New owner but same faces and menu at Barb’s Cafe
Business Spotlight
Randall Gregg and Barb Galvin stand behind the counter at Barb’s Cafe in Florence, Wis. Gregg took ownership of the restaurant from his grandmother this summer. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News photo)
Barb’s Cafe in Florence, Wis., has changed ownership but will remain the same business that has served customers for more than 30 years. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News photo)
Some of the family members who make up the staff at Barb’s Cafe — from left are Trisha Young, a longtime employee and daughter-in-law of Barb Galvin; Galvin, former owner of business; new owner Randall Gregg, Galvin’s grandson; and Shannon Steber, Gregg’s mother and also a longtime employee. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News photo)
The iconic sign at Barb’s Cafe in Florence, Wis., will be reinstalled soon, new owner Randall Gregg said.
Randall Gregg and Barb Galvin stand behind the counter at Barb’s Cafe in Florence, Wis. Gregg took ownership of the restaurant from his grandmother this summer. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News photo)
Barb’s Cafe in Florence, Wis., has changed ownership but will remain the same business that has served customers for more than 30 years. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News photo)
Some of the family members who make up the staff at Barb’s Cafe — from left are Trisha Young, a longtime employee and daughter-in-law of Barb Galvin; Galvin, former owner of business; new owner Randall Gregg, Galvin’s grandson; and Shannon Steber, Gregg’s mother and also a longtime employee. (Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News photo)
The iconic sign at Barb’s Cafe in Florence, Wis., will be reinstalled soon, new owner Randall Gregg said.
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FLORENCE, Wis. -- Local fixture Barb's Cafe is under new ownership but remains in the family.
Barb Galvin, who opened the restaurant on March 11, 1993, turned it over to grandson Randall Gregg on July 1. Galvin, though, has no plans to retire and will remain with the business.
She has worked in restaurants her whole life, including 16 years at the Big Boy Restaurant in Kingsford.
"I enjoy the people that I get to interact with. I have amazing employees. I've had employees that are with me for the whole 30 years. I have a lot of family that has worked for me, and still do work for me. I've raised seven grandchildren in this restaurant," Galvin said. "Good food, good service, clean restaurant, those are the three things we offer people. My servers are amazing with people."
Gregg was looking for a change after 13 years working as a mechanic at the Ford garage in Florence.
"I needed a change of pace in life, trying something different. The opportunity came up and it worked out timing-wise," Gregg said. "It's a lot but it's fun. It's a new adventure every day."
Prior to opening as Barb's Cafe, it was Lloyd's Cafe for more than 20 years and then Florence Cafe for about five years. Coincidentally, both wives of the previous owners were named Barb, she said.
No major changes are planned to the menu. The restaurant is mostly known for its breakfasts, especially the eggs Benedict and the western omelet. They serve breakfast all day.
"Probably on the weekend we serve more breakfast than lunch. A lot people like to sleep in, want breakfast," Galvin said.
They also make their own fruit pies, cinnamon rolls, pecan rolls and chili.
Gregg does try new things, with some of them making it on the menu as specials.
"The old man told me, 'If the soup sells, sell the soup.' Keep the menu the same, keep the name the same," Gregg said.
Galvin said even the prices haven't changed much. "If I pulled out one of the menus from 30 years ago, my prices are not much higher than they were then," she said.
They did do some remodeling this past winter to the back seating area, which is popular with larger groups, and to the bathrooms. Galvin said no major remodeling had been done to the building prior to that.
Eventually they will do some work on the front dining area, Gregg said. They can seat about 75 people in the restaurant. New benches were installed in the front for people who may have to wait to be seated.
The restaurant employs about 11 to 12 people and is busiest starting in June, according to Galvin. If there is snow, they are also popular with snowmobilers. The slowest times are in January and February.
Some people have been confused about the change because the iconic sign is missing. Gregg said the sign will be reinstalled soon.
Galvin said people were asking her, "'Where'd the sign go, are you changing everything?' I’ve had so many people offer to buy the sign. It's going back up. And right now I think it's very important that it gets back up because of that change. People are hoping it stays the same and when the sign came down, they were pretty hesitant."
The business at 633 Central Ave. is open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. They are closed Monday and Tuesday. They can be reached at 715-528-4219 and through their Facebook page.
"Good food, good service, clean restaurant -- those are the three things were offer people," Galvin said.
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Marguerite Lanthier can be reached at 906-774-3500, ext. 85242, or mlanthier@ironmountaindailynews.com.