THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 18, 1994 TAG: 9409160274
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CAROLE O'KEEFFE, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 100 lines
THE CITY HAS A NEW restaurant and live-music nightspot, thanks to two men who found themselves thinking along similar lines.
Brian K. Mason thought Suffolk needed a new restaurant-lounge that would regularly showcase mostly country-western bands, and John R. Gulledge was thinking of converting his former Performance Tire building into a restaurant.
And there you go. They opened Partners Restaurant and Lounge last week at 729 N. Main St., between Performance Tire and Major Signs, tucked back off the road and up against the scenic Nansemond River.
Did they think right? It's too soon to tell, but Wednesday, the partners' third day in business, they reportedly had a full house for lunch.
``What I really wanted to do is have a good country and western dance band and a restaurant,'' said Gulledge, 49, a former Army helicopter pilot. ``I already had the building. And I felt this was something Suffolk needed.''
``Everyone has been really positive,'' said Mason, 25, a former Navy man and manager of the place. ``They say it's about time.''
The building is about 60 years old and is on pilings - at high tide, the river runs under it. For a long time it was a warehouse for an oil company and, most recently, a mattress outlet and then the tire store, until Gulledge moved it into a building next door.
The structure has 2,500 square feet, nearly 2,000 of that devoted to customer areas: dining, game room and dance area. The game room has darts and a pool table.
The dance floor is also 60 years old - solid oak and about 250 square feet. It's the original floor of the building, which Gulledge and Mason refinished themselves. In fact, they did all the work themselves, except for specialties like plumbing and electrical, over the last five months.
Mostly cosmetic changes have been made to the outside.
``We gave it a total exterior face lift,'' Gulledge said. ``Also put in windows, new roof, new siding and a new deck with railings.'' The parking lot, once gravel, has been paved.
Mason and Gulledge say they plan an addition at the back of the restaurant, enclosed mostly with glass, to provide a view of the river, and an open deck - adding 700 more square feet - off that room. That work should be finished by the end of October, Gulledge said, and will raise total seating capacity from 111 dining customers to 156.
A multipurpose room, about 600 square feet, will house a big-screen television and areas for dining and viewing.
Except for the hardwood dance floor and the tile around the bar, the floors are carpeted in hunter green. The walls are light gray. Table tops are hunter green with charcoal gray trim. Bar stools are oak, like the dance floor.
So how did co-owners Mason and Gulledge get together? They actually met through Danny Lawson, Gulledge's son and a singer in the band Vendetta. Mason, it turns out, plays lead guitar in the band - which he describes as new rock. Lawson is a partner with his father in Performance Tire.
Gulledge asked Mason to manage the operation, but as they planned and began the remodeling work, Gulledge says, it became clear the two should become partners.
``When we started out, I was going to help finance things for him,'' Gulledge said. ``Then I found I needed him as much as he needed me. I felt, together we could really do it.''
Which, you would think, is why they named it partners, but no. Mostly it's because they go around calling each other ``partner.''
``I'll say, `Way to go, partner,' '' Gulledge said. ``And John said, `Why don't we call it Partners?' It rang a bell.''
And then there's the entertainment.
Rapid Fire, the country-western house band, will perform Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, complete with line dancing. While Rapid Fire is mostly country, they can play anything, Gulledge says.
There will be guest bands Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, and they probably will be rock and roll.
``Basically, we will feel the crowd out and see what they like,'' Gulledge said.
Monday will be for football on the big screen, and Sunday night is reserved for karaoke.
As for the food and drink: Partners serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, with moderate dinner prices and home-style cooking designed to attract families. Most lunches and dinners run about $4; the most expensive is a 14 oz. rib-eye steak, the ``Colt 45,'' for $12. The 25- to 55-something crowd will be attracted by the food and music later in the evening , Mason believes.
He and Gulledge said last week they expect to get their license for alcoholic beverages some time this week.
Hours are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.; once the ABC license is in place, closing time will be 2 a.m. Lunch begins at 11 a.m.; dinner (from the same menu) goes until 9 p.m. Breakfast you can have any time.
Partners employs seven waitresses and four cooks, all local people. Mazie Woodley, formerly of Rosie's Diner, is in charge of the kitchen, and Betty Bissett is food services manager.
In Partners' first week, mostly area workers have been coming for breakfast and lunch, Mason said.
``Everything from suits and ties to jeans and work boots.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
Brian K. Mason and John R. Gulledge are partners in a new restaurant
at 729 N. Main St., on the Nansemond River.
by CNB