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Richards Restaurant

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."

Our Professional Associations

National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)

What We Offer

Our Specialties include:

Large Quantity Carryout Orders Available

Our Services include:

Breakfast All Day
Lunch
Dinner
Kids Menu
Daily Specials

Our Products include:

Burgers
Fried Chicken
Salad Bar
Specialty Salads
Shrimp
Pollock Fish
Salmon Filet
Soups and Sides
Large Variety of Homemade Desserts

Testimonials

On 12/14/2024 Naomi Lewis had this to say:
We enjoyed a long-time favorite: the stir fry. He had beef and I had chicken.

On 9/24/2024 jerry deaton had this to say:
Great delicious chicken

On 8/19/2024 J Cardinal had this to say:
A last minute B-Day Dinner for an 8 yr old with presents🎁(her cake & Rollerskating was the next day) The staff placed her birthday candle on top of a giant ice cream sundae with fuge; Approximately 12 people came out singing, happy birthday to her🎉 it was such a memorable moment !! We are so thankful and the food was great🙂

On 8/18/2024 Aaron Rex had this to say:
Good food. Fast & correct service.

On 7/19/2024 Micah Miller had this to say:
Love the biscuits and gravy!! Definitely my favorite and we go every year when we are back in Indiana.

Contact Us

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

Between Columbia City Christian Church and Huntington University

Where To Find Us

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