PARKERSBURG – A local institution will soon be transitioning into something new and fresh for the area.

After over 29 years in business, the Mountaineer Family Restaurant will be shutting down its operations on Oct. 1 after owner David Short announced Wednesday he is selling the restaurant at 4006 E. Seventh St.

Short started the restaurant in May 1986 after changing it over from a Western Pancake House.

Short is selling the restaurant to Kevin Holbert, owner of the Old Corral Bar and Grill on Point Drive in Parkersburg, who has plans to turn it into The Mountaineer BBQ.

Holbert said he wants to continue operations as is until the time for the grand opening event when they will switch over to a new menu. He is planning renovations in the coming weeks, both interior and exterior, for the building which he said he will do in sections so the restaurant can remain open.

He is looking to add outdoor seating and maintaining the banquet room. He might have to close for a week or so to do restroom renovations, but he doesn’t want to be closed down for too long.

“I want to give it a facelift and to renovate it,” Holbert said. “I want to give it a modern look.”

He is planning to keep the Mountaineer’s breakfast menu for those who regularly come in to start their day.

“I want to keep as many of the customers as I can,” Holbert said.

He wanted to keep “Mountaineer” in the name because of people’s familiarity with it and its place in the community.

Holbert had been thinking about establishing a barbecue restaurant locally and one of his customers at the Old Corral suggested he buy the Mountaineer Family Restaurant.

“I think it would be good for the Parkersburg area to have,” he said of a place specializing in barbecue.

He said he wants to simplify the menu, but keep many of the food items that have been successful for the Mountaineer. He is planning to have one night a week that highlights one of the favorites of the Mountaineer, like the liver and onions. He also plans on having a seafood night and a pasta night.

He plans to add barbecue favorites like pulled pork, chicken, six cuts of steak, a choice of 10 side dishes and six appetizers to the menu. He is looking to add beer and wine to the drink menu.

Holbert is planning to have takeout options daily for lunch.

Concerns led Short to decide the time had come to sell the restaurant, including knee problems, rising minimum wage concerns, the traffic configuration around the restaurant and a desire to spend more time with his family, including his daughter and his grandchildren, ages 11 and 14, in Georgia.

“We want to go down there and spend some time with them,” he said of him and his wife, Martina.

Short has been critical of the reconfiguration of U.S. 50, which put him at the end of a deadend street and far away from the highway exits. Other businesses had closed as a result, including Long John Silver’s, Shoney’s, Bob Evans and caused the relocation of McDonald’s. The Holiday Inn, on the hill above the restaurant, also had closed.

Before the highway was reconfigured, Short said, they had around 250,000 customers in 2003. Over the last year, they had around 93,000.

“That is a big difference,” Short said.

Holbert said the location was not what he was originally envisioning, but believes if he puts out a good product at a decent price, people will find their way to him. He pointed to some of the restaurants on W.Va. 47 away from town that are doing good local business because of the quality they maintain.

“If it is good, I believe people will come to it,” he said. “Also, people will not have to drive up Grand Central Avenue to be able to get a good steak.”

Short said it was their customers’ continuing support through everything that maintained the business.

“We are so thankful for the support we have gotten over the years,” he said. “We would not have been here as long as we had been if it wasn’t for them.

“The community has been great.”

The restaurant has sponsored sports teams, helped churches, schools and other organizations with fundraising efforts.

The restaurant’s 35 employees will have a position at Mountaineer BBQ, both Short and Holbert said.

“I will need every one of them,” Holbert said, adding he hopes to eventually hire more people.

Short said he is working on ideas for a going away party to possibly occur the last weekend, around Sept. 26, before they end their time at the restaurant. Plans are still being worked out.

“Many businesses get to have a grand opening party; we are planning on having a grand closing party,” he said. “Parkersburg has been home for many years.

“We have done a lot and enjoyed all the friendships we have had over the years.”