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Show B14 Castle Valley Review, March 2009 DINING OUT Dining Out Each month the Castle Valley Review will feature a different area restaurant in the newspaper. If you have a favorite eatery that you would like to see featured in the Review, give us a call at 435-748-2541 David and Lita Mae Robertson have learned to expect anything as first time restaurant owners. Photo by James L. Davis Barn’s Grill Celebrates First Year James L. Davis It has been a roller coaster of a ride their first year in business, but the Robertson family of Orangeville is still laughing as they prepare to celebrate the one year anniversary of the opening of Barn’s Grill in Castle Dale. When David and Lita Mae Robertson opened the family restaurant in March 2008 they admitted they did so with little in the way of experience or an idea on what to expect. To say that their first year has been a learning experience is perhaps an understatement. “It was more than we expected. The first few months I just knew we were going to die,” David said with the laugh visitors have come to expect from the construction worker turned restaurant owner. The fact that the experience that had them all but overwhelmed was due to the positive response to their restaurant was great news, but still proved to be a challenge. Now, a year later and having settled into a grove on how to deal with the hectic times (and the slow times), the Robertson’s are starting to feel that they are running their business, instead of the other way around. “It’s a big baby,” said Lita Mae, who juggles working at the grill with being a mother and a school bus driver. “You have to be here constantly.” Located near Emery High School at Dining Guide 340 West and SR-29, the Robertson’s knew the location was right to capture not only local business, but customers traveling to and from Joe’s Valley. The trick was to offer customers food and an atmosphere worth stopping for, and their success has been gratifying for a simple management philosophy that called for taking care of not only the customer, but their employees. From the onset, David said he knew good employees would be the key to success and prior to opening the grill he said he planned to offer employees a little better pay than could be found in other restaurants in the area. “If we take care of our employees, they’ll take care of us,” David said a year ago, shortly after opening the doors to Barn’s Grill. His statement proved to be something of a self-fulfilling prophecy. A year later, it is their employees that David and Lita Mae can’t say enough about. “I feel that we have the best people around. Without them we couldn’t handle it,” David said. With Robert Phelps as their assistant manager and Whitney Mills as day shift manager and Barbara Pearson as night shift manager, the Robertson’s say that they have the freedom to step away from the restaurant from time to time to be with family. They look at the rest of their staff as an extension of their family as well and are grateful for their dedication. Burger King Carbonville 121 North Carbonville Road (435)637-2953 7 a.m. .- 10 p.m.. Sunday 6 a.m..- 11 p.m.. Monday-Saturday Groggs (435)-637-2924 12 -8 p.m.. Sunday 11 a.m. .- 9: p.m.. Mon- day-Thursday 11 a.m..- 10 p.m.. Friday and Saturday 1653 N Carbonville Road. Taco Bell “These girls will come in to get a drink and if they see that we’re busy they help out and then go on their way,” Lita Mae said. Although they have made some adjustments here and there during the past year, David and Lita Mae are happy with their business and where it is going and they constantly look for ways to provide their customers with an even better experience when visiting their grill. The Robertson’s are diehard Emery Spartan sports fans and with the grill situated so close to Emery High School, David said they often open their doors to visiting teams. More than once he has told visiting coaches that if they needed a place to eat after the game he would keep the grill open late for them. “If they want us to feed them, we’ll beat them and then we’ll feed them,” he said with a good-natured laugh. “It’s been good to get to know the individual teams. It’s been a lot of fun.” Of the items on their menu that are their personal favorites, both Lita Mae and David said they take a lot of pride in the quality of their salad bar. Lita Mae enjoys their taco bowls and David thinks their Malibu chicken is second to none. As the Robertson’s prepare to take Barn’s Grill into its second year David looks back on the experience with a smile. “I’ve never had a job that’s been this demanding, but I’ve never had a job that’s been this much fun either,” he said. (435)-636-8184 9 a.m..- 12 a.m. SundayThursday 9: a.m.- 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday 120 North Carbonville Road, Castle Dale Barn’s Grill (435)-381-5411 Continued on Next Page. |