Blackburn’s Steakhouse to feature top-grade angus beef on menu

Blackburn’s Steakhouse, located at 7 John Street in Huntsville, is the latest enterprise of Blair Ivens, Dave Gilroy and Bruce Kells, partners in the neighbouring eatery, the Cottage Bar and Grill. The restaurant opened Feb. 21 in the space formerly occupied by The Porch, which was an extension of the aforementioned Cottage.

 “We never had a separate menu for The Porch,” said Ivens. “It kind of evolved as a place for overflow from The Cottage. We felt we weren’t utilizing the space very well, so we decided to come up with a new concept in here. We waited a few years until all the chain restaurants had come to town to see if they would negatively affect The Cottage, which they haven’t.”

He said that once they felt the time was right to move ahead with the business, they tossed around a few ideas before they decided upon a restaurant that would specialize in steak.

“We realized there was no steakhouse in this meat-and-potatoes kind of town, so the restaurant came out of that.”

However, according to Ivens, the new restaurant is a stand-alone business and is not to be confused as an addition to The Cottage.

“We share nothing. We built a separate kitchen for Blackburn’s and it has its own chef, its own staff, its own everything. It is its own restaurant. Nothing crosses over.”

The dark, relaxing atmosphere reflects the partners’ desire for a place that offers upscale, casual fine dining.

The main building seats 50 customers comfortably with space for another 50 on the patio once the weather permits.

The menu features a wide variety of appetizers and entrees including king crab cakes, bruschetta, applewood smoked cheddar fondue, scallops, lamb, chicken supreme, stuffed pork chops, and of course, filet mignon, New York striploin, ribeye steak, porterhouse steaks and a few specialty steaks.

“We only serve triple-A angus beef from Alberta. That is the finest quality meat you can buy. We can also keep the prices affordable because The Cottage already pays the rent for this space. We factored that into our prices,” he said.

While the interior and menu may be new, the owners have not forgotten the history of that particular piece of property.

As you walk in the doors, your eyes cannot help but glance over the vintage photographs of various times for Blackburn’s Landing – including the former marina and the legendary fire – from which the business garners its name.

Ivens said that the restaurant has exceeded what he and his partners thought it would become.

“It looks a little nicer than what we had envisioned. The décor came out better than we expected with our budget and it is something we are very pleased with. The menu offers meat with great quality but the other dishes on there are all exceptional as well. We are pleased with where we are at and the restaurant has been busy every day since we opened.”

He added that the business will continue to give its customers a fine dining experience, including the ability to increase on its current offerings, such as a growing wine list.

“We have a nice wine list that we have started with, but I think it has about 20 bottles on it. We want to expand on that as time goes on,” he said.

Blackburn’s Steakhouse is open for dinners only for the time being from 5 to 9:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday and 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Reservations are not necessary but are recommended. Call 789-7563 to book your table.