If you have a hankering for camel meat, bison meat or kangaroo meat or other exotic meats, you soon won’t have to travel outside of the Bradford area.
By the end of July, Curtis Howard of Bradford and his brother Daniel Howard, who is a Marine in South Carolina, are planning to open up Hunters Family Restaurant.
“The restaurant has been in progress for many years. I am a hunter by heart so it’s in my blood,” said Curtis Howard, who graduated from Bradford Area High School in 2008. “The restaurant will serve pretty much any kind of meat you can think of. It’s going to specialize in exotic meats.”
He said he is excited about the chance to open up the restaurant. At this point, Curtis Howard said he doesn’t have a location 100 percent set, but he said he is looking at a few different spots, including South Avenue in Bradford Township and Main Street in Bradford.
The menu is expected to include meat from alligator, alpaca, antelope, armadillo, ostrich, otter, peacock, squirrel, wild goat, wild pigeon and several other kinds of meat. Hunters Family Restaurant would also have New York steak, porterhouse steak, ribeye steak, seafood and other items. There’ll also be ostrich eggs for breakfast alongside chicken eggs, Curtis Howard said.
He said that the meat will be purchased and be United States Department of Agriculture approved.
“Nothing will be brought in from being hunted because you never know if it might have anything,” he said. “If it’s bought it’s all tested before shipping to make sure nothing is attached to the meat.”
Curtis Howard said that the establishment won’t include an expensive menu. He compared his upcoming restaurant to eating at the Lighthouse Family Restaurant or Perkins Restaurant, both in Foster Township. He is estimating that per plate at Hunters Family Restaurant, it will cost between $10 and $15 “and you will get your fill.”
For years, he said he has dreamed of opening an establishment, and for his whole life he said he has hunted and fished in the Smethport, Port Allegany and Bradford areas.
“I have always been a meat and potatoes guy so I’m always trying new meats and want other people to enjoy it,” Curtis Howard said.
The Hunters Family Restaurant will be open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
For more information about the Hunters Family Restaurant, see http://www.huntersfamilyrestaurant.com or call Curtis Howard at 814-596-3081.
