About Us
Customer Service is our specialtyThe Offering
The Chophouse offers a casual lively atmosphere with great service in a beautiful historic building on Main Street on the square in downtown Mount Vernon, Texas. Enjoy dining on the patio, in our bar, or in the dining room. We serve only prime graded steaks, as well as fresh seafood, pastas, fresh vegetables and desserts all brought in fresh from local providers when available. We also offer a large selection of fine wines and a full bar featuring the largest collection of Bourbons in Northeast Texas.
The Owners
Brad and Stephanie met and are graduates of Texas A&M University. They have 2 sons Chase and Cade who are both graduates of Mount Vernon I.S.D. and currently enrolled at Tarleton State University and Texas A&M University. Brad has worked in the crop protection industry for his entire professional career. Today he owns Hyman Ag Consulting where he represents international clients in North America. Brad also currently serves as the Mayor of Mount Vernon. Stephanie has worked in the pharmaceutical industry throughout her career and is a Senior Executive Rep with Organon (formerly Merck & Co.) where she has been for 24 years. Upon moving back to Brad’s hometown 11 years ago, Brad and Stephanie began investing in buildings in the historical district in downtown Mount Vernon, including the G.P. Hill Building, that after extensive renovation and conversion to a restaurant, is now home to The Chophouse.
Brad & Stephanie had a vision that Mount Vernon had much to offer as a destination for dining, tourism, etc., but that there would be a journey to undertake as the local economy was struggling as are many other small rural communities around the country. The Chophouse is continued evidence of the success Mount Vernon is having now attracting numerous restaurants, bed and breakfasts, live music, the Don Meredith Museum, and the list is growing. They are excited to have the Chophouse team here in Mount Vernon and know that they will deliver the best customer experience in Northeast Texas!
The Chophouse seats 75-100 and provides a dining experience to include appetizers, soups/salads, main entrees to include prime steaks, seafood, pastas, desserts, wine and spirits.
The Chophouse "Hill" Building
The land that now occupies The Chophouse and the buildings on each side used to be part of the Ruth Hotel site built in 1861 and was considered a landmark for Franklin County before Mount Vernon became the county seat in 1875. The hotel was demolished in 1897. Another building was built and then damaged by the 1912 fire which destroyed the First National Bank building (today’s Franklin Co. Library) next door.
Thus, this building and the bank were rebuilt in 1912. A cotton trader name Guy P. Hill “G.P.” built this building in 1912.
G.P. Hill bought and sold cotton for a living. Shown below is G.P. Hill parked in front of the building with his Model T truck and cotton bales.
He also operated a hardware store in this building called “G.P. Hill”. Shown below is a photo of the store front in 1912.
He divided his store into furniture and hardware sales which had everything from hand plows to bamboo fishing poles. These photos are taken from the same angle. In 1916 when it was the hardware store...
and then today as The Chophouse...
Notice the stairway and windows in the back as well as the original wood floors and tile ceiling that you can still see in the current Chophouse photo today. You will also find today one of the hardware store display cases from the 1912 photo in the front of The Chophouse when you walk in the front door to your right.
Also, in the front of this building, you can see the “G.P. Hill” mark on the building in white tile on the floor next to the hostess stand.
In the back of the building in the “NEAT” bar you will see a working elevator above. G.P. Hill had this installed when he built this building in 1912.
Its purpose was to lift inventory including cotton bales, Model T’s (Trucks) and Model A’s (Automobiles) to the second floor. The elevator is still in great working condition and used to move bulky or heavy equipment up and down from the second floor. It is operated by pulling on a rope that drops down into the bar area to operate the large pulley wheel system located upstairs...
This was the G.P. Hill store for about 20 years then in the 1930’s, it was owned by L.L. “Fate” Thomas who operated a hardware store here called “Mt. Vernon Hardware”. As time passed, Mr. J. Frank Lewis had a dry goods store here in the 1940’s and into the 1950’s.
The Mount Vernon Optic Herald vintage newspaper articles on the walls throughout the restaurant are originals from 1912 to the 1930’s. See if you can find the advertisements for G.P. Hill’s cotton business and the Mount Vernon Hardware Store. The original newspaper pages in the bar area are from 1933-34 and have several articles reporting news about Prohibition days that are quite interesting. You’ll also see news of the first major oil discovery leading to the development of the Talco Oil Field in North Franklin County.
The owners of the building and restaurant are Brad and Stephanie Hyman. Brad grew up here in Mount Vernon then met his wife Stephanie at Texas A&M University. They moved back to Mount Vernon with their two sons, Chase and Cade, in 2010. They invested in this building in 2012 and renovated it as a family project into what it is today. Brad is also currently serving as the Mayor of Mount Vernon.
Thank you for choosing to visit and dine at The Chophouse. We hope you enjoy the drinks, food, atmosphere, and history of this beautiful historical building. Come back and see us again soon!