The Pondy's Menu and Conger's Meat Case Are Moving to Rochester

"In the wintertime, it's hit-or-miss whether there's anybody out here at all," Steve Overton told the Post Bulletin in June, describing The Pondy Restaurant & Bar, his place on Lake Zumbro near Mazeppa. "So it's really tough to get through the winters out here."

He put a number on it. After a Friday snowstorm, Overton said, The Pondy would do about a quarter of its usual business. This December the restaurant plans to reopen under a new name on North Broadway. This fall, a butcher from a southern Minnesota town of fewer than 200 people is also opening a shop in a former Rochester coffeehouse. Neither business is dropping what it is known for. The halibut and the Berkshire pork are coming along. What changes is where Rochester buys them.

What a Lakeside Restaurant Loses When the Snow Comes

The Pondy took its name from the nearby Ponderosa Campground. It built a following on Lake Zumbro with food, live music and waterfront views. Over the summer it ran Wednesday ski shows and weekend farewell parties. Those are the months when a lake brings people to you.

Winter works the other way. Overton blamed rising rent, rising food prices and the rural location for the decision to close, and he said winter was the hardest part. ABC 6 News reported that the owners pointed to food costs and falling customer traffic. A restaurant that loses three-quarters of a winter weekend's business after a single storm has to earn a full year's revenue in a few warm months.

The Pondy first planned to close at the end of its lease in October and spend the winter planning a Rochester opening for spring. In June, ABC 6 had reported a closing date of Oct. 26. The Mazeppa location actually served its last customers on Sunday, Oct. 4. Five days later the restaurant announced it had a Rochester address and an opening date only weeks away.

Why a North Broadway Space Answers the Winter Problem

The new home is 1643 N. Broadway Ave. in River Center Plaza, the space Glynner's Pub held for two decades. Overton's own explanation of why it fits was short. "I think the location is really going to be amazing for us," he told the Post Bulletin. "With parking and being in Rochester."

Parking is the point for a restaurant that lost its customers whenever snow fell on country roads. A plaza lot on North Broadway is a short drive from much of the city. Overton said he has been working on the deal for about three weeks: "I kinda sprung into action."

Many north Rochester residents will remember the address under its old name. Here is the short history, as the Post Bulletin reported it:

• May 2005: Brad Glynn opens Glynner's Pub.
• 2022: Andy Henden and Shane Christofferson take ownership.
• Early 2024: Jim McPeak takes over.
• June 29, 2025: Glynner's closes after more than 20 years.
• Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2026: Tentative opening night for Riley's Restaurant.

The room will look different when it reopens. Overton plans raised booths, new high-top tables, remodeled bathrooms, carpet over the concrete floors and all-new kitchen equipment, and he is hiring new staff.

The Name Changes, the Core Menu Comes Along

The lake and the campground stay behind, and so does the name. The restaurant will open as Riley's Restaurant, named for Overton's son, head chef Riley Overton. Riley has worked in the kitchen since about age 17. His father told the Post Bulletin that in eight years his son has "maybe missed three weekends."

The existing menu is coming along. Overton said in June that every menu item would make the move, and that weekend specials like grilled swordfish and pan-seared halibut would move onto the regular menu. He described the lineup as halibut, prime rib dinners, filet mignon combos, blackened ribeyes, sandwiches and burgers. The bigger Rochester kitchen also lets him add dishes, including risotto and lavash, an Armenian flatbread.

Even before the move, customers were asking him to bring the food to town. "We're getting a lot of positive feedback on 'please take your food somewhere else,'" Overton told the paper in June. "We're 100% committed to do that."

Conger Meat Makes the Same Move From Even Farther Away

Overton is moving a dining room. Conger Meat Market is moving a retail counter, and its home base is much smaller than Mazeppa. Conger is a southern Minnesota town near Albert Lea with fewer than 200 residents. Its USDA-certified processing facility has been running for more than 90 years. Ray and Mabel Bohonek founded the business. Today it is led by Jeremy and Darcy Johnson and Troy and Amanda Kopischke, and its tagline calls it "stubbornly local."

The Post Bulletin describes a small-town butcher shop that has grown into a regional producer and retailer. It now sells frozen patties in grocery stores, ships subscription boxes, and keeps opening new storefronts. Rochester is its fourth location, after Conger, Albert Lea and Forest City, Iowa.

Like Riley's, the shop takes over a familiar address. It is at 1340 Salem Road SW, in the former Dunn Bros. Coffee, next to Budget Blinds and across from Kwik Trip. The official opening was set for Wednesday, Oct. 21, with a possible soft opening a day or two before. The Post Bulletin first reported the plan in September 2025, so it took more than a year to go from announcement to opening day.

The 1,600-square-foot store sells fresh and frozen meat straight from the processor: steaks, ground beef, roasts, bacon, ham, hot dogs, brats and jerky. The company is known for Minnesota- and Iowa-raised wagyu beef, Berkshire pork, chicken and turkey, plus traditional Czechoslovakian-style sausage and bologna. Its signature item is the Wagshire patty, half premium Wagyu beef and half Berkshire pork. Two full-time managers with butchering experience and a team of six run the shop.

Todd Churchill, Conger Meat's president of food and agriculture, explained the pitch to the Post Bulletin:

"The meat department is the most anonymous section of a grocery store. There's the least information available about where it came from. We know, because everything is local."

Overton is offering the same deal. The meat still comes from Conger's own processor and the halibut is still on Riley's menu, and both are moving to Rochester addresses. Conger's own site still listed the Rochester store as "Opening Soon" without posted hours, so check the Rochester page before a first visit to avoid a wasted trip.

The Two Openings Side by Side

Riley's planned schedule shows who it expects to serve. Overton plans to open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day, stay open until 1 a.m. for occasional special events, and run an "Industry Day" on Mondays and Tuesdays with menu specials for people who work in restaurants. On a lake, a Tuesday in January is a gamble. On North Broadway, with a parking lot out front, the restaurant is betting that the same Tuesday brings in regular customers. The Dec. 1 date is still tentative, so check the restaurant's announcements before you plan a dinner around it.

Michelle Kalina follows openings like these because the businesses that move into familiar Rochester addresses help shape how each part of the city feels day to day. For a private White Glove consultation on what is changing around north Rochester, Salem Road SW or any other part of the city, contact Michelle Kalina and request a private White Glove consultation.