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Sections Home Page Local News AP News Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Photo Gallery Since We Asked Sports Tempo Weather Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Readers Choice 2006 Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Our Valley Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend August 8, 2006 Owners Rene Fournet and Kathleen O�Loughlin are hoping to create a big-city experience with McAndrews Avenue Grill. (Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell) The finer things Upscale steakhouse will cater to expensive tastes By greg stiles Mail Tribune When Rene Fournet began creating a steak house to his liking, he didn't model it after one existing operation. Instead, he incorporated what he considered useful elements from several premium restaurants. Fournet and his partner, Kathleen O'Loughlin, mixed a little Houston's Steakhouse, Ruth's Chris Steak House and Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House in designing McAndrews Avenue Grill, set to open Sept. 18 in the new McAndrews Marketplace on East McAndrews Road. Fournet's desire to open an upscale steak house where price point isn't the primary consideration challenges the conventional wisdom that Medford diners are more likely to support low-end franchise eateries. Fournet thinks the area is ready for his dining experience and he's not alone. "As I look at the marketplace, one of the things I find prevalent is that our income bracket is greatly underestimated," says advertising agency owner Bill Maentz. "Anyone targeting the upscale crowd in this market has been successful, whether it's entertainment or clothing. I know there is a clientele, because there is a lot of wealth in the valley. Jerry Evans has proved a restaurant like that can be successful at the Jacksonville Inn for a long time." Maentz cautions, however, that high prices don't automatically equate to success. Advertisement "You can't cheat it and think people aren't going to have the sophistication to know the difference," he says. "It can take you a year to overcome one bad weekend." Fournet, whose burgers and baby back ribs will cost $10 to $20 and steaks as much as $30, hopes to replicate what many diners find in metro markets. "I want that lunch business where corporate people bring out-of-town visitors and offer them something they can get in the big city," Fournet says. Fournet spent 20 years in the automotive industry, including five years with Lithia Motors, where he was general manager of a Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep store. Demographics dictated putting the steak house on the east side, he says, and proximity to the intersection of Biddle and McAndrews roads made the location the best of all worlds. "If I was opening just a bar, I could go downtown," Fournet says. "They've got Porters down there. But I wanted to be on the east side and I am on McAndrews. I don't think I could've done better." The 3,000-square-foot location includes a 100-seat dining room that flows into a bar capable of handing 30 clients. There is also outdoor seating in the front. The restaurant's prime steaks will come from Allen Brothers of Chicago and jumbo shrimp from Louisiana and halibut from the Pacific. Jacksonville Inn and Porters veteran Corey Insogna will handle chef duties after spending the past three years in the Rogue Valley Country Club kitchen. Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail [email protected] . What's in a name? So why is a steak house on McAndrews Road called McAndrews Avenue Grill? It's all about branding, says Rene Fournet, general manager and owner. "We think 'avenue' gives it a higher-class ring than 'road,' " Fournet says. "If we end up with a brand across the country and they heard Avenue Grill, it would be us." Fournet says he plans to open a second location in Bend during 2007 followed by a third restaurant in either Boise or Lake Oswego. "From there we'd come down the (Interstate 5) corridor to Eugene and Redding," he says. "It's a real nice model for the corporate folks as well as the daily people willing to pay a little more for something than what's available now." Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems California Casinos Men's Clothing Southern Oregon Loans --> GMAT Prep Fundraisers Send Flowers Entertainment Guide --> Casinos Canada Trunks, Footlocker Online Casino Reviews Advertisements Advertisement