When the LeFevre family, the owners of LeFco Investments Inc., began developing the 800-acre Buffalo Springs subdivision in Montgomery, the last thing they thought they would be doing was running a restaurant.

The local real estate agency has personally owned and operated Ransom’s Steakhouse and Saloon for about four years, but it was built and opened in Buffalo Springs six years ago, owner Hilliary Dumas said. Dumas and her parents, Phillip and Holly LeFevre, took over operating Ransom’s when its former owner abruptly moved from the area and decided to close the business.

“We had to go through the foreclosure process and our original intent was to sell it, but the primary buyer wanted to make it into a Mexican restaurant and we felt like that was a need that had already been well-met in the area,” Dumas said. “We felt like Ransom’s was a [core] part of [our development], and we didn’t want to see it go.”

After briefly closing in fall 2011, the restaurant reopened in 2012 under the family’s ownership and has continued to serve classic Texas fare ever since. Dumas said much of the former staff stayed with the restaurant through the transition, so Ransom’s maintained its quality of food and consistency.

The menu features Southern comfort foods, such as chicken-fried steak ($12.99) and chicken-fried chicken ($10.99) as well as burgers, sandwiches, signature steaks, salads and a full bar. Dumas said Ransom’s has grown and maintained a loyal customer base of area families, and it can accommodate around 200 guests when the outside patios are utilized.

“We are very family-oriented from the operations down to the customers,” she said. “It’s very common almost any day of the week to see two, three generations of families eating.”

A sand pit on the north patio is a hit with families, Dumas said, and the south patio features a stage where guests can hear local live entertainment on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

Manager Beth Taylor has worked for the restaurant for more than four years and said Ransom’s is the “epitome of a Texas restaurant,” from the family-friendly environment behind the scenes to the homestyle menu choices. When Ransom’s briefly closed after the original owner departed, Taylor said, she went to work at other establishments where she said the environment “just wasn’t the same.”

“If someone has never been to Texas before, then this is the perfect restaurant to take them to,” she said.

300 C.B. Stewart Drive, Montgomery 936-597-6677 www.ransomssteakhouse.com Hours: Sun.-Thu. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.