LAFAYETTE, IN — In the 1990s, Ed Fauble was tasked with helping close dozens of restaurants around the United States for franchise owners of Mountain Jacks Steakhouses.
But none of those experiences prepared him for Saturday night’s closing of Lafayette’s iconic restaurant of nearly 50 years along South Street.
Standing off the front entrance, just down two steps into the dining area, co-owner Ed Fauble took it all in one more time as his staff prepared for their last night.
Since news got out about the restaurant being forced to close after property owner Jeff Kessler decline to renew the lease, the flow of customers has been comparable to a marathon, and parking has been sparse.
“It’s been humbling,” Ed said, taking a deep breath. “People talk to us as we come around the restaurant and I don’t know what to say. I’ve been fighting back a lot of tears.”
Kessler has not responded to The Journal & Courier’s calls and emails about why he chose not to renew the lease for Mountain Jacks and plans for the property.
The restaurant has operated at mass capacity since word got out, Blanca said, averaging at least 500 customers per night between their regular operating hours of 5 to 9 p.m. on weekdays. Keeping up with the hundreds of phone calls and emails each day has been nearly impossible.
But at a time when most restaurant employees would begin jumping ship, knowing their days at the business were numbered, it’s been the opposite for Mountain Jacks, Blanca said. Even former employees still working in the Greater Lafayette area have volunteered to fill in as needed.
“I’ve always said that Mountain Jacks is a special place, and it has nothing to do with me or Blanca,” Ed said. “It’s just … for some reason, everything comes together. The employees want to do what they do well, and they’re good people. They love we have seen through them is overwhelming.”
As the clock ticks closer to opening time, servers begin filing into the restaurant, finding one another in the kitchen to embrace and share a laugh amid the organized chaos. Jerry Bowie finds Blanca in the kitchen and catches her in a big bear hug.
Bowie has worked at Mountain Jacks for 11 years in various roles, he said, although the last few years have been as needed. On Saturday night, Bowie was needed as a server.
“I think it’s a little lost today in what people see as a job versus an investment in the company you work with,” Bowie said. “I bought in, I invested. This is my home just as much as anyone else’s. So, you always want to see it succeed, and you’ll do whatever you need to in order to make it happen.”
Michael Vander Plaats said he “bought in” to Mountain Jacks when he was 16, starting out as a busboy and making his way up to serving.
Now 20, Vander Plaats owns his own marketing business, working with local churches and restaurants to create video content. In honing his craft, he said he’s often found himself looking to Blanca for advice, crediting his work at the restaurant for sharping his communication skills.
Over the years, Vander Plaats said he’s looked forward to coming to work, particularly on holidays like Thanksgiving. Hearing from customers of what Mountain Jacks has meant to them in light of its closure has made his last few shifts more meaningful.
“Lafayette is unique in how much we care about our local business. So, I think when you see that kind of disregard, from an ethical standpoint, it’s kind of rocking the boat a little bit for a lot of people,” Vander Plaats said. “This isn’t like Indianapolis or Chicago, it’s Lafayette. It’s a small town that’s growing.”
At the front of the house, Manager Abby Bougher is prepping for how she will fit all of the guest with reservations, and some without, into the restaurant one final time.
In the last week, Bougher said she’s had to fight back tears as she’s said goodbye to guests she’s gotten to know in her eight years of working here. One thing Bougher wasn’t prepared for is knowing how far some guests were willing travel to dine at the restaurant one last time.
“Thursday night I had a group of three walk in and say, ‘Hi, I’m really sorry to bug you, but we just drove here from South Carolina and we’re hoping to get a table,'” Bougher recalled. “They had genuinely dropped everything they were doing and drove from South Carolina to get here. It’s been emotional for me to be here at the host stand talking to all these people.”
In the days leading up to Saturday, Bougher said she’s had to break the news to customers hoping to find a reservation past May 30. Each night, a few dozen people hoping to find a walk-in spot will wait outside the doors, as Bougher tries to analyze the restaurant for potential openings between reservations for customers who promise to be quick.
The decision to close on Saturday, Blanca said, was affected by a mixture of things. The Faubles must turn their keys to the restaurant in by July 1, leaving them only the month of June to pack up the restaurant, sorting through what stays in the hope that they are able to rebuild, and what goes.
Imagining what happens after Saturday, Bougher said, is impossible.
“I am very dedicated to Ed and Blanca,” Bougher said. “I’ve known Ed since I was 18, and I met Blanca later on, but we’ve formed a very close relationship …”
As Bougher tries to finish her sentence, she pauses to fight through tears, as Blanca pulls her into a long, comforting hug. Over the last eight years, Ed and Blanca have become a set of second parents for Bougher.
And Blanca feels the same.
“It’s more than just working together,” Blanca said, wiping away tears. “Our lives are so intertwined, and I think our customers can feel that, too. That’s why this is so emotional for so many people.”
As the clock ticks closer to 4:30 p.m., opening time for Saturday, Kayleigh Buck takes her seat in the restaurant’s coat room. In the small walk-in area just off to the side from the restrooms, Buck is positioned at a small desk with a telephone, a sheet or paper, a small overhead light, and a can of orange soda.
Her main job for the evening, Buck said, is to answer the phone, letting customers know that there are no more reservations for the evening, they aren’t capable of handling carry-out orders, and that Saturday is their last night.
Buck has a smile on her face each time as she picks up the receiver, but knowing this is her last night of work makes the moment bittersweet.
“This is just such a warm and welcoming place,” Buck said. “Technically, I’m not full time anymore after I just got a job in the nursing field, but I still love to pick up shifts from time to time. I’m still here probably every weekend, because it’s such a great place to be.”
As the doors to the restaurant officially open, Blanca works to corral customers in the parking lot. The open seats at the bar immediately fill, as customers who managed to score a reservation make their way inside.
Remaining in the parking lot are a few dozen people hoping for space for one last meal.
Cheri Tague, a customer who did manage a reservation Saturday, said she and her husband have been coming to Mountain Jacks regularly for the past 25 to 30 years. When she heard it would soon close, Tague said she rushed to get one more dinner on the books.
Where the couple will frequent now that Mountain Jacks has closed remains uncertain.
“It’s been a little bit of a challenge,” Tague said. “I know there are some restaurants that are new in West Lafayette, but we’ll have to see. We just keep holding onto hope that maybe somehow they will relocate Mountain Jacks.”
No plans have been solidified on a new restaurant location, Ed said, but he and Blanca are continuing to hold onto hope, too.
To celebrate the long week filled with shared memories and best wishes, they’ll pop some champagne with their staff, hoping for one more night of memories together.
“I know we’re losing a business, but it’s not about that,” Blanca said. “I’m losing contact with a lot of my employees who I’ve gotten to know and gotten to spend time with. I’ve loved them, celebrated them, listened to their trials and tribulations in their personal lives. They’re like my kids. I know they’re all adults, but they’re a big piece of my life, and it’s coming to an end. That deserves a celebration.”
Jillian Ellison is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. She can be reached via email at jellison@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Customers, employees mourn loss of Lafayette’s Mountain Jacks Steakhouse
Reporting by Jillian Ellison, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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