We go to the considerable extra expense of purchasing only high quality food and fresh fish. If you think about it you can tell when you are getting highly processed cheap food, even when it is covered in sauces. Our commitment to quality is why you will often hear guests say, "This is really good".
Working in a restaurant is a tough job. Especially in the kitchen. We trust the safety, quality and taste of our food to these great people. This is not a place to look for cheap labor, or not treat them with the respect they deserve. Our staff is paid well, highly trained, have great attitudes and do a great job. They are really good people too.
Many people who run restaurants look to cheap food and cheap labor to keep prices low. Only highly experienced restaurant owners can use other means to keep costs lower. We use every technique possible to keep prices low, but our main goal is to always keep quality food and service high.
This location at 29943 Overseas Highway in Big Pine has been a restaurant for a long time. We have personally eaten here almost daily for 20 years.
Everyone, including us, was sad when the Big Pine Restaurant closed in 2015. (Everyone misses John and Samantha and we wish John well with his health issues.) We all waited, with some fear, of what would open next. When the Bucktooth opened it was clear right away it was not a Keys restaurant. It had some great points, but it could never last.
When we went in to eat on one Sunday the doors were locked and a sign said "Not enough staff to open today". We thought that was ridiculous. It is too good of a location, and too important to the community to close. We sought out the owner to see how we could help. As we expected, the restaurant was losing money. Food and labor costs each greatly exceeded 50%. it was not a workable restaurant concept for the Keys. He needed help.
We had other directions we were going in life, (Marcie had her own restaurant to run in Key West) but badly wanted to see the restaurant succeed. We spent a year developing a great staff, reworking the menu and bringing costs down; All without sacrificing quality and keeping the big portions everyone loves.
Just as we had our first profitable month and we could see light at the end of the tunnel, the owner announced, due to personal reasons, he would close the restaurant. We again had to try to save it and thanks to the him, we were able to take over the Rooster.
We may look similar, but
we are a new restaurant with completely new owners. Unlike
past owners, we are locals from Big Pine for over 20 years, with
over 30 years in the restaurant business (including years at A&B Lobster
House, Morton’s of Chicago and Ruth’s Chris as General Manager).
We took on this venture,
this very difficult task, to save the jobs of the great staff here
and to provide Big Pine with the family friendly food and
environment that has always been at this location. Your
support has been very important to us.
So know that we are here for you. We will keep the quality up and the prices down as much as possible. We will keep friendly, reliable staff, and we will stay open for you during the slow times. In return we ask for a kind word to your friends and neighbors, and maybe even a nice review from time to time :)
We are part of you, and
you are part of us.
We look forward to serving you.
Big Pine Rooster
Coming soon!
