The Men Behind the Steak...and Eggs

Since we're going to talk a little about food, but more about who's behind it, the adage of two peas in a pod comes to mind when writing about Jeff Fitchett and Kyle Algaze. They are two hard-working guys, both husbands and fathers, who are budding restaurateurs in Severna Park.

Fitchett, 38, is the owner of the , now located in Park Plaza. He purchased the business from his mother-in-law in 2009, after more than a decade of working in the family business formerly located in the 1st Mariner Plaza. He was the one conjuring up the ideas for eggs Benedict and other specialty breakfast dishes—and cooking them, for the regular clientele who came to the small eatery starting back in the 90s.

Located in a small shopping center off of Ritchie Highway, people came from all over the state and beyond, to eat his breakfast.

"We were catering to people who wanted something a little more upscale and were relating to that customer," Fitchett said.

He expanded a little more than a year ago.

"It was get big or die" Fitchett said of moving to a larger space in Park Plaza.

Meanwhile, he found his business soul mate in Algaze, a successful entrepreneur formerly in the transit business, who he terms as "the face of the business"—and usually the one you see buzzing around upon entering the Breakfast Shoppe.

"This is the guy I can run with," Fitchett recalled thinking when considering a partnership. "We found in each other that we would work just as hard as the other."

A New Venture

And work they are doing, from running the breakfast and lunch crew, serving hundreds of folks a day from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Shoppe, to sun down as they are now serving steaks at their recently opened Poor Boy Steakhouse, located in the same spot, back to where the Breakfast Shoppe once was in Mariner Plaza.

This new endeavor keeps them overseeing a crew of about 10 staffers in the new restaurant.

"We're in between a Ruth's Chris and an Outback Steakhouse," Fitchett said.

Moving from the morning fare focus to the delicate cooking of fine steaks prompted the pair to hire a steak consultant to educate them on the finer points of cooking delicate steaks in the 50-seat restaurant.

Owning two restaurants in one town could be considered biting off more than one can chew.

"We hope that the residents of Severna Park embrace the opening as a second home, one that is bringing jobs to the area," Algaze said.

To help call attention to their presence, Justin Boyd, 18, was standing outside in front of the shopping strip waving a Poor Boy sign to passersby whizzing by at dinnertime.

The Menu Please

Poor Boys serves all-natural Creekstone Farms beef, no hormones, grain fed, no antibiotics and true Black Angus.

"This program allows us to serve USDA Top-Tier Choice beef for a lower cost than our counterparts in the same business," Algaze said in an email. The price for a steak dinner is $27.95.

"It should be $35 or $40 considering the quality of beef, Fitchett said.

On the drinks side, Poor Boys is serving craft canned beers (environmentally-friendly) and artisan wines from small vineyards.

"We also serve a Patron margarita and we will start serving full-liquor in a few weeks," Algaze said.

"This is our second business in Severna Park and we have hopes of opening more of either concept in other areas in the future," Algaze said.

From the economic standpoint, they've provided employment to about 40 people between the two businesses.

Poor Boy is open Wednesday through Sunday from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m.