CLEARFIELD – Two families are coming together to create a new Downtown Clearfield dining experience.
The owners of Bob’s Army & Navy store, Dan and Stephanie Kline, recently bought the old Ethan’s Café building with the idea of partnering with Bernie and Marissa Ralston for the new Gunpowder Grille.
Dan explained in an interview, that prior to re-opening Bob’s he had thought of having a food truck and of even having a café inside Bob’s.
“I have always wanted to have a restaurant,” he said.
Dan also saw the need for another food option downtown.
“When we worked late, there was no place open to eat.”
Dan mentioned that sometimes people have to wait to be approved to purchase a gun, and having somewhere nearby to eat while they wait, seemed like a great idea.
After the building’s owner, Thad Durant, approached them about buying it, they took a chance.
Partnering with the Ralston’s whose Big Mama’s Sauces are already sold in the store seemed like the perfect fit.
The Ralston’s have been in “the food business their whole lives,” he noted. They have their own barbeque food truck and do catering.
Their sauce business began with a quest for the perfect combination of hot buffalo sauce and garlic, according to its Web site, Bigmammasauce.com. Unable to find exactly what they were craving, they created their own.
Marissa explained they have been looking for an opportunity to expand their business. This also gives them a chance to bring something new to Clearfield.
Renovations are currently in progress, but they hope to be open by the first of next year.
Stephanie said they will start out slow with evening hours for dinners and the possibility of specialty coffees.
The Gunpowder Grille will feature their wings and sauces, but they hope to put a different twist on favorite dishes. Other possibilities for the restaurant include special authentic Mexican and Italian food nights.
Bernie pointed out that their food truck often has a long line with people willing to wait for their delicious fresh food. They hope this business will see the same kind of success.
What exactly the restaurant will be is still in the works.
“We want input from the community on what they are looking for and what hours work for them,” Marissa said.
Right now they expect to offer wings, specialty burgers, wraps, subs, salads, soup and other home-cooked options. The plan is to do soft openings with special invitations to determine what people want.
“We are hoping the community will respond to us.”
One thing they are sure of is, “we will offer consistently great food and service,” Marissa said.
The name, Gunpowder Grille, pulls together both their brands. It is also a callback to Marrisa’s family’s Musket Café in Ramey.
In addition to the restaurant, Bob’s has also expanded with a clothing outlet store at the Clearfield Square (Clearfield Mall).
Initially, they hoped to purchase the old Laurel Eye Clinic building next to Bob’s for the clothing store, but it was too expensive. Dan stated that their lease at Clearfield Square is only for three years, and after that, he still wants to move that business downtown.
His plan is to connect the three buildings and have an entrance in the rear.
Dan’s path to Downtown Clearfield began when he was young and his family would travel from Bradford to Clearfield, just to go to Bob’s.
People still continue to travel from throughout the state to shop at the store.
“Every weekend we have people coming in who say they can’t believe we opened back up.” They praise the family for keeping many of the business’ quirks such as the squeaky floor.
It has been a year since Dan and Stephanie along with her sons, Andrew and Cody Reed, re-opened Bob’s after Dan, who was working in the area, discovered the business had closed when he went shopping for boots.
Seeing a need, his family began tossing around the idea of opening a store. While Andrew was in the area in February 2023, he got a tour from the realtor.
“We ended up signing the papers to buy it shortly after that,” Stephanie said.
The former owners, the Grimminger family were very helpful, allowing them to take over not only the name of the business, but their Facebook page and phone number.
“We were able to get a majority of the staff to come back,” Stephanie said, adding that they couldn’t have done it, without them.
Currently they are busy preparing for hunting season and big Black Friday sale. Watch their Facebook page for details. And follow the Gunpowder Grille page for updates on the restaurant’s opening.