BUSINESS

Side Porch Steak House: Neighborly atmosphere and tasty food

6 |July 7, 2016 The Bartlett Express

By Carolyn Bahm the Bartlett Express

Express Editor
Since the nation was
celebrating its bicentennial
in 1976, the Side Porch
Steak House has been
operating in Bartlett.
While the city is celebrat-
ing its sesquicentennial,
the popular fine-dining
restaurant is celebrating its
40th anniversary in 2016.
Owner Tim Teel bought
it in 2008. To his chagrin,
it was just as the economy
took a nosedive and the
city did a major resurfac-
ing project on Stage Road.
They tore it up right in
front of the restaurant
shortly after I bought it,
he said, chuckling.
Nevertheless, he and the
business made it through
and are now busier than
ever, he said.
He focused on his
vision of operating a
neighborhood steakhouse
where customers are treat-
ed like neighbors. He
Readers Choice awards.
A wall of the restaurant
gleams with framed certifi-
cates for the honors.
Hes passed his helpful
attitude on to his staff and
emphasizes to them that
his philosophy is about
making things right for the
customer.
We dont make excus-
es, he said. We fix it. Id
love to say that nothing
ever goes wrong, but it
does. Instead of making an
excuse and trying to make
us look better, its Okay,
we messed up. Sorry.
What can we do to fix
it?
Its all about showing
appreciation and support
for the customer.
If it werent for people
walking through that door,
we wouldnt have anything
to do, Teel said.
He honors the nations
military by keeping a
missing man table set up
at the Side Porch too. It
Tim Teel and employees welcome guests warmly at the Side Porch Steak House.

