Sandy Lam, pictured, and her husband Gordon have closed the doors to Drumheller's Fred & Barney’s Family Restaurant. The Lams first opened their business in August 1994.
After twenty years in business and too many buffets to count, Drumheller’s Fred & Barney’s Family Restaurant has closed its doors.
Owners of the building, where the restaurant is located off Highway 9, didn’t renew any of the tenant leases.
Lam has nothing but praise for the community and for the customers who chose Fred & Barney’s as the place to eat or host an event, and the place to celebrate special milestones such as birthdays and anniversaries. “We’re really missing the customers,” said owner Sandy Lam.
She said they’ve had a lot of regular customers who have been coming to the restaurant since her and husband Gordon first opened their doors back in August of 1994.
Lam adds the gentleman who won their restaurant’s grand opening prize also returned to take part in their final day of business.
She regrets that staff shortages over their final few days of business meant they weren’t able to offer their popular take-out service for customers.
The last three days of business were pretty hectic for them, with husband Gordon being the lone cook in the kitchen.
However, he has a solid thirty years of experience as a Chinese cook that held him in good stead.
She said she was really proud of him - he was pretty organized and had some prep-work help, but otherwise handled the cooking himself.
A lot of the food served at Fred & Barney’s was homemade, Lam said.
Her three sons, two from Calgary and the third from Drumheller, all came for the restaurant’s final day and they, along with a nephew, were kept busy helping out.
Lam appreciates the hard work of all the staff over the years, and wanted to give a special mention to Lori Bugdale and Debbie Scarlett for their ten years of service, and to Rose Harrison, for her sixteen years of service.
Some of Fred & Barney’s staff have found other jobs, Lam said, and some are taking a rest.
The restaurant equipment and items are being given away or sold, and Lam is unsure of what she’ll do with all her time after retiring from the restaurant, but in the short term, she’s planning a trip to Hong Kong to visit her Mother.
Lam said running a restaurant can be very stressful, and she certainly won’t miss the stress.
