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Richards Restaurant - Columbia City,IN

About Us

Richards Restaurants was founded in 1967 by Don Strong of Bluffton, Indiana. But this wasn't Don's first venture into the restaurant business. Don's first success was a small, downtown diner in Bluffton, Indiana called the Snug. While operating the Snug he opened his second successful operation in Portland, Indiana. This new restaurant was called the "Embers" Restaurant, was considerably larger and included a commissary in the back room which provided homemade pies and salads for the restaurant. This was a family operation with Don's mother Gladys overseeing the home made bakery products and his wife, Mona Jean and other family members helping in the restaurant and the office.

At about this same time, Don acquired a farm near Bryant Indiana. He had a dream of building not only a retreat for his family but also a place where the restaurant personnel and public could relax and enjoy themselves. He named the farm Bearcreek Farms.

As the Embers prospered Don set his sights on a chain of family restaurants. The first Richards Restaurant opened in 1967. Over the next 40 years the Company has grown and changed until today there are 14 Company owned Richards Restaurants throughout Northeastern Indiana, one franchised Richards Restaurant, the Bearcreek Farms Country Resort plus separate Commissary and a Bakery facilities.

The Commissary and Bakery provide Richards Restaurants with quality products delivered to the stores twice a week. Richards' products are distinctive because we use our own recipes and only top grade ingredients. Richards' products are among the best quality in our segment of the industry.

Richards has achieved success because of the people in the organization, people who have worked hard and cared about our guests. As a result these guests come back to visit us over and over. Some customers started coming to Richards when they were children and now bring in their children. Other customers eat two to three meals a day at our restaurants.

Over the years Richards has built new restaurants, renovated existing restaurants and redesigned interior layouts several times, but the basic Company philosophy has remained the same - provide Good Food at Reasonable Prices and do it quickly in a Friendly Atmosphere. There's nothing fancy here, just basic, down home goodness.

Don Strong and his family still own and manage the company from its headquarters at Bearcreek Farms. If you ask Don what he wants to see from the Restaurants he will tell you, "Serve hot food hot and cold food cold! It seems pretty simple to me."

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Testimonials

On 5/16/2025 Dave Lonis had this to say:
Great service and good food. 👍😋

On 5/10/2025 Rabah Kedir had this to say:
Like it

On 4/10/2025 Beverly Priest had this to say:
My family has been going here for years and our servers are always polite and cheerful. We have never had a bad experience.

On 3/21/2025 Jacki Johnson had this to say:
Great customer service. Good food Great price.

On 1/28/2025 Michelle Stewart had this to say:
Very much enjoyed the ham and beans with corn bread. Great service and decent prices.

Contact Us

Richards Restaurant - Columbia City,IN
252 Frontage Rd Columbia City, IN 46725
Phone: (260) 248-2320
Email: d.yoder@richardsrestaurants.com

Between Columbia City Christian Church and Huntington University

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Payment Types Accepted

Discover, MasterCard, Visa, Debit Cards

Our Hours

Holiday Hours May Vary. Please Call For Details.

Monday: 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday: 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Wednesday: 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Thursday: 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Friday: 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Saturday: 7:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Sunday: 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM

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