Delmonico's grows, changes over years of service

When Delmonico's Steakhouse in Jackson opened in 1985, it was quite different from what you see today.

In it's 36 years, the family-owned restaurant has seen changes in trends, community need and a global pandemic, and general manager Blake Ackman, whose parents first opened Delmonico's, said the restaurant has had to change with the times.

Ackman said he remembers when his parents first opened the restaurant — it started as a "mom-and-pop shop" that allowed his parents to make ends meet for him and his two siblings.

At it's start, Ackman said the restaurant featured a buffet, salad bar and menu with made-to-order items.

Fast forward to 2021 and the restaurant has done away with the buffet, and is complete with a banquet room, which has grown in popularity over the years.

Ackman said he remembers when his parents introduced the idea of a "banquet room" many years ago.

"The Jackson High School football team needed a place to have breakfast for games and stuff like that, so my mom volunteered," Ackman said. "One of my earliest memories is the guys coming in, all dressed in their jerseys and everything, eating breakfast before a game."

Ackman said this idea grew through word of mouth, and now, several community and city groups and organizations host their meetings at Delmonico's.

Ackman said when the restaurant opened, buffets were a trend that never seemed like they would go out of style.

"Buffets were super popular back then — people would be, like, going crazy for those places that would offer a small buffet and salad bar," Ackman said. "So, my parents had that, and pretty much built their business off of it for decades, and just kept making [the buffet] bigger and bigger."

However, when the coronavirus pandemic hit last year, Ackman said the restaurant completely got rid of the buffets and switched to a made-to-order-only menu, instead, with no intention of bringing the buffets back.

Ackman said the buffet just wasn't manageable because of safety precautions and the amount of staff it takes to work it.

"With COVID, it was kind of easy to go, 'OK, well, obviously this is not working, people don't want this anymore,'" Ackman said. "Society has changed — the trend is now that people have gotten more conscious about health and hygiene."

Additionally, Ackman said by removing the buffets, the restaurant produces far less food waste.

The restaurant is "getting through it," Ackman said, referring to the pandemic, and the business is beginning to prosper again.

Ackman said this can be attributed to his parents, who created Delmonico's with the motto "People pleasing people," and built a reputation of hard work, honesty and a desire to help the community, while providing a personal experience for everyone.