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Bonge’s Tavern, perhaps the best-known of central Indiana’s destination restaurants and a bastion of upscale dining in its far-flung locale, has changed hands after 24 years under owner and chef Tony Huelster.
Jake Burgess, a restaurateur and chef who owns several eateries northeast of Indianapolis, closed on the purchase of Bonge’s Tavern on Monday after a final walk-through, he told IBJ.
The 68-seat restaurant is ensconced in the rural Madison County town of Perkinsville in a 186-year-old building that originally was used as a hardware store. Under Huelster, it became known for its rustic atmosphere, jeans-and-flannel vibe and streamlined steak-and-seafood menu.
“It’s such an institution. I fell in love with everything it is, and I based my first restaurant loosely on Bonge’s Tavern,” Burgess said, referring to FoxGardin Kitchen & Ale in Fortville.
Huelster, who turns 64 in November, said Burgess approached him last year about selling the restaurant.
“It took a while to come to grips with whether we wanted to sell or not,” he said. But chronic neuropathy in his feet and a growing roster of grandchildren finally convinced him it was time to retire. And he felt confident that Burgess would run the restaurant well.
“I didn’t want to sell it to someone who had money and just thought it would be glamorous to have a restaurant,” he said. “[Burgess] clearly knows what he’s doing in the restaurant business. That was a big part of the decision.”
Bonge’s Tavern began operation as a restaurant in 1934, and took its name from longtime owner Chuck Bonge. The current incarnation took root in 1997.
A veteran of Carmel-based fine-dining mainstay Glass Chimney, Huelster purchased Bonge’s Tavern in 1999 for $450,000 after helping develop the free-wheeling eatery with its former owner, Don Kroger. Huelster bought the restaurant with his wife, Andrea, who kept the books for Bonge’s Tavern and remained a 50% owner up to its sale.
Thanks to some high-profile press, business boomed at Bonge’s tavern in the first year.
“It was almost too much, too soon,” Huelster told IBJ’s Inside Dish series in 2010. The restaurant didn’t have adequate arrangements for parking and thus miffed the bucolic town’s residents. Huelster eventually bought a lot next door to provide more parking.
Other challenges included a devastating lightning strike in 2000 that closed the restaurant for four agonizing months and resulted in an insurance claim close to $500,000. In the early 2000s, Huelster was forced to find a new solution for the disposal of wastewater from the restaurant, an unexpected $200,000 expense.
The restaurant’s reputation grew over the years, becoming a must-visit locale for local and national celebrities. Diners were welcome to write their names on the restroom walls—including David Letterman, “Garfield” cartoonist Jim Davis, Reggie Miller, members of the Indianapolis Colts and other athletes.
Burgess, 37, said he didn’t have any substantive changes planned for the restaurant, although some of the plateware would be updated. He plans to retain the entire staff, numbering about 15.
The restaurant was purchased by Burgess’ Fortville-based firm Burgess Restaurant Group in addition to two minority partners. Burgess declined to reveal the purchase price.
Burgess also owns FoxGardin Family Kitchen in Fishers, The Den by FoxGardin in Carmel, and Smoky’s Concession Stand in Lapel. He previously worked as a chef at the Indianapolis location of Prime 47 and at the Asian-fusion spot Sunsu at 225 S. Meridian St.
Burgess, who initially will serve as executive chef, expects to be in the kitchen on Tuesday night when the restaurant reopens from its regular Monday hiatus. “God willing, if the credit-card processor is up and running, we’ll be good to go,” he said.
Huelster said business at the restaurant has been uncommonly strong since the restaurant recently switched to taking reservations after years of a first-come-first-served policy that encouraged tailgating in the Bonge’s parking lot. As pre-game feasts declined, diners bought more off the menu.
“We’re packed,” Huelster said. “Sales have actually improved because of less tailgating. Jake is very fortunate to start off like that.”
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