The owners of Rudy’s Market are bringing new restaurant concepts to downtown Clarkston, the first being a steakhouse at the market’s former location at 9 South Main Street.
Rudy’s Prime Steakhouse is under construction now and is expected to open early summer 2024, co-owner and CEO Robert Esshaki told What Now Detroit.
Rudy’s Market first opened in 1933 in downtown Clarkston before moving to 9 South Main Street in 1954. Esshaki and Chris Thomas became the owners in the early 1990s. The company purchased the Clarkston News building at 5 South Main Street and the adjacent parking lot in 2020.
After they jumped on the opportunity to purchase the building, they evaluated what to do with the properties: keep it a grocery store, or enter the growing Clarkston restaurant space?
“Once we closed on it, we were reevaluating what our options and possibilities were for both those spaces,” Esshaki said. “Over the last 20 years or so, it’s become a restaurant destination for northern Oakland County. We looked at our options to keep it a store, which is a little more challenging… As we saw the success of all the other restaurants there, we thought that would be the best use of the new space.”
Then they made a discovery in the building they had purchased: a 3,000-square-foot basement, which they will be developing into a wine cellar after the opening of Rudy’s Prime Steakhouse. A sommelier, wine tastings and thousands of options will create a wine bar experience that Esshaki envisions customers enjoying before or after their meal.
Above the wine cellar, next door to the steakhouse, a fine-dining Mediterranean restaurant could be in the cards – but Esshaki said that could change.
“Once we open the steakhouse, we’ll learn about our customers,” he said. “We could consider a different concept after we get feedback from the community.”
Esshaki told What Now Detroit they hope the new restaurant concepts will contribute to helping make downtown Clarkston a dining and retail destination, while maintaining the historical value of the property itself.
“Both of the buildings we own are historical properties, designated historical landmarks,” he said. “The focus is on making sure these buildings are preserved and have a great use.”
[Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with comments from Esshaki.]
