Porterhouse Steakhouse to close after 15-year run

MOSES LAKE – The Porterhouse Steakhouse will be closing its doors March 29. Brothers Sam and Cale Russell have owned the restaurant for more than 15 years; however, they said it’s time for the restaurant to move on to its next era. The restaurant will remain open for normal business hours until then.  

“There are a lot of reasons,” Sam said. “That’s not a real easy, straight-up answer on why we decided to close. Part of it is that it just kind of felt like the time.” 

Cale echoed his brother’s sentiment.  

“This place, it’s always kind of been passing the torch to the next guy,” Cale Russell said. “I don’t know if we ever really felt like we owned the Porterhouse. We just always felt like we were a piece of the history of this place, and it was time for us to pass the torch to the next piece of its history.”  

The Porterhouse Steakhouse will be converted to an Elks Lodge, which will be run and operated by the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, a fraternal order and social club in the United States. 

“I don’t know exactly what they would like to do,” Cale said. “I think that is something we are excited to see. Something that was cool about that is it really does keep it local. That was something that really meant a lot to us. There were plenty of people who were looking at it and there were plenty of other possibilities that could have happened. It’s nice it’s an organization that has local members and is really looking to invest into the place. In talking with them, they’re very excited to take over the history of the Porterhouse. We’re just the tenant for now. Soon, they will take over, we’re excited that they recognize the specialness of this building.” 

The building dates back more than 70 years to the early 1950s when the building was a family restaurant named Amundsen’s. The building was then passed to several people and held several different names and types of establishments. Prior to the Russell brothers purchasing the building, the Porterhouse was a casino. However, the Russells said they wanted to return the Porterhouse back to its original roots as a dining location.  

“The Porterhouse then was a casino, and it was still called the Porterhouse but we saw it as an opportunity to really take it back to the roots that this place was built on when it was Amundsen’s in the 50s,” Sam Russell said. “Our dad talks about when they would come here, like once a week in the 60s, they would come out to eat at Porterhouse. We really wanted to bring it back to the roots of it, and more of a family style business where you can feel comfortable coming in. We really embrace the history of Porterhouse and what it means to this town.”  

The two purchased the building in October 2009 and after a 55-day turn-around opened the Porterhouse Steakhouse to the community. 

“It was a complete remodel, a complete turn-around from a casino,” Cale said. “You can imagine moving surveillance, walls, repainting and all of that. We also had to conceptualize a restaurant at that point, because we had to come up with who we were and what we were going to be.”  

While they were working on how they wanted the restaurant to look and feel, the two decided a traditional steakhouse was the way to go. 

“So many steakhouses are à la carte,” Sam said. “You go and you buy a steak, and then you buy a baked potato and then you buy a salad and then you buy bread. When we first opened it was like nope, it’s a steak, it’s a salad, it’s a baked potato. It was all in one. That kind of classic steakhouse that doesn’t exist much anymore. Fast forward 15 years from that and it doesn’t exist hardly at all.” 

The brothers said the Porterhouse faced some challenges, especially with the pandemic in 2020. However, despite any difficulties, the two said they always had a strong community supporting them.  

Sam said when they reopened their doors for the first time to serve to-go meals, he had someone call in 40 meals because they wanted to support the restaurant.  

“This place didn’t get to 2025 without the small community that doesn’t act small when it comes to supporting businesses like this,” Sam said. “I mean, when we went through COVID; we just got rallied around. We survived that because of our community.”  

The two said the support continued when they announced on Facebook on Feb. 10 that the restaurant will be closing with waves of supporting messages, comments and even people calling the family. 

“It’s hard to talk about,” Sam Russell said. “I mean these people, the comments on Facebook, the absolute outpouring of support for a hard decision that we made, because this decision didn't come too easily for us. We poured our hearts into this place. It’s been amazing to see the support from the community.” 

Looking to the future Sam said he is looking at potential opportunities, but nothing is finalized. Right now, he’s focused on helping with the transition process. 

“My main goal is to do this right, make sure we get all of our people transitioned, make sure that we got the Elks Lodge set up with a nice clean building and everything is done right,” Sam said. “Until that is done, I think I am still here until we get all those things figured out and this gets done the right way. We’ve been really trying to make sure that all of our staff is taken care of and trying to get people to figure out for their next phase of life. They’ve been really great to us and I can’t speak enough about this staff that has continued to work under us, knowing that this restaurant is for sale and continuing to give supreme service and have an amazing attitude.” 

Cale will continue running Ten Pin Territory. 

As the brothers finish up their final weeks at the Porterhouse, they said they want to give a special thanks to their customers and supporters for the kind words they have received.  

“We’ve always told people; you can build a restaurant, but you can’t build what these walls have. The history is what makes the Porterhouse,” Sam said. “We instantly felt that when we opened. All of a sudden people are coming in, they’re like this happened and I got engaged here, or I got married here or my first date was here or whatever it may be. Everybody has a Porterhouse story.”  

Porterhouse Steakhouse 

217 North Elder St., Moses Lake

Mon.-Sat. 4-10 p.m.

509-766-0308

    The Porterhouse Steakhouse will be open for normal business hours, 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday until March 29. After that, the business will close as the new owner’s transfer the restaurant into an Elk’s Lodge.
  

    The Porterhouse Steakhouse will be closing its doors at the end of the month. The restaurant was sold to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, a fraternal order and social club in the United States. The new owners will be converting the steakhouse into an Elk’s Lodge.
  

    The Porterhouse Steakhouse building was originally Amundsen’s Family Restaurant when the building was constructed in the 1950s. The building has transferred owners and types of establishments throughout the years. Now, the Porterhouse will become an Elk’s Lodge.