To the Members – the following is an update from Walt Owens the CEO, Parkersburg Brewing Company and Phoenix Public House
Dear All,
The owners of the Phoenix Public House wanted to take some time to update the membership regarding the journey that we have taken together since October of 2021. We want to give you insights as to what we have encountered, corrected and accomplished as well as what we plan to do in the near future for our business and the members of the Pines.
First, much has been accomplished since October and many challenges have been overcome to bring the restaurant to the state of being open now for three short weeks. Unfortunately, we are about 1 to 1.5 months behind our originally planned schedule due primarily to kitchen renovations to meet health and building codes as well as challenges in finding and maintaining a critical mass of kitchen staff.
The kitchen, as transferred to our business, was not serviceable and did not meet health department compliance regulations. The kitchen floor was replaced with a state of the art polymer coating and the walk-in coolers were repaired. The hot/cold prep-line has been refurbished to have operational heat lamps, cold storage drawers, and as of today, we have one operational soup well out of three (the soup well portion of the line is being replaced with a new fabricated section that will be arriving soon). Rewiring of switches and breakers has been accomplished. Even the fire suppression system required wiring repairs and appropriate inspection. The existing fire suppression system was damaged in what appears to have been an electrical fire which was not discovered until our team tested the system and found that it would not trigger. Kitchen hood exhausts were repaired and the kitchen was thoroughly and deeply cleaned including the fry wells which required the use of a plumbing snake to clear the old solidified oils. All of these repairs and improvements required time, money and expert kitchen leadership to address the much needed changes.
Second, over the last several months we have also made key hires to bring a professional and reliable kitchen staff on board. We still have approximately 4 more heads to hire for the kitchen in order to meet our service goals, which we hope to accomplish over the next month. Our front of house team is young but learning quickly. Admittedly, we have some more work to do in this area to make your experience with us the best dining experience that you, your friends and family can have. We also have both secured and even terminated purveyors for lack of delivery performance. This is not surprising in the post-COVID world where fabrication and distribution challenges exist.
Our opening just three weeks back was met with success. We saw good support from members and the public alike. We took your feedback and adjusted prices where it made sense. Our start-up menu has been well received and the unique cocktail menu and whiskey bar has also shown promise for us. We recognize that the current hours of 12PM-8PM on Tuesdays through Saturdays, are not the most ideal, but these hours allow us to support the business with the kitchen staff that we have on hand.
Looking to the very near future, we are well positioned to extend our kitchen operating hours on Tuesday through Thursday to 9 PM. We will also extend our kitchen hours to 10 PM on Friday and Saturday. These hours will be extended no later than the week of April 25th. These hours will support the Thursday men’s league play and we will continue to provide a lunch service for the senior league on Mondays. We also intend to provide breakfast service as soon as we are able to have full staffing of the kitchen. Our goal is to provide this breakfast service beginning before the end of May and we do intend to bring back the Sunday Brunch to the Pines.
We are designing appropriate snacks for the beverage cart service. In addition, the beverage cart is now equipped with our POS system and players can order food from the restaurant menu while they play so that their food is ready upon completion of their round. We are also going to have a specially crafted pepperoni roll for the beverage cart in addition to the other snacks and beverages.
Pool service is also being worked up and we will be coming back to the Pines leadership with our plans for their review in the next two weeks. We want to provide a great food experience for the children and families that use the pool. Finally, we are working on a grab and go menu for the golfing members. We recognize the need for a quick service that may include hot dogs, chicken salad wraps, club sandwiches, etc. We are currently interviewing a chef to address this specific need so that we can bring these services to you.
We also recognize that following the timing and sequences of these services is not easy, however we can assure you that we are placing maximum efforts to bring these services to you as quickly as possible. We are working diligently to overcome the time lost at the beginning of this year dealing with the kitchen matters noted above and staffing challenges.
I do also want you to know that even the Mon County Health Department has recognized the changes that have been made. Just last week we received an unannounced inspection where the inspector complimented the team in taking the facility from the very worst in Mon County and he now rates the kitchen as one of the best under his jurisdiction. This is something that we can all be proud of together.
I hope you find this information helpful and understand that our goals are to provide the services that the members expect and that have been agreed with the Pines leadership. We also welcome your thoughts and constructive criticism as this only makes us better. To that end attached is a link to capture your feedback.
Kindest Regards,
Walt Owens
CEO, Parkersburg Brewing Company and Phoenix Public House
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