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All Souped Up morphs into new Stones River Grill



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By: ERIN EDGEMON, Business Editor
Posted: Sunday, March 1, 2009 6:28 am
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All Souped Up morphs into new Stones River Grill | BIZ, Food

All Souped Up? Nope Chef Steve McGowan is all fired up about his new venture.
Chef Steve McGowan is getting all souped up for his new restaurant.

The owner of the All Souped Up restaurant just off the Public Square has reopened the Stones River Grill to expand his restaurant concept and prepare more classic American dishes or comfort food as McGowan likes to call it.

“Everything today is about comfort food,” he said from the restaurant he reopened last week. Stones River Grill closed after some 24 years in December 2008.

With this move, McGowan decided to close All Souped Up Feb. 27 to focus on the new restaurant.

Since 1999, All Souped Up had served homemade soups and sandwiches to the downtown lunch crowd. Back then the restaurant was a unique concept and one of the first soup and sandwich places in town.

“We had a good 10-year run there,” McGowan said. “I just think it is time (to close).”

The Cincinnati (Ohio) Culinary Arts Academy-trained chef whose previous experience includes executive chef of Arthur’s in Nashville and of the Stones River Country Club wanted the chance to do more of what he loves.

“We are starting to expand All Souped Up here,” he said of Stones River Grill, which he assured will serve all of his customers’ favorite soups.

McGowan’s wife, Debbie, said she and her husband wanted to do something special for the residents of Murfreesboro with the new restaurant.

Stones River Grill is a classic southern diner serving up breakfast like biscuits and gravy and country ham and meat loaf, Coca Cola ham and roast pork loin with mashed potatoes, green beans and macaroni and cheese for lunch.

The restaurant is open Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Long-time customers of the restaurant should expect a similar menu and a high-level of customer service.

“(Stones River Grill) is very family oriented,” Debbie said. “We want to appeal to the families. If you come around more than once, we are going to treat you like family.”

Slowly, McGowan said he will begin to add more variety to the restaurant giving customers a taste of the traditional with a modern twist as daily specials. McGowan and restaurant staff also will listen to what customers want and incorporate those things into the restaurant’s menu.

Some of his specialties that have made it to the menu so far are a soy sauce marinated chicken sandwich, chicken salad with mustard and honey and tuna salad with jalapeño peppers for flavor, carrots and chives.

Listening to customers and giving them what they want is extremely important to the McGowans and something they think made All Souped Up successful for a decade.

“We have a philosophy at both places,” Steve McGowan said. “The answer is yes, what is the question?”

Another secret to success, he said, is just being in the restaurant and being visible to customers.

This was one of the reasons McGowan decided to close All Souped Up and focus all of his efforts on Stones River Grill.

“My customers have always wanted me to expand and that is what we have done,” he said.

And, the new restaurant is giving McGowan another challenge and the freedom to try out new recipes and offer specials based on the season and holidays.

Stones River Grill also will allow him to get back to barbecuing and smoking meats, which is one of his first loves in cooking.

Debbie said the restaurant and its menu is “truly in its infancy state.

“It may take us a year before we settle on the menu,” she said.

By then, Debbie hopes her husband’s unique take on southern cuisine will land him a spot on the Food Network on the popular show “Diners, Drive Ins and Dives” where host Guy Fieri visits classic "greasy spoon" spots.

Erin Edgemon can be reached at 869-0812 and at eedgemon@murfreesboropost.com.

Stones River Grill
1443 NW Broad St.
890-3074

Hours of Operation
Monday-Saturday 6 a.m.-3 p.m.
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Tags: BIZ, Food
Member Opinions:
By: TimeforJustice on 3/1/09
Good Luck Steve and Debbie. I will miss seeing you each week. While I will definatley try your new place sometime, it was very easy to visit you from my workplace. I will miss it greatly! Wish you all the success with your new endeavor.

By: ItsGood on 3/1/09
Ah man, had hoped both would be open. Best wishes and we will be by to dine.

By: Oblio on 3/3/09
Glad to hear that Linda's a.k.a. Stones River Grill is back. I hope that a few of the former employees are there. It was my favorite breakfast spot for many years. I try to patronize locally owned and operated business.

By: realtyman on 3/8/09
Congratulations! Steve & Debbie, I'll be by to see you soon. A longtime breakfast club regular @ ASU.


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