Great Steaks, a Great Patio and More Than 100 Years of Belmont History
There are plenty of places around Belmont where you can get a good meal.
But there aren’t many where you can eat a great steak in a building that once housed the Belmont Police Department.
Old Stone Steakhouse has been part of downtown Belmont for nearly 20 years, and it’s one of those places that combines two things I really enjoy—good food and a little bit of local history.
I’ve eaten there plenty of times, and while I love the steaks, one of my favorite things about Old Stone is actually the patio.
Sitting outside at Old Stone is a treat just about any time of year.
Spring evening? Absolutely.
Summer night? Yep.
Cool fall afternoon? Even better.
And with a heater nearby and the right bourbon, I’m willing to negotiate pretty far into winter. 
But what makes Old Stone particularly interesting isn’t just what’s on the plate.
It’s the building you’re sitting in.
From Police Station to Steakhouse
The building at 23 South Main Street has stood in downtown Belmont for more than 100 years and once served as the Belmont Police Department. In 2007, the old police station was converted into the 2,800-square-foot Old Stone Steakhouse.
Thankfully, they didn’t erase the building’s history when they did it.
The original police station lettering can still be found along the back wall, and historic photographs throughout the restaurant provide reminders of what the building used to be.
That’s part of what I like about places like this.
Belmont has changed tremendously over the years, particularly downtown.
New businesses have opened. Buildings have been renovated. New people have discovered the town.
But some of the best redevelopment doesn’t erase what was there before.
It gives an old place a new purpose.
And Old Stone is a pretty good example of that.
Let’s Talk About the Steak
Of course, history is interesting.
But eventually somebody has to bring out the steak.
And that’s ultimately why I keep going back.
I love the steaks at Old Stone.
The menu includes the classics you’d expect from a steakhouse—filet mignon, ribeye, New York strip and sirloin, along with prime rib on Fridays and Saturdays when available.
They also offer seafood, chicken, ribs, pasta and several other options if steak isn’t your thing.
One interesting local touch is their bacon-wrapped scallops served with a spiced Cheerwine BBQ sauce.
But I’m still probably ordering the steak.
There’s something about a good steak, a drink and nowhere you need to be for a little while that’s pretty hard to beat.
My Favorite Seat May Be Outside
As much as I enjoy the food, the patio is a big part of the Old Stone experience for me.
The restaurant has a large outdoor patio overlooking Main Street and Stowe Park.
If you’ve spent much time in downtown Belmont, you know why that’s a pretty good spot.
You’re right in the middle of town.
People are walking around.
Stowe Park is across the way.
Downtown is happening around you.
But you can sit there with dinner and a drink and just enjoy it.
I’ve been out there during different seasons, and honestly, I think each one has something going for it.
There’s something especially nice about it in the fall when the temperature finally starts dropping.
Although I’m not above sitting next to a heater when necessary.
Again…
the right bourbon helps.
And Then There’s the Jailhouse
Here’s where the story gets even better.
The old jail still stands behind the restaurant.
And instead of tearing that down, it eventually got its own second life.
In 2016, the owners of Old Stone began working to restore the former Belmont jail. In 2017, it reopened as The Jailhouse, a cocktail and whiskey bar that retained elements of the old jail, including iron cells and historical photographs.
Think about that for a second.
You can have dinner in the old police station…
Then walk next door and have a drink in the old jail.
Belmont has apparently figured out how to make getting arrested considerably more enjoyable than it used to be.
There’s even a bit of history connecting the two buildings. An old barred doorway near the patio was once part of the route used to move prisoners from the jail toward the courthouse.
That’s the kind of detail most people could walk past a hundred times without ever knowing the story behind it.
This Is What I Love About Old Downtowns
This is probably what makes Old Stone particularly interesting to me.
It isn’t just a restaurant.
It’s an example of something I think Belmont has done pretty well.
Finding new uses for old places.
I’ve written before about East End and some of Belmont’s old mill buildings.
Those buildings tell part of the story of the town.
So do the old storefronts.
The churches.
The houses.
The railroad.
The police station.
The jail.
You don’t have to freeze a town in time to preserve its history.
Communities are supposed to change.
Businesses come and go.
People move in.
Buildings get renovated.
New ideas replace old ones.
But when it’s done well, the next chapter doesn’t have to erase the chapters that came before it.
Sometimes the old police station becomes a steakhouse.
And sometimes that’s exactly what keeps the old building alive.
My Take
There are restaurants you visit because the food is good.
There are restaurants you visit because the atmosphere is good.
And every once in a while, you find one where the building itself is part of the experience.
Old Stone checks all three boxes for me.
I love the steaks.
I love sitting on the patio.
And I love the fact that when you’re eating there, you’re sitting inside a little piece of Belmont history.
If you’ve lived around Belmont for a long time, you probably already know Old Stone.
But if you’re newer to the area—or you’ve somehow never made it over there—it’s worth putting on your list.
And when the weather is nice…
I’d ask for the patio.
The Bottom Line
One of the reasons I enjoy doing these Local Business Spotlights is because the businesses we support are part of what gives our communities their personality.
You can build another restaurant.
You can build another shopping center.
You can build another subdivision.
You can’t build another 100-year-old Belmont police station.
That history already happened.
What we can do is find ways to keep those places relevant and useful for the next generation.
Old Stone Steakhouse has done exactly that.
More than a century after the building first became part of downtown Belmont, people are still walking through its doors.
They’re just considerably more excited about doing it now.
And if you happen to see me sitting on the patio with a steak and a bourbon…
now you know why.