Starting to Look at Fifty

“A Friendly Place by the Side of the Road”

So we’re starting to look at fifty.  Fifty years ago Don Staber, the Wielt Brothers, George Palmater, Bill Truesdale and others were scrambling to get the finishing touches on the restoration at this barn. Larry, Joey, Ellen, Jimmy were chopping , slicing, mincing, roasting, grilling, whipping and folding furiously.  If you ever wanna see the scrapbook full of photos, it’s on my desk. Just ask and we’ll show you.  In fact, don’t ask. We’ll probably show you anyway. Still incredible to me, the idea of taking this beat up, run down, pigeon filled dairy barn and thinking it’d make a good spot for a restaurant. Forty nine years of hard working, talented, passionate people between these walls. Hundreds of dedicated employees, vendors, contractors, farmers, brewers, musicians, accountants.  Countless loyal guests.  Many, many more who have chosen to stop in one time to check us out.  The best idea any of us have had to date, I think,  belonged to Don Staber. This would make a great place for a restaurant! I asked him on our 40th anniversary if he ever imagined being here four decades.  He confessed to me he wasn’t sure he’d generate enough cash flow to last forty days. I can tell you with certainty that neither he nor I have taken a single week of it for granted. There have been no guarantees.  There have been blizzards, tropical storms, droughts and windstorms. There have been wars, recessions, terrorist attacks, and a global pandemic.  But there’s never been a guarantee that next month’s payroll or electric bill is covered. But here we are, two weeks away from kicking off our fiftieth year. I can only imagine the excitement, stress, anxiety, energy those guys were feeling while they prepped for opening night. Heck..I’ll spin myself halfway into the earth today, just reopening after two days of gardening, lawn work, and zero kitchen prep! Opening day had to be insane.  No fanfare, no ribbon cutting, no dry run.  Just open the doors and do it.  Well done all!  We’ll be kicking off our 50th year on May 27 the most appropriate way I can imagine. With a big band.  A really big band. Keith Pray’s Big Soul Ensemble’s monthly residency happens to fall on our anniversary.  With this year’s weather I can’t speculate quite yet if we’ll be indoors or out but I know we’ll have great music, some ‘barely edible’ foods and we’ll always promise to deliver the only staff instruction Don ever demanded.. be “A Friendly Place by the Side of the Road “..