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Members of the Bainbridge Rotary Club met at the Kirbo Center on Tuesday for their weekly meeting. This week’s guest speakers were Sam and Susan Higdon, the owners of the upcoming restaurant, Susie and Sam’s Steakhouse, which is set to be built in the old library on 200 West Broughton Street.

The couple, who have experience working in music and theatre, opened their speech with a musical number, though some technical difficulties cut the number short. The couple then moved into discussing their history, with Susan recounting her childhood helping out at her father’s restaurant. “He treated everyone like they were a guest in his own home, and it was a really inspiring thing for me,” she said. She moved on to discuss how the couple met in New York when they found themselves performing in the same show.

The couple found themselves sailing around the world, performing for various cruises. While living in New York, the two were eventually contacted by Susan’s mother, Marie Livingston. “My mom calls up one day and she says, ‘Hey, I’m opening up a restaurant in Tallahassee, Florida. Would you guys come and help me open up my restaurant?’” The couple did so, and ultimately chose to move to Tallahassee when they left New York. Susan had previously spent time in Bainbridge working as a dance teacher for Andrew College, where she met Michael Inlow, who they reconnected with when they moved to Tallahassee. The couple consequently ended up getting involved in the Bainbridge Little Theatre, and grew a greater attachment to the Bainbridge Community.

After the closure of Marie Livingston’s Steakhouse in 2021, the pair decided to look into opening their own restaurant in Bainbridge. “One of the first buildings we looked at was the library building, and we loved it,” Sam said. “We weren’t quite sure how it would work out, we kept looking at other buildings, but we kept circling back to the library.”

Susie and Sam’s Steakhouse is set to open in August, and will bring back some recipes from Marie Livingston’s, as well as recipes inspired by the couple’s travels.

“We hope that Susie and Sam’s Steakhouse becomes a place of fellowship, for people to come together and eat great food, and have great service,” Susan said. “We also want it to be a place where families and people can come and make new memories, and we’re just so excited.”