loves the closeness
between his regular cus-
tomers, too.
The thing I like about
this place is watching
somebody who's sitting at
the back get up to leave
and it takes them about 10
minutes because they're
stopping to say hi to their
friends that are also dining
here, Teel said.
He has a knack for
helping families soothe
and entertain their babies
too when the little ones
start to fuss just as the
food arrives. He said some
call him the Baby
Whisperer because the
babies will calm them-
selves as he walks around
with them as the parents
eat.
He prides himself on
the customer recognitions
hes gotten many years in
started when a regular cus-
tomer, a WWII veteran,
passed away. It resonates
with his customers, includ-
ing one who always take a
moment to stop and salute
in honor of servicemen
and servicewomen.
Loving the work
He had more than a
decades experience from
his early years working as
a bus boy, then a cook and
a server at another restau-
rant, so the business felt
like a natural choice to
him.
I like the interaction
with people, Teel said.
Like I said, I wore a tuxe-
do to work for 13 years. A
lot of my experience was
in dealing with the cus-
tomers, dealing with peo-
ple, and I like that. Im
kind of a people person.
His career before and
during his restaurant own-
ership days taught him that
operating a business is not
just about getting the sale.
It's about fostering that
relationship with the cus-
tomers.
And that's what I try to
do, he said. I sing
Happy Birthday to peo-
ple on their birthdays.
Business details
Teel said his best-seller
is his 8-oz. filet with a
salad and either potato or
veggies, and its only
$17.95.
For a steakhouse, On Saturdays, it begins
were very reasonable, he even earlier, usually
said.
He prioritizes ensuring
that customers get gener-
ous portions in a comfort-
able, relaxed atmosphere
at a reasonable price.
Im not trying to get
rich, he said. Im just for at least two hours him-
trying to make a living.
The restaurant seats 100
people and may serve 120
people over a weeknight or
250-300 on the busier
weekends. ing. About 4-5 Bartlett
On Fridays, his waitlist High students are working
usually starts before 5 p.m. for him this year along
with a handful of college
students.
around 4:40 p.m. He mentors them on
He usually runs the Side appropriate workplace
Porch with six servers, practices, and he follows
four hostesses/ service their successes later in life
assistants, and about eight as they enter their profes-
people in the kitchen. sional careers and shares
Most nights, hes there in the happiness. I get site at sideporchsteak-
real proud when one of my
self. The rest of the time, kids moves on.
he relies on the good peo- In some cases, hes
ple he employs. hired younger siblings
I am so many people's when the older ones move
first job, Teel said, smil- on. In one case, he hired a
girl after her mother
worked for him.
He particularly likes it
with his younger employ-
ees when he gets to see
their lightbulb moments of
what it takes to be a suc-
cess at work.
I hope that when they
go on to do something
else, that the things that
they learned to do here
help them, he said.
He also has some very
long-time employees,
including a few who have
been there through all
three of the Side Porchs
owners.
The business has conti-
nuity in many ways.
Its such a neat venue,
he said.
For more information,
visit the restaurant's web-
house.com or go to the
restaurant at 5689 Stage
Road, Bartlett. The phone
number is (901) 377-2484.
Hours: Tuesday-
Thursday, 4:30-8:30 p.m.;
Friday-Saturday, 4:30-
9:30 p.m. The business is
open only for private func-
tions on Sundays and
Mondays.
Customers who partici-
pate in his loyalty program
get text-based coupons
each month. Those who
check in on every visit get
$10 off on their 10th visit.
Active-duty and retired
military also get a 10 per-
cent discount.
8 |July 7, 2016
Herbi-Systems owner returns to D.C. for voluntary cemetery work
Kenny Crenshaw
in 13th year of
volunteering
Local business owner
Kenny D. Crenshaw, presi-
dent of Herbi-Systems
Inc., is gearing up for his
annual trip to the nations $3,000).
capital. This year marks 13
years of patriotic volun-
teerism and leadership for
Crenshaw.
In D.C., he serves as a
champion or leader in
the Arlington National
Cemetery Renewal and
Remembrance project,
where he supervises 300
volunteers from across the
country out of a total 500
participants.
In 2014, he picked up
the inaugural Workhorse
Award from the organiza-
tion now known as the
National Association of
Landscape Professionals
(NALP) for his longstand-
ing commitment to the
project.
This year, Crenshaws who served in the U.S.
home crew will consist of
wife Melissa and Herbi-
Systems Industrial
Vegetation Manager Lee
Barclay. The big day is
July 11.
The 20th annual
NALP Renewal and
Remembrance project
involves mulching, cabling
of trees, pruning, planting
and aerating of more than
200 acres of the grounds in
the historic cemetery.
According to Crenshaw,
he and his team will add
phosphorous fertilizer this
year rather than lime.
We will be working on Bill Haslam appointed
a recently opened area of
the cemetery, in the east-
ern portion in between the
Visitors Center and Air through 2016).
Force Memorial, where the
soil has not yet been
amended, he explained. given by the Employers in
He credited new spon-
sor and Herbi-Systems
Local Hampton hotels earn 2016 awards
supplier Pat Woods of
The following Hampton
Inn & Suites by Hilton
hotels in the Bartlett area
have received a 2016
TripAdvisor Certificate of
Excellence Award:
n Hampton Inn and
Suites Memphis - Wolf-
chase Galleria at 2935 N.
Germantown Rd. in
Bartlett.
n Hampton Inn &
Suites Memphis - Shady
Woods Farm Supply in
Byhalia, Miss. (the Watson
community), for making
that effort possible with a
generous donation of four
tons of EarthMate
Granular Triple Super
Phosphate (valued at
We are honored to be
involved as we need to
remember people who paid
the ultimate sacrifice,
Woods said.
Woods has a vested
interest in the project. His
cousin, Luell L. Woods Jr.,
was the jeep driver for
Gen. George S. Patton.
Woods Farm Supply is a
63-year family owned
business.
The overall labor of
love occurs each July and
is collectively valued at
more than $200,000.
Crenshaw said, I do it
because it gives us a
chance to give back to
people who have served
our country.
His Uncle Ken Kruger,
Navy, is buried at
Arlington.
In his own community,
Crenshaw also is recog-
nized for his initiative.
Herbi-Systems was a Top
5 finalist in the 2014
Memphis Business
Journals Small Business
Awards. The company gar-
nered two Bartlett
Chamber Barty awards for
customer service and mar-
keting in 2013, and
Crenshaw was the organi-
zations Entrepreneur of
the Year in 2012.
Tennessee Governor
Crenshaw to the state Pest
Control Board in
December 2012 (serving
Crenshaw also received
the Patriot Award in 2012
Support of Guard and
Reserve.
Herbi-Systems is the
Grove Road at 962 S.
Shady Grove Road in
Memphis.
n Hampton Inn &
Suites - Millington at U.S.
51 North in Millington.
Now in its sixth year,
the achievement celebrates
hospitality businesses that
have earned great traveler
reviews on the online
TripAdvisor site over the
past year. To qualify, a
NEWS The Bartlett Express
Photo by Frank Gruber/Flickr.com
Arlington National Cemetery is a beautiful and historic place where 27-30 funeral services are held each weekday
and six to eight services are held on Saturdays. The grounds honor those who have served our nation by providing a
sense of beauty and peace for visitors. The rolling green hills are dotted with trees that are hundreds of years in age
and complement the gardens found throughout the 624 acres of the cemetery.
largest locally owned lawn
care provider in the
Greater Memphis Area,
serving more than 8,000
homeowners as well as
industrial, governmental
and commercial entities.
The company special-
izes in weed control and
fertilization of turf and
ornamentals, as well as
industrial and right-of-way
weed and brush control.
Herbi-Systems added
irrigation maintenance and
repair to its roster of serv-
ices in 2013.
For more information
on Herbi-Systems, call
(901) 382-5296, visit
herbi-systems.com or fol-
low the company on
Facebook.
business must maintain an
overall TripAdvisor bubble
Photo by Michael Crenshaw
rating of at least four out
Planning next steps in Arlingtons renovation are, from left, Don Zerby, Kenny
of five, have a minimum
Crenshaw and Tom Kniezewski. (2015 photo)
number of reviews and
must have been listed on
TripAdvisor for at least 12
months.
We are proud to recog-
nize this years Trip-
Advisor Certificate of
Excellence Award proper-
ties, said Phil Cordell,
global head of focused
service and Hampton
brand management, Hilton
Worldwide. This honor is
a testament to each hotels
dedication to exceptional
customer service. We
appreciate our guests giv-
ing us excellent ratings on
this site and helping these
hotels achieve this recog-
nition.
For more information,
visit hampton.com an
Photo by Rachel Larue
news.hampton.com.
Lt. Pete Kehoe of the U.S. Army using a spreader in volunteerism during the Renewal
and Remembrance project at Arlington National Cemetery.