FoxFire Restaurant: Geneva Steakhouse Perseveres During Pandemic

This casual steakhouse is currently open for indoor seating, despite the ongoing pandemic. Find out how the staff is keeping its diners comfortable and safe.

FoxFire Restaurant, in Geneva, is remains open for indoor dining. Staff members have been taking extra steps to ensure diners feel safe during their visit.

Area diners are using this steakhouse for more than just a place to eat. They’re using FoxFire Restaurant, 17 W. State St., Geneva, as a destination, even during the ongoing pandemic.

“We have regulars come in here once a month or even twice a week, and I think they’re coming in here for a mini vacation,” says K.C. Gulbro, chef and co-owner. “They’re trying to get away from the world and they leave their cares at the door.”

Currently open for indoor dining, FoxFire invites diners to enjoy the same delicious food they’ve always been served in this casual setting.

“We serve quality steaks and seafood, but without the stuffy feel of a white tablecloth restaurant,” says Gulbro, who owns the restaurant with his dad, Curt.

Gulbro says his staff is doing everything possible to make sure diners feel safe and comfortable with their experience. The team has installed air purifiers capable of scrubbing out 99.9 percent of particles in the air, including the COVID-19 virus.

Staff members wear masks on-site, and the dining room is limited to 30 percent capacity. Sanitizing stations are scattered throughout, and reservations are required.

“We require guests to wear masks when they enter and when they leave their table, and we also take people’s temperatures when they walk in,” Gulbro says. “We’re doing everything we can to make sure FoxFire is a safe environment for our guests and staff.”

What still makes FoxFire unique, Gulbro says, is its ever-changing menu, along with the rotating wine and beer lists, which are constantly updated throughout the year.

“We’ll change up our dishes just to keep the creativity flowing in the kitchen,” he says.

Longtime staples are always available, like the Napa Valley Chicken, which comes with chicken breasts, white wine cream sauce, green grapes and garlic potatoes. The FoxFire Tuna consists of Cajun-crusted sashimi ahi tuna, wasabi yogurt and a teriyaki glaze. The Pittsburgh Style Ribeye is also a classic. It’s a 14-ounce angus beef ribeye charred on a hot iron and served with grilled asparagus. “That always seems to knock people’s socks off,” Gulbro says.

While meat is certainly the star of the menu, there’s a growing offering of dishes for those who prefer a more vegetarian palate. Diners will currently find three vegetarian-inspired dishes, including a vegan cauliflower steak, which comes with grilled asparagus, sautéed spinach, herb gremolata and chimichurri sauce.

This past year has been a hard one on restaurants all across our region. Because dining out has been affected so substantially by COVID-19, Gulbro says he’s doing everything he can to keep his successful steakhouse open to the public, despite the state’s enhanced mitigations.

“The reason we’re staying open is not just for us,” Gulbro says. “We’re open for our staff and their families, and we’re open for businesses that find FoxFire essential. A lot of other people depend on us to keep their people working. If we’d have to close for 25 or 30 days, we’d be dead and there’d be no FoxFire.”

General manager Samantha Stanciu says the clientele continue to come, and they tell her they’ve felt safe while dining out.

“We’ve had incredible support from our customers,” she says. “We’ve grown to have so many new regulars, and it’s been awesome. Everyone has been extremely happy, which has been great and they thank K.C. and I for being open every day.”

Foxfire is open for lunch Mon.-Sat. 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and for dinner Mon.-Thurs. 4 p.m.-9 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 4 p.m.-10 p.m. Reservations are currently required and can be made at foxfiregeneva.com or by calling (630) 232-1369.