Today we’d like to introduce you to M. Markman.
M., please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Jake’s Philly Steaks was a small daily luncheon spot that started in the same Houston Galleria area location in 1988. In 2004 Jake’s expanded and added a bar space with beer and wine. In 2012, we bought the business and over the next few years we expanded the menu, expanded the space, refurbished the interior and kitchen, added a covered patio with 84″ outdoor projection screens, and added private room space for meetings and events. We never had previous restaurant experience or ownership, just used our experience and common sense to build a reputable sports bar. The name was updated to Jake’s Sports Bar in 2014 with over 4,400 sq. ft. of space and Jake’s evolved into a major Galleria sports bar and restaurant operation offering the same great Philly Cheese Steak from the 80’s with some new additions, while expanding the menu to include burgers, steak, expansive appetizer selection, salads, hot dogs, tacos, catfish, sandwiches, beans, chili, queso, soups, and the new Platters, etc. We prepare all with fresh ingredients and homemade sauces and recipes, some dating back over 50 years. Our burgers are a fresh blend of brisket and angus beef, all of our beef used in our cheese steaks, nachos, salads, etc. is 100% sliced beef ribyeye, our chicken is of the highest quality, premium grade, trimmed breast meat, and we offer numerous bread choices. In addition, Jake’s offers over 60 beer, wine, and champagne choices, 18 draft beers, 26-degree bottled beer, over 80 alcohol bottle and shot choices, fountain drinks, and for the customer that wants a few more options, a soft drink cooler that includes IBC root beer, bottled water, Gatorade, cokes, Topo Chico, Orange Crush, and many others. We have 27 HDTV’s, games, free Wi-Fi, with a full kitchen and bar open seven days a week from 11:00 am to 2:00 am. Our role is to furnish the customer with incredible foods, priced reasonably, in a friendly, clean, comfortable environment. Service is still “walk-up” counter type, with food being delivered to the customer in a timely manner. No wonder why Jake’s is voted the #1 Sports Bar in the Galleria area, known for incredible food, A+ rating in most food critic reviews, A+ Health Ratings, and voted in the top 10 Houston area family friendly restaurants.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Lots of obstacles and challenges. First was cleaning the place up, then adding a wider selection of better, colder beer and more choices for alcohol. Second was expanding the menu and upgrading our choices with the limited kitchen space we had to work within. It’s tough offering over 80 fresh food options and getting each to the customer in a timely manner. We brought in many of the chefs from the extinct Mama’s Café and we made it a policy to make every ingredient as fresh as possible…tough to do in today’s economy at today’s food costs. Another struggle was the time it took to recognize what the majority of our customers wanted in this area; we tried darts, both steel and electronic, we tried live music, we tried open-mic jams, we tried stand-up comedy, we tried trivia and live game action, and we tried offering numerous entertainment options to our customers over the last 4 years; end result was our area and customer base wanted great food, great drinks, sports, late hour kitchen, juke box, and Golden Tee (Jake’s is known as one of the top Golden Tee spots in the world). And of course, always the most difficult challenge is consistency and trying to deliver a product that everybody wants and likes, once again tough to do, but with our reviews, we seem to do it as good or better than anybody else. The only thing that Jake’s lacks is new outside signage (fixin to update that) and, at times, shortage of frontage parking.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Jake’s Sports Bar – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We specialize in oil and gas exploration and this was a fluke. We lost our place where we had been twisting in since the early 1980’s, Mama’s Café, they closed down and we had no more chile con queso, no more Golden Tee, no more tortilla soup, no more pot roast taco’s, and no more late night food and drink, so we went around the corner and started frequenting a place called Jake’s Philly Steaks, bought it and improved upon it. What sets us apart from others is we believe in four things, keep it clean, keep it friendly, keep it good, and listen to your customer; pretty simple (but it’s amazing how many restaurants and bars can’t seem to do that, especially the cleanliness part!). We don’t do a lot of specials, we don’t have the most attractive bartenders, we don’t have the largest of kitchens, we don’t have a new interior, we don’t have plentiful parking, but we work with what we have, we keep it extremely clean, friendly, and we try to get the customer served as quick as possible. In addition, we serve quality ingredients. For example, some say we have the best fried catfish in Houston, reason why is we buy a premium, quality, catfish filet that maybe only 5% of the restaurants in Houston serve. When food costs get tight and margins disappear, we don’t alter our quality or skimp on our servings, we constantly strive to upgrade and improve our food standards. Used to be Jake’s was only known for their Philly cheese steaks, now we get rave reviews on just about everything we serve. Some say we have the best burger in town, some say we have the best fried chicken sandwich in town, and some say we still have the best Philly cheese steak, each to each one’s preference and taste. People visit us, think they are going to get “bar food”, and they are usually very surprised at the choice and quality of our menu. All of the above must attribute as to why Jake’s has been restaurant reviewed as one of “Houston’s Gems”.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We would like to expand with our new Flagship Model Sports Bar design, same great food and atmosphere, but much larger venues, 9,000 sq. ft., three rooms, attaching 4 lane bowling on one end, and anchoring the units in our own custom built commercial strip centers with plenty of parking and space! We’re looking at all of the greater Houston area corners, Richmond/Rosenberg, Katy, NW, NE, Woodlands, Pearland, etc. The existing Jake’s will stay as is other than constant improvements. It fits well in the Galleria area, most of the hotels are now starting to drop off their customers to eat and watch sports at Jake’s and we have an outstanding core group of fans.
Contact Info:
- Address: Jake’s Sports Bar (formally Jake’s Philly Steaks)
2944 Chimney Rock Road
Houston, Texas 77056 - Website: www.jakesedw.com
- Phone: 713-281-1962
- Email: jakesedw@gmail.com
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
