聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 鈥淔ifteen years times 365 days equals over 5,000 fun days at The Office,鈥� says owner Brian Rutten of Carlyle''s Office Bar & Grill's 15th anniversary.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Rutten, along with co-owners Greg Rutten and Glenn Hofos and manager Tracy Hofos all agree that The Office's success and longevity in the notoriously difficult restaurant business boils down to three factors: great staff, great food and a loyal clientele.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淥ur staff is a huge asset,鈥� says Tracy. 鈥淲e have 24 to 30 people working here, depending on the week. We have some staff who have been here for more than three years.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Brian agrees, adding: 鈥淭racy-'The Boss'- and her staff is what makes this place. They're all important-cooks, dishwashers, serving staff, cleaning staff-every one of them.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e're always working on our menu,鈥� Tracy adds. 鈥淎nd most of our food is done from scratch. There's no pre-packaged, heat-and-go stuff. I cost things out, but otherwise, we give our chef a pretty free reign.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e want our staff to like working here,鈥� says Brian. 鈥淲e hired them for their strengths and we want to make use of those talents. If our staff is having fun, then hopefully, our customers will, too.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e rely on all of the communities in this area, the lakes, the new hotels in town, and of course, the workers,鈥� says Tracy. 鈥淭he most recent downturn in the oilpatch is certainly something we feel, but our locals have carried us through and stuck by us, and for that, we're very grateful.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Both Brian and Tracy say that staffing-in good economic times and bad-remains an ongoing challenge in their industry.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 However, one event in the The Office's history demonstrates that it is a business which has already withstood a significant challenge-and has been rebuilt-literally from the ground up.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚t happened in Februrary, 2003,鈥� says Brian. 鈥淲e had a natural gas leak that pretty well levelled the building.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥溾�滻t happened on a Sunday about noon,鈥� adds Tracy. 鈥淚t was really cold, about -35 C below. We were so lucky.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e joke that it took the eyebrows off my brother, Greg,鈥� says Brian. 鈥淗e opened the door. And our cook, Mike Oblander was starting to open up at noon for Sunday, and he got out with one shoe. We were so lucky in so many ways.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淭racy was at our second location in Weyburn and (my wife) Jan and I were coming back from Assiniboia,鈥� he adds. 鈥淲e were on this side of Weyburn when our daughter Nikki called and said, 'The Office blew up'. My first thought after I realized how bad it was was: 'Who's dead? Who's hurt?.'鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲hen we found out that everyone was okay, we were both so relieved, that nothing else mattered. I thought, 'Okay, we'll deal with what we have to deal with....'鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Although the restaurant's rebuild took over a year, both Brian and Tracy say that the sight of the levelled building only made them focus on how lucky they were, not on what they had lost.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲hen Jan and I arrived back in Carlyle, there was no seeing anything,鈥� says Brian. 鈥淚t was all gone. But we were so lucky that no one was killed or hurt.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淏usinesses can be rebuilt, people can't be replaced,鈥� he says, as Tracy nods in agreement.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The old building had been the Parkman General Store, and although it was destroyed in the blast, The Office's owners were determined to recreate what Brian calls The Office's 鈥渘eighbourhood pub atmosphere.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e've always aimed to make The Office a place were people felt welcome, could meet friends and enjoy some good eats,鈥� he says. 鈥淒uring the rebuild, we discovered that there were lots of building code changes. We wanted to carry over some aspects of the old building-the mirrors, the beams and stuff-but more important than making it an exact copy of the old place, we wanted to retain that warm and welcoming feel.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚 think we did and we opened up again in July 2004, it was just in time for the first long weekend of the summer.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淎nd since then, there are a lot of new places to eat in Carlyle,鈥� adds Brian. 鈥淧eople sometimes ask us about that, but I think it's great there are so many places to choose from. Competition is a good thing, and it keeps us on our toes.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Office offers opportunities to eat in the downstairs dining room or in the upstairs bar, as well as offering take-out. Although the menu contains some specialities and classic dishes that are customer favourites, both Brian and Tracy say they are always aiming to improve The Office's聽 offerings.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e've revamped our menu a few times,鈥� says Tracy. 鈥淥ur original menu was always pretty large. We want to offer choices to our customers, but also quality. From day one, our Chicken Oscar has been a big hit...鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淎nd our pizzas,鈥� adds Brian. 鈥淲e work our seasoning right into our dough.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Longtime customer Jacqui Trippel of Carlyle, says: 鈥淲e've had a lot of great meals at The Office over the years. A couple stand out as exceptionally good. (One buffet) was so fancy, nicer than anything I've seen on a cruise ship, complete with food sculptures and everything.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e were there for Valentine's supper this year,鈥� adds Trippel. 鈥淲e saw a stranger pay for supper for a single mom and her two kids that night as a surprise. It was really nice.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淥ne of our friends loves their chicken wing dinner so much that that's all he'll ever order. It's nice to have a good restaurant in town.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The 200-seat bar and eatery also has a pool table, a jukebox, VLTs, big screen television, foosball and on occasion, karoke and live bands.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e aim to be a place where our customers can enjoy themselves,鈥� says Tracy.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 From the beginning the pair say that life at The Office is 鈥渘ever boring.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淚t's been a real education in human nature,鈥� says Brian. 鈥淵ou meet people from every walk of life, through almost every circumstance in life-celebrations, tougher times, sad times and ordinary days. You see the gamut of humanity. It widens your perspective and opens up your view of things. You see life and look at it full-spectrum.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e started from a core group of 12 of us from the Moose Head,鈥� adds Tracy. 鈥淚t's grown about four-fold in the 15 years we've been open.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲e've always had goals,鈥� adds Brian. 鈥淲e've exceeded our initial expectations. We have good staff and good food and we also have good customers. The formula's pretty simple.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淓very day is a fun day here,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e're not done celebrating our 15th anniversary yet, and we welcome everyone who wants to to come out to The Office and join us.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The Office Bar & Grill is located at 102 Railway Ave. West in Carlyle. For more information, call 453-2044 or check out The Office Bar & Grill on Facebook.
