Restaurant Road Trip: Rick’s Steakhouse

FAIRMONT, W.Va. (WBOY) — A beloved BBQ restaurant in Fairmont’s Bellview neighborhood has been re-opened as the area’s newest family-style steakhouse.

Rick Toothman, the former cook at the Mason Jar restaurant has taken over management and ownership duties and reopened it as Rick’s Steakhouse. The new venture launched three weeks ago and business is already booming.

“It’s just good coming out and seeing the people out there enjoying the food,” said Toothman. “We wanted to keep the restaurant open for the employees—and ourselves too. I mean, it was all of our living, so we decided to take it over.”

Business was brisk on the Wednesday morning WBOY visited Rick’s Steakhouse. Most of the seats at the bar were occupied by regular customers ordering breakfast and several of the booths were full.

Rick’s opens for breakfast at 7:00 a.m., switches to a lunch menu at 11:00 a.m. and stays busy for the remainder of the day until closing time at 10:00 p.m. The restaurant features a full bar, a patio dining area and offers seafood specials on the weekends.

The menu is full of stick-to-your-ribs specialties, but the main attraction is Rick’s steaks.

“We flame broil all of our steaks and we have a seasoning we put on it, which I’m not going to come out with that,” said Toothman. “It’s a little secret.”

Like any artist, Toothman “signs” his steaks with a signature brand—a capital R seared into every steak he prepares.

The atmosphere of the restaurant is relaxed, bright, friendly and decorated throughout in a Western theme. There’s even a full barrel of peanuts for pre-meal snackers right at the front door.

“It’s worked out and, I mean, we’ve had a lot of business and good reviews,” said Toothman. “So I think we’re doing it right.”

You can find Rick’s Steakhouse in the Bellview section of Fairmont at 502 Pennsylvania Avenue. You can also reach the restaurant, check out menus and see the weekly specials on its Facebook page.

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