JACKSONVILLE — In a town steeped in history and tradition, nothing could be more perfect than the marriage of two Jacksonville institutions — Sadler’s Kitchen and Lon Morris College.

Sadler’s will move to The Landmark, a recent acquisition by the college, in mid-April, providing the restaurant with a new, larger location while giving students in the college’s new Hospitality Administration Program course a real-time training ground.

Rob Gowin, owner of Sadler’s, isn’t sure if it’s a touch of the divine or just perfect timing, but he does know one thing — the history of his family and business have deep roots in the college and have come full circle in a way that he himself couldn’t even imagine.

“In 1943, Lon Morris loaned my grandfather the money to open Sadler’s,” Gowin said. “It was a creation of my grandfather and Lon Morris College. Now Sadler’s and Lon Morris are back together.”

Gowin’s grandfather, Elton (Monk) Sadler, came to Lon Morris on a football scholarship — a time when the college would loan money to “everyday Joes,” Gowin said.

“That was how their endowment started,” he said.

As a result, Sadler was a staunch supporter of Lon Morris — and education in general.

“That was his big deal with us as children,” Gowin said. “It was, 1. You are going to go to college and, 2. Send us the bill.”

And generations of the family went to Lon Morris — Gowin’s mother, father, brother and himself, with the tradition of attending the Jacksonville institution running throughout other members of the family.

“Our whole family went to Lon Morris,” Gowin said. “Our roots there are deep — the history is deep.”

In fact, Gowin can recall in his college days, he and his friends would often head to his grandfather’s house to cook.

“One time we had a spaghetti supper fundraiser and none of us knew how to cook spaghetti for 250 people, so we went to his house and used his big pots and he helped us,” he said. “He was a dang good cook.”

It was that talent in the kitchen that made Sadler’s such a fixture in the Jacksonville community — a relationship between the restaurant and the town that would last for generations.

Gowin said the quality and type of food his grandfather served are at the heart of the restaurant’s success.

“For a restaurant, especially an independent one, to survive, it means you have your finger on the pulse of the community,” he said. “You’re doing something right.”

Sadler’s menu hasn’t changed much since its debut nearly 70 years ago. And Gowin said he doesn’t plan to change it once he moves to his new location.

“They were open from breakfast to night, starting with bacon and eggs and closing with chicken fried steak,” he said. “I’ve changed the menu to meet the dietary needs of today, but we still have that hamburger and that chicken fried steak. In fact, I had one of the cooks who worked for my grandfather come back for the first four or five years I was here.

“I just don’t think you do that — change the menu.  It’s pretty unique. You don’t find a lot of quality home cooking. It’s not a theme, it’s just food. Good food.”

But timing has a lot to do with Gowin’s decision to move to The Landmark, he said. Despite past opportunities to move to larger locations or do something different with the restaurant, he was never ready to make the move — until now.

“It’s just right. There was always a negative in those deals,” he said. “This is all wins for every party involved. I mean, Lon Morris has me, and I have them. I’m looking at something I can do to affect the next generation. I get to share everything I have done in the last 15 years to build my business and market my business.”

And that knowledge and experience stretches beyond the dishes Gowin cooks — it’s the realization that the restaurant that started with a loan from a college has grown into a legend that stretches beyond the city limits of Jacksonville.

“To this day, it’s just the people at the heart of what Sadler’s has done,” he said. “I was in Austin and this little old couple came up to me. They said they remember a Sadler’s in Jacksonville. I told them it was my grandfather’s restaurant, and they said, ‘We had our first date at Sadler’s.’ It’s bizarre to get those things.

“We’ve had governors, senators, congressmen come and eat there. It’s always been a stomping ground.”

Gowin said his vision is to expand not just his kitchen — from 200 square feet in his current location to about 1,200 square feet at The Landmark — but to also provide Jacksonville with a hub for art and culture.

Floor space will be devoted to artistic activities, such as dinner theater, in addition to Gowin’s tradition of presenting live music and artists.

“I think it’s a building block for where Jacksonville is going to go,” Gowin said.

The city’s Blue Ribbon Committee has put forward the idea of making Jacksonville a destination for all things art — and Gowin said he believes that new direction will bolster the success of his business, while his business will help with the city’s plans to provide East Texas with an artistic experience like no other.

“It’s a very unique situation, how many factors had to come together,” he said. “This is absolutely an issue of timing — the right place, the right time, the right project and the right use for the building. I’ve been involved with The Landmark project since before Becky Bailey bought it. But at that point in my life that wasn’t right for me. It’s timing. Perfect timing.”

Gowin said there won’t be many changes to Sadler’s once the move is made. He said he will hire more employees, giving the city’s economic development a boost, and as part of the training he will help provide Lon Morris’s students, he will bring in chefs from other restaurants.

“I’m going forward with my current business and current business schedule,” he said. “But I will have expanded hours in June. Tomato Fest will mark the arrival of The Landmark. But we’ll open at The Landmark in mid April.”

And Gowin said he believes the new relationship, marrying his business with the source of the business’s beginning, will be a win-win situation beyond anyone’s imagining.

“When you put Lon Morris and its history of touching generations of people with Sadler’s, with its history of touching generations of people, everybody wins.”