“We’re anticipating breaking ground on September 8,” said Starr Romps, part of the Romps family that owns the Stonehouse. Ness Contracting of Escanaba will handle the project.

The new restaurant is slated to open sometime in late spring. Starr Romps said construction should take six to seven months, according to their contractors.

Once rebuilt, some of the Stonehouse’s original staff members are expected to return, though Starr Romps acknowledged some former employees have moved on to other jobs. “Some have expressed an interest to come back,” she said.

That includes the Stonehouse’s two chefs, Robbie Ekberg and Jon Bennett, who worked in the kitchen for more than 30 years.

Firefighters are shown after extinguishing a blaze at the Stonehouse restaurant in Escanaba on Dec. 21. The building was destroyed. (R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press file photo)

The restaurant is owned by Matthew and John Romps, the sons of John and Starr Romps, who took over in 2023. John and Starr Romps retained title to the building, while Matthew manages front of house operations and John the back of house. The sons have worked in the business for decades, they said.

The Romps family bought the restaurant back in the early 1980s from the estate of Rudy Shreve, when it was known as Ted’s Bar and Stonehouse Restaurant. The family reopened the restaurant in 1982 and operated The Stonehouse for decades until the fire, which investigators concluded was likely caused by an electrical malfunction.

The Romps have been operating the Stonehouse food truck this summer where the original building stood on the corner of Lundington Street and Lincoln Road, with the family determined to serve some of the restaurant’s classic dishes to the public.

Starr Romps also noted the fire July 28 at Mo’s Pub, 2116 Ludington St., that heavily damaged the back of the restaurant where its kitchen was located, saying fires have hit the Escanaba community hard.