“Business Spotlight” Hideout 125
Unscripted
By Keith Edmonds
Ink Spot Contributing Writer
The community of Fort Wayne is very fortunate to have many choices when it comes to fine dining, as 4/5-star restaurants litter the landscape of our city adding distinct flavor to our taste pallets. One of the most unique and exquisite dining choices is Hideout 125 conveniently tucked away on Coldwater Rd on Fort Wayne’s NE side of town. In today's UNSCRIPTED I was able to catch-up with Mr. Sherman Bell and ask a few questions about his restaurant and what the origin was behind this very successful establishment.
FWIS: Mr. Bell, I want to take this time to thank you for agreeing to meet with me today during what seems to be an extremely busy time for you…
BELL: “Thank you for reaching out to us and featuring us in FWIS.”
FWIS: Tell me how you became the owner of such a great looking and highly successful restaurant?
BELL: “Well, I was fortunate to be able to acquire this facility from the Bourounis Family (Cosmos Restaurants) where they’d done a tremendous job of decorating. I then began building my vision of how we wanted it presented to the city of Fort Wayne and our patrons.”
FWIS: You have a very interesting name for this restaurant, Hideout 125. Can you share the origin behind its name?
BELL: “With the official ending of prohibition being December 5, 1930, we thought that celebrating the ratification of the 21st Amendment, ending prohibition (12/5 ) just sounded a lot cooler and we chose to name our restaurant by that very significant date.”
FWIS: Can you share with our readers how you got your start in the restaurant business?
BELL: “I started with a small restaurant concept called: The Freight House that was located in Davenport, Iowa. We specialized in ribs, burgers, and other smaller items. After being there a while, the GM left and went to Biaggi’s Restaurant where I was recruited to come alongside. That quickly led to me being promoted and coming to Fort Wayne where I reside with my family.”
FWIS: So, what makes Hideout 125 uniquely different from other restaurants with this type of ambience in our city?
BELL: “ I think that anyone can build a beautiful restaurant, but what separates us from some of the others is our commitment to people and service. We just don’t say no. We want our guests to remember how they felt during their time here with us. Not everyone will remember what they had to eat at Hideout 125, but they won’t ever forget their experience. Our mission is to have great food, but even better service.”
FWIS: Being a minority business owner, share with us some of the difficulties that you’ve faced in the day-to-day operations of your restaurant?
BELL: “My challenges aren’t unique to the world. We face the same decisions and difficulties that most businesses incur being staffing, staffing and more staffing. Hopefully, this labor market opens up a little so we can continue to grow. Our expansion plan is already in the works as we’ve acquired 2 ½ acres (directly in front of our current location) and we’ll start building our new home in July of 2022, which is exciting for us!”
FWIS: So how has your restaurant evolved since its inception in 2014?
BELL: “We’ve doubled in sales! Since 2014 we’ve learned a lot from successes and failures and tweaked a few things with our main goal being to continually get better. If I can use a basketball reference “It's not about perfection, it’s about progress so we feel that we’re moving in the right direction.”
FWIS: Do you ever look at some of the other restaurants in our city as “competitors” or do you feel that you can stand alone in your concepts and manner of service to the community?
BELL: “I really don’t look at other restaurants as competition simply because I know the challenges that ALL of us face in this business. Any restaurant that calls Hideout 125, we are going to accommodate quickly. The only competition that we face is within ourselves and we want to be the best that we can be. We have a beautiful restaurant with superior products and as long as we stay committed to our mission which is creating excellent service, we don’t really need to look at anyone as competition. Fort Wayne is a “food town” so there’s enough for everyone to be successful and we’re proud but not satisfied with what we’ve done here at Hideout 125.” If there is any business owner that reaches out to us, I’m more than willing to help. The bible says… Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave so my thirst to share and acquire knowledge is ongoing to make us all better.”
my heart for people.”