Hotel/Motel/Restaurant Institutional Management A.A.
Hotel/Motel/Restaurant Institutional Management A.A.
Stephen Jacobs '83
“Being able to go to school and cook in the historic Tyler Mansion was an amazing experience.”
Stephen Jacobs is the owner/general manager of the successful and much beloved Jake’s Eatery Restaurant, which has been in business for more than 33 years with two locations in Newtown and Richboro. Bucks is honored to be a part of the foundation of that success, as Stephen earned his associate degree in Hotel/Motel/Restaurant Institutional Management (now called Hospitality Management) here in 1983. Stephen kindly spent some time talking with us about his early years and fond memories of his time as a Bucks student.
“Academics wasn’t my strength in high school, but I had always worked in kitchens as a dishwasher and dietary aid; it was the one place I was comfortable. Growing up in Holland, PA, I knew about Bucks since it was only about 15 minutes away. It had a good reputation as a great community college and was so inexpensive. It seemed like the logical choice. And I was able to take my classes in the morning and still work full-time as a cook at the Spread Eagle Inn in the afternoons and at night.”
Although it has been several decades since Stephen attended Bucks, the people he met here have had a lasting impact on his life. Some of his courses were a struggle, but Stephen felt at home and did well in his restaurant classes and to this day remembers many of his former teachers. In a full-circle moment, Stephen recently catered the 75th birthday celebration of his former marketing professor, Blaine Greenfield! Even in one of his most challenging classes—Marketing—Stephen formed a lifelong connection with this now retired Bucks professor.
The atmosphere of Bucks, specifically the rooms in which he was able to learn and cook, also made an impression on Stephen.
“Growing up in Bucks County, I just loved the old Tyler mansion. It was so cool for a young 18-year-old. Being able to go to school and cook in that historic building was an amazing experience.”
Stephen graduated from Bucks in 1983 and, after working at several local restaurants— including the Spread Eagle Inn, TGI Fridays, and the Richlandtown Hotel—he opened the first location of his own restaurant in Richboro in 1991 at the young age of 27. Stephen says he never had a problem filling his tables, but the sheer amount of work needed to get the business up and running was a challenge. Since that time, he has moved to a new location in Richboro, opened another location in Newtown in 2011, and then expanded the Richboro restaurant to include a bar, Jake’s Pub—an impressive feat in an industry where keeping restaurants afloat is tough. He also weathered the Covid crisis, which claimed so many small businesses and restaurants.
“Without some of the government loans, I probably would have gone out of business. Building owners still wanted their rent, but they did give us a break. When we did reopen, it could only be for takeout, then outdoor dining and 50 percent capacity for a while. If not for those government programs, I could have lost everything.”
Happily, Stephen’s restaurants are bustling again, although he is beginning to take a step back from the kitchen.
“I’m a little more removed than I used to be. I am still a hands-on owner; I’m here every day. But I try to remove myself from being a chef because I can’t be a manager if I’m cooking. But if an employee, such as when a chef at Newtown had a sick child and I couldn’t find a replacement, is out— I am there to work for them. So, I’m a hands-on owner in that if there is ever any help needed, the customer would never know. If the cook or server is out sick, I can always fill in. Right now as an owner, though, I am mostly consumed with office work, and I am more on the back end than I used to be. I used to be my own cook every night. I have backed away from that after almost 34 years in business. I would really rather be an owner than a cook at this stage of my career. But it’s hard to completely remove myself. For example, last summer I lost a chef, and it took all summer before I could find a decent replacement. As a result, I worked a lot of those hours just to keep the restaurant running smoothly. It’s the nature of what we do.”
Despite the long hours and often demanding work, Stephen has derived a lot of satisfaction from his chosen career over the years.
“I find what I do very rewarding. When I walk through the dining room and people stop me to say, “My kids love it here!” and it’s their favorite restaurant, or I’m out someplace and people recognize me and say, “We love going there!”—it is very gratifying. I’ve had young people come up to me to say they worked here as teenagers and have fond memories. But it can also be very demanding. In higher management or ownership, it takes complete devotion and commitment to make a restaurant work.”
College years are finite—once the class is completed or the degree or certificate earned, students move on and campus is left behind. However, even decades later, Bucks can still have an impact on your career and life. Stephen made personal connections here that endure today, and his Bucks degree helped him launch the longstanding business which, like Bucks, is now an institution within the communities it serves.