasonally based dishes complimented by homemade desserts, handcrafted cocktails, and carefully selected wines and craft beers.
Our head chef & owner, Don Winkie, has over 30 years of experience in critically acclaimed kitchens across the United States. He is committed to providing fresh, innovative dishes and memorable experiences for our neighbors, near and far. No matter the occasion, we look forward to seeing you at Eighty Acres Kitchen & Bar.
HDR was engaged by the landlord, Fortius as the architect for the base build, as well as the service engineer. We were also engaged by the tenant, restaurant owner Tully Heard, to provide service engineering within the 400-seat restaurant and associated spaces.
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