by Malcolm Butler
The sun had set in the last year on one of Ruston’s more popular restaurants as the Sundown Tavern has been closed for roughly six months.
However, the sun is coming back up.
Ruston native Heath Hightower and his family have bought the building and the name and will reopen it this summer.
“The name will stay the same,” said Hightower. “In fact we had to take down the old sign because it was falling apart. We have put a new one up, and we have done everything we can to make the new sign look exactly like the old sign. We are putting a huge emphasis on keeping everything the same.
“When we do open and people walk in the door, we expect them to say, ‘Why did this take so long. It doesn’t look any different. It just smells better.'”
Name is the same. Sign will look the same. What about the menu?
“We are absolutely staying the same,” said Hightower. “We are trying to let people know that when we first open it will be the same menu but we will shrink it. We are going to open slow. My message to the community is if your favorite isn’t on the menu that doesn’t mean that we won’t eventually have it. But we have to prove that we can serve a turkey sandwich before we try to serve you loaded chicken nachos.
“I would rather apologize because your favorite dish hasn’t made the menu yet then apologize because it took two and a half hours to feed you.”
So what was the driving factor in Hightower’s decision to buy the building and reopen Sundown Tavern?
“I’m 49 and anybody who is in our age bracket sat in Sundown at some point in their life and said,’I wish I owned this place.’ I had the opportunity to do it,” said Hightower.
“I think it’s going to be a fun experience. I have always had a dream of getting into a restaurant-type business … Then throw in the fact that I get to do it with what I consider an iconic establishment in the city that I’m from, I felt like I fit the suit well. It felt like a natural fit.
“Then when I approached my wife with the crazy idea, she said she has a connection to the place even though she isn’t from Ruston. That was the final vote that I needed.”
Hightower said the timeline to reopen is in July.
“That is the goal, but there is a chance it could bleed into August,” said Hightower. “I’ve run into some challenges with the building … just some repair work. I hope I’m open by the end of July, but I will for sure be open in August at the latest.”
