Greenfield’s Gastro Public House is a family-owned pub and eatery located in Barrhaven, Ont. As Barrhaven’s original pub, it has built up quite a following over the years. Live bands often played for the patrons, they hosted weekly karaoke nights. It was the the spot to be. This all changed with the pandemic.
A chance to improve
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a costly toll on local businesses everywhere. Many are struggling to find ways to continue operating, while others have been forced to close down as they have no way to support their future.
While many businesses were worried about their future, the owners of Greenfield’s stayed calm and optimistic. As they were planning to have renovations done to the stage area of the restaurant anyways, the pandemic proved to be a great time to do just that. With the restaurant closed and having time available, Greenfield’s underwent renovations early on in the summer, hoping to be prepared for the return of their customers.
We are trying to stay positive and persevere
Hailey Rooney, Greenfield’s
“We hope to have an excellent season next spring, and that recent renovations and changes will help us recover some of our financial losses.” says owner, Hailey Rooney.
The pub is is known for its lively atmosphere which is why they wanted to make improvements to maintain this reputation for ages to come.
The pandemic’s toll
As a local business during the pandemic, they have also faced their fair share of challenges. They’ve had to close shop twice under provincial or area lockdowns and that has caused great financial stress.
Since Greenfield’s is not only a restaurant and bar, but also a live music venue, many of their patrons would come because of shows or events. With the pandemic’s new rules, Greenfield’s has been unable to host shows and events since March.
The pandemic hit both the food and entertainment industries hard. Family-owned restaurants face their fair share of difficulties outside of the pandemic, but now they must overcome more than ever before.
In the face of this adversity, Rooney says “we are trying to stay positive and persevere,” as she believes there is still immense hope for their pub. While Greenfield’s has had to adapt because of the pandemic, they have always kept customer satisfaction in mind. One way that they were hoping to recover on the financial front was to introduce breakfast to the menu.
Greenfield’s is typically frequented as a lunch, dinner, or drink venue, and had not recently had any breakfast options on the menu. Before the recent 28-day lockdown enforced in Ottawa, they were hoping to add breakfast to the menu as it would be a way to continue to maximize profit while keeping customer satisfaction in mind, how it always has been.
Caring first, business second
Customer satisfaction has always been the number one priority at Greenfield’s. All the staff is not only extremely welcoming, but also extensively trained. “It’s one thing to care about customer experience,” says hostess Abbie Sullivan, “but at Greenfield’s we care about the customers themselves.” There are quite a few locals that frequent Greenfield’s, and they are treated like friends not just customers. With this glowing reputation in mind, it was hard to overcome some obstacles during the pandemic. Making the restaurant an enjoyable experience for patrons alike has proven difficult when trying to manage financial struggles throughout the pandemic. As a result of this, Greenfield’s has recently cut its hours. The restaurant is now open from 3pm in the afternoon to 10pm at night, every day. With these new hours, sadly, the potential of breakfast has been put on the back-burner – for now.
The employees and customers of Greenfield’s hope to see it return to what it was prior to the pandemic. Live bands playing all the time, the restaurant flooded with friends and strangers alike.
“It would often be our go-to spot for beers after work, a Saturday night out with friends, and even karaoke nights on Thursdays,” says long-time patron, Ryan Sherwood.
Familiarity has never wavered in Greenfield’s as strangers would become friends and friends would become, well, friends for life. It will be hard to foreseeably host bands and live shows as they once did, but with talks of a vaccine it’s definitely not out of the question.