Get Ready For Prime Time

Chaldean businessmen transform a historic Clarkston market into a destination

By Steve Stein

Robert Esshaki and Christopher Thomas owned a piece of Clarkston history, but the Chaldean businessmen had a decision to make.

Owners and operators of the beloved Rudy’s Market in downtown Clarkston since 1989, they faced the stark reality that small independent grocery stores were, as Esshaki said, “with a few exceptions, becoming a thing of the past as competitors like Amazon, Meijer, Kroger, etc., continue to expand and dominate the landscape.

“So, as the old adage says, we looked at what was going to change in the next 10 years and what isn’t going to change in the next 10 years.”

What’s not going to change, Esshaki said, is people will always want a great dining experience. “It’s simply one of the most personal experiences that life has to offer,” he said.

So Esshaki and Thomas made the difficult but well-researched decision in 2021 to close the market, which Esshaki called a community treasure and said was still doing well because of its catering operation and open an upscale steakhouse at that location.

The steakhouse opened October 15. Its name is “Rudy’s Prime Steakhouse” in honor of German immigrant Rudy Schwartz, who founded Rudy’s Market in 1933 at the corner of Main and Washington Streets in downtown Clarkston and moved it to its final location at 9 Main Street in 1954.

Esshaki and Thomas bought the market from the Schwartz family in 1989. “It was a no-brainer to name the steakhouse after Rudy,” Esshaki said. Constructed in 1915, the building at 9 Main Street originally housed a Ford dealership and service shop, and later a Kroger.

Now the more-than-century-old building has a new purpose. There are 100 seats in the steakhouse and another 35 seats in the bar/lounge of the 4,400-square foot facility.

“We love Clarkston. Over the years we’ve become a part of the community and have made too many friends to count,” Esshaki said. “We wanted to do what was best for the community and ourselves with the transformation of Rudy’s Market, and that was to create a destination steakhouse.

“We looked at the map, and we didn’t see a steakhouse like ours to the north, east or west. There are steakhouses like ours in Birmingham and Troy to the south, but those aren’t exactly around the corner (from Clarkston).

“Clarkston is a dynamic community that has a population with an income level that can support our steakhouse. The city’s downtown is historic, but more retail and restaurants have been opening there in recent years.”

The former Rudy’s Market building needed to be updated from the ground up, Esshaki said.

“We partnered with the Clarkston City Council, Planning Commission and Historic District Commission to come up with a plan that would allow us to update the building, but at the same time keep the character of the building,” Esshaki said. “They were great to work with and very supportive of the project.”

Birmingham-based Saroki Architecture and Kelly Building & Development Company were hired “and they took us to the finish line,” Esshaki said. “We couldn’t be happier with the design, ambience and quality of the finished product.”

Rudy’s Prime Steakhouse has been packed most nights, Esshaki said. Many customers have come from northern Oakland County communities like Rochester, said Essaki, plus Genesee County communities like Fenton and Grand Blanc, and eastern Detroit suburbs.

Here’s a sampling from the lengthy Rudy’s Prime Steakhouse menu:

Appetizers include shrimp cocktail ($20), octopus ($15) and house-baked sourdough bread ($9).

Salads include a classic wedge ($14).

Main courses include Allen Brothers 8-ounce prime fillet ($85), Australian lamb chops ($50), Rosewood Ranch flat iron ($45), Arctic salmon ($36), mushroom pasta ($26), fried chicken ($25) and Rudy’s cheeseburger ($18).

Shareables include Piedmontese Tomahawk ($125), a 28-ounce, bone-in char-grilled steak with sea salt.

There’s also lobster tail ($28), mac and cheese ($14), vegetables including roasted carrots ($13), sauces including bearnaise, cocktails, mocktails, dessert cocktails, and desserts including creme brulee.

Esshaki and Thomas also purchased the former Clarkston News building at 5 Main Street that’s next door to what’s now Rudy’s Prime Steakhouse, and an adjacent parking lot, in 2021. They plan to turn the building into another restaurant, upscale cigar and bourbon bar, and a 2,500-square-foot wine cellar that will serve all three of their venues. Renovations will probably begin in late 2025 or early 2026, Esshaki said.

Thomas is excited about the next project. “As temporary stewards of the historic Rudy’s Market and former Clarkston News buildings, we recognize that these buildings were here long before us and will remain long after we’re gone,” he said.

Rudy’s Prime Steakhouse hours are 4-10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 4-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 4-9 p.m. Sunday.  To reserve a table and see the menu, go to rudysprimesteakhouse.com. Table reservations also can be made by calling (248) 625-3033.