Back in business — Iconic Bishop’s Restaurant reopens
New Bishop’s owners Brittany Andriessen, left, and Orrie Flickinger are thrilled with the support they’ve received since reopening the iconic area restaurant on Jan. 26.
Sometimes it seems like a week doesn’t go by without a longtime business closing its doors for the last time in this region or undergoing a major change — for the worse.
Maybe it’s the economic times, a sign of the changing times or a combination of both.
It looked like the end of the line for Bishop’s Restaurant, located at 1638 Old Columbus Road in the Triway District, when it closed in October.
However, a new ownership group of cousins Brittany Andriessen and Orrie Flickinger formed a plan to launch a comeback for the iconic restaurant, which was founded in 1959 on Cleveland Road in Wooster, relocated to Orrville in 2002 and moved again by past owner Denise Dorsey to its current location in 2013.
A rebranded Bishop’s Family Restaurant officially reopened on Jan. 26, and business has been nonstop ever since, according to Andriessen.
The new Bishop’s has kept its famous nutty muffit, a burger topped with coleslaw and chopped nuts, as well as its legendary onion rings, while adding its own well-received changes.
“I think the best thing about being a family-owned, mom and pop type restaurant is that we get to form personal relationships with our customers and our staff,” Andriessen said. “We know our customers by name, and we know what they like.
“We're taking their comments and their advice, and we're applying that to our business model. We always want to take care of our staff because no one reaches the top of the mountain on their own. Bishop’s is our team and our family, and we're all going to win together.”
Flickinger has previous experience as the food service coordinator for Hillsdale Local Schools and worked at the old Country Acres, located off Route 250, with Traci Knuth, whose mom owned it.
Jason and Traci Knuth sold Bishop’s in early 2023 due to health issues Jason was experiencing, but after it didn’t work out for the new owners, it was signed back over to the Knuths. They then sold it to Flickinger and Andriessen, and Jason Knuth has returned as a consultant.
Andriessen and Flickinger quickly put together a staff of over 40 employees, which is impressive considering many local businesses struggle to find enough workers.
Although there’s admittedly a learning curve to starting over and being at or near full capacity on most nights, the enthusiasm of the customers has helped fuel the staff. Knowing how close they came to losing the restaurant, some customers have said they appreciate Bishop’s more than ever.
“We're so happy to reopen this iconic establishment in Wayne County,” said Andriessen, a Dalton graduate. “We know that a lot of our clientele who are a little older used to go to Bishop’s back in the 1960s and the '70s.
“We’ve had some older couples come in and say they had their first date at Bishop’s, or they just talk about the good old days. Bishop’s means a lot to so many different people, and to be able to give that back is really why we're doing this.”
Andriessen is handling the marketing, designed the menu and redesigned the dining room.
“We went with a cozy farmhouse feel with the black, white and gray décor,” she said. “We completely enclosed the kitchen area so that it's not as open as when this place used to be a pizza joint.
“That was fine, but I really wanted this to have more of a sit-down restaurant feel, so we also stopped using the plastic baskets and the liners and now serve everything on actual plates.”
The new Bishop’s owners didn't want to reinvent the wheel as far as the menu goes but instead feel they’ve enhanced it.
“We kept those staples that make Bishop’s what it is, like the nutty muffit and onion rings, but we want to elevate the menu,” Andriessen said.
Chef Anthony Bacon has arguably the best name imaginable for a man in his position and has delivered the goods. Popular specials have included hot Italian sandwiches, battered fish, loaded pork potatoes, steak night and more.
Flickinger is overseeing the kitchen, which also includes pastry chef Kym Kiko, who previously worked at a five-star resort in South Carolina.
The Bishop’s dining room can seat 83 guests. They take group reservations for the backroom, which can accommodate 35-50 people for events such as graduation, team or group parties, bridal showers and more.
Bishop’s is serving more than 1,000 pieces of pie per week, as well as special pastry orders for group parties.
The restaurant is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. The owners are considering expanding the hours to serve breakfast every day. For more information check the Bishop’s Facebook or Instagram pages.