Iconic Middletown restaurant opened in 1934 gets new owners, will continue operating

The Meadows is one of the oldest restaurants in Middletown. Staff photo by Samantha Grier, file photo from 2007

The Meadows is one of the oldest restaurants in Middletown. Staff photo by Samantha Grier, file photo from 2007

A decades-old, iconic Butler County restaurant is getting new owners.

Ken Ledford and Emily Profitt, who purchased The Meadows at 2102 Yankee Road in Middletown in 2014 and reopened it after a two-year closure, have sold to new owners.

The upscale restaurant posted to Facebook on Sunday, thanking customers who supported them for the last five years.

“If it weren’t for YOU we never would have succeeded,” read the post. “It was nice to meet you all and make friendships with so many! Maybe we’ll meet again.”

 

Profitt, who served as general manager and bartender while Ledford was the restaurant’s head chef, told this news outlet Monday that “everybody there was very nice, very friendly, very welcoming,” but that she and Ledford decided to “venture into something new, something different, just make a change.”

Profitt said she plans to spend more time with her young granddaughter.

“She’s 3 years old now, but this all happened after we bought the place, so see I lost a lot of time,” she said.

Chef Ken Ledford, left, and bartender Emily Profitt recently purchased The Meadows in Middletown. The have nearly 50 years of experience in the food and beverage business. They hope to open the restaurant within two to three weeks.

Credit: RICK McCRABB/STAFF

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Credit: RICK McCRABB/STAFF

Ledford and Profitt will work with new owners Amy and Rick Woo until May 31.

Amy Woo said she plans to introduce new elements to the menu, including Asian American cuisine, while retaining many of the favorites that made The Meadows a community favorite for so many decades.

The restaurant, which was built by and opened in 1934 by Mike Mandzak Jr., was a dining staple for executives in the city for years and featured a rustic wood paneled interior, and historic prints from the old Sorg Mansion adorned the walls.

Mandzak Jr.’s son, Mike Mandzak III, operated the restaurant until it closed in 2012. He sold the business to Ledford and Profitt two years later.

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