The Partridge closes again

After a long history on Broad Street, owners cite overwhelming family obligations for closing the restaurant.

The Partridge Restaurant — which has been in downtown Rome for 84 years — closed Tuesday.

“After much prayer we are sad to announce that the Partridge Restaurant on 330 Broad St. is closing,” read an email sent out by owners Joel Thornton and his wife, Angelle Jacobs Thornton, the restaurant’s owners. “Family obligations and Joel’s open heart surgery last year have made this a difficult year. We are very appreciative of your prayers.”

Angelle Jacobs Thornton is the daughter of founder John and Karemy Jacobs, who opened the business in 1933.

“On behalf of John E. and Karemy Jacobs, Angelle and I would like to say thank you to Rome for your wonderful support for the restaurant through the years. It has been a pleasure to serve you,” Thornton said in the email. “We have made some wonderful friends. We are looking at options for a possible return, but for now are content that this is the right decision.”

Running a restaurant in itself is a full-time job, added Thornton, who is also an attorney.

Last November he’d had a heart attack and could not work for some time after that. Family obligations and the day-to-day operations of the restaurant became overwhelming.

Online commenters were quick to point out the restaurant had recent failing restaurant inspection scores and cited that as the reason for the closing.

“That had absolutely nothing to do with our decision,” Thornton said. “It’s been in my wife’s family so long, it’s like we’re losing a family member.”

The restaurant reopened under the current ownership after the

previous owner, Ricky Patterson, closed the restaurant in June 2015.

The Partridge has a long history in downtown Rome. When John Jacobs originally opened the restaurant in 1933, it was in the 500-block of Broad Street. It moved to its current location in 1962.

The restaurant stayed in the Jacobs family until 2009 when local chef Andre Rodriguez took over the business for a year. Ricky Patterson reopened the business in the fall of 2010 and ran it for almost five years.