Richard Burts Most Columbians still think of Richard Burts as a restaurateur or a bar man, as in Monterrey Jack's, Hannah Jane's, Big Al's, Saluda's, and Poor Richard's, if that's all of them. But Burts is out of the hospitality business while he leases space to those still in.

Burts was born in Columbia at Providence Hospital. His father ran Burts Hardware on Highway 378, next door to the Sunset Restaurant, while his mother managed the house. He has an older brother, Al, who works at Columbia- based Bonitz, a contracting and building materials firm. His older sister, Linda, is self- employed as a property manager.

After church kindergarten on Forest Drive, Burts attended elementary school at Crayton, about a block away from the family house on Idalia. He moved to Timmerman School, beginning in the third grade, and left for A.C. Flora High School to start ninth grade. He played varsity for Flora's soccer team.

He met his future wife Janet while still in high school. Her father was a physicist on the USC faculty.

As a student at USC, Burts was an undeclared major for the longest time, which was all right as long as they had the general studies program. But when the general studies program was terminated, he had to declare a major.

Burts decided to major in economics with a focus on international trade. For the 1984- 1985 school year, Burts was a varsity cheerleader, never cheering that year in Williams- Brice during a losing home game.

Burts worked as a medic in the student health center part- time at night while taking a full load of classes at USC. In the afternoons, he worked as a page for Rep. Joyce Hearn at the State House.

For six months after graduation from USC in 1987, Burts worked as a salesman for word processing firm Actifax while the business world shifted from word processing equipment to the more flexible PCs.

For his last year in college and while he was selling word processing equipment, Burts was buying Columbia property. He left the word processing business to dedicate himself to property acquisition and management, to include looking into restaurant ownership and management.

On April Fool's Day, 1988, Burts and a partner bought Monterrey Jacks, a Mexican restaurant between Santee and Devine, behind Yesterday's in Five Points. They went in together on other restaurants/bars, but in 1993, the pair split.

About the same time, Burts began Hannah Jane's. Then came Saluda's and Big Al's, both with Burts as sole proprietor.

One of the problems with the restaurant business in the mid- 1990s was the heightened and more active awareness by the IRS over waiters' tips. As waiters were taxed more, the pool of good waiters lowered to a shallow supply.

Another problem was all the hiring and firing. Burts, at his restaurant peak, was hiring on average for the year a new employee every day.

By 2000, Burts was out of the restaurant business and into the real estate development business full- time. He slowly moved from mostly residential to mostly commercial properties because the residential side was too time- consuming.

The Burts have three boys. The oldest, Gunnar, is a sophomore at Dreher, where he plays varsity soccer. The next two boys are fraternal twins, Walker and Griffin, both in the fifth grade at Heathwood Hall.

Burts lunches with his father just about every day, mostly to talk business, as his father is part of Burts' real estate development ventures.

One of the latest and the largest, for now, is the 701 Whaley Street converted warehouse, soon to open as the combined home for the 701 Center for Contemporary Art (galleries and studios and residences), an organic bistro run by the Gervais & Vine people, a reception hall something on the order of Leaside, a style salon, and maybe even the headquarters for a nonprofit.

All told, 701 Whaley is 37,000 square feet, and the certificate of occupancy is imminent.