As July arrives, so does the 5 year anniversary of the opening of The Garrison, and so does our decision to say goodbye to everything The Garrison is and was, and serve the final plate of food from our kitchen.

 

To say we have been submerged in an education about life for the last five years is a drastic understatement, and to say we are the same humans we were when we started couldn’t be further from the truth. This journey has been both the absolute definition of the best and worst of times, and an education in not just business, but mental health, physical health, expectations, pressure, failure, and success.

 

The last year has been brutal for so many reasons, and for the first time the actual struggles which usually hide behind our spreadsheets and facade has spilled over to our dedicated staff and it is not okay to continue on when we struggle to meet payroll and pay bills.

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I am so proud of how present I have been able to be as a father through these past 16 years with Dandelion Catering and 5 years with The Garrison, but in the end, my priority in life is to not just be a great father, but the best. That requires time, bandwidth, and a full and honest heart. The word restaurant comes from the French word for “to restore” - and that is what we as cooks truly believe we are doing for our guests. What I’ve also found is how counter-intuitive it can be to run yourself within an inch of your own mental and physical death in order to do that. 14 hour days, six days a week, all year every year leaves it impossible to remotely restore your own humanity. The romance of the Chef/Owner who pushes everyday to ultimately create something special that heals people is in many ways a tragic story, but still we adore it, as do I. It’s special, but if done whole heartedly, it is painful, and it's dangerous.  

 

The Garrison popped its last cork on the 27th. We, as a family, aim to turn our focus to the uninitiated plan for our corner store attached to Thoroughfare, and the endless potential to focus solely on creating food and restoration for our community around us through such a special spot. 

 

In the end, we are so proud of what we built, along with our incredible team beside us, and we know that our home on the river has made a nest of core memories and experiences that will carry on after the last plate is cleared. Thank you all for making this so much more than just a place to eat. It’s literally been a dream come true.

 

Loud Love. C