Uptown Kitchen in Granger's Heritage Square is getting new owners

When Jonathan Lutz first opened Uptown Kitchen in 2007, it would not be uncommon for a parent and child to enter the restaurant, look at the menu and turn to leave.

"If I saw that happen, I would ask them why they were leaving, and they would say there's nothing on our menu to eat even though we have a very large menu," Lutz said. "And 98% of the time, (I would) be able to ask them questions and get them to come on in and let them try some stuff, and by the time they left, we were their favorite restaurant."

For 15 years, the breakfast and lunch restaurant put high-quality food at the forefront, with Lutz championing the made-from-scratch trend that he said took time for people to get used to.

"People realized over time that eating quality fresh food is not only better for your body and soul, but it tastes better than a lot of processed foods that, unfortunately, a lot of restaurants in this country serve," he said.

More breakfast news: The Early Bird Eatery is moving to its own space in downtown South Bend

Initially opening in Toscana Park, the restaurant moved to its current location at 7225 Heritage Square in Granger four years later and Lutz said the restaurant's popularity has grown with every year of operation, remaining consistent to its "comfortable and casual but has a touch of class" atmosphere coupled with made-from-scratch meals.

But, in the back of his mind, Lutz always wondered when was a good time to step back and take a breather after his 31 years in restaurant work. Lutz looked at his father's life, who he said was a workaholic but then died at a young age from cancer.

"I feel like he and my mom got cheated a little bit out of that time of life where they had the means to do other stuff," he said. "So we don't want to do that."

And with the pandemic and the fallout effects of staffing, supply chain and inflation issues that caused "the hardest year and a half of my entire career," Lutz said, it was just time to take a step back and find a new owner.

"We actually built a house in Florida and we look forward to traveling the world and having some fun experiences where we're not necessarily tied down to the day-to-day operations of the business," he said.

Last Sunday, Lutz announced that he signed a contract to sell Uptown Kitchen and his last day of ownership will be Friday, March 4. When looking for a buyer, Lutz said it was important to find someone who was not going to change the concept and who remain committed to serving fresh-forward food.

"I feel a loyalty to our community and our team members, and we have a lot of wonderful regular guests that have come to expect a certain level of quality food and service," Lutz said. "And I wanted to make sure that we were handing off the business to people that understood that and had every intention of trying to maintain that level of quality."

On the move: Roselily plans to move to new location in South Bend's Renaissance District

But who is stepping into the new ownership role remains a bit of a mystery. Lutz stops short of confirming rumors, only saying that he made an agreement to "allow the new owners to announce themselves to the community."

But even with his departure on Friday, Lutz believes that no immediate changes will occur — the name, menu and staffing will all remain the same and it will be business as usual that next day.

"I would imagine at some point down the road, they would want to make a few aesthetic changes, but I don't think there's any plans to change the menu at all," he said.

Reflecting on the restaurant's 15 years of operations, Lutz thanks his family, staff and the community that he has served for over a decade.

"My hope is that people feel that we've left this community better than when we first came," he said. "And that both our community and employees feel that they've been treated with honesty, kindness and respect the entire time we've been here."

Uptown Kitchen will remain open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., seven days a week, for the foreseeable future.

Contact Mary Shown at 574-235-6244 and mshown@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @maryshownSBT and @marketbasketSBT.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Uptown Kitchen in Granger sells as owner moves to Florida