Restaurant Rebirth

Community support amazes Meadows By The Lake owners.
By Ted Whipp, The Windsor Star April 14, 2009

Wayne Jahn and his wife Neda Thomas-Jahn, owners of Meadows by the Lake, stand in their newly-renovated tavern. The Meadows was badly damaged in a fire last October.
Photograph by: Scott Webster, The Windsor Star

A decorative sign in the landmark Meadows By The Lake

roadhouse restaurant near Harrow emphasizes the importance of family and friends.
Business owners Neda Thomas-Jahn and her husband Wayne know that only too well. Since a devastating restaurant fire Oct. 15 last year, they've received the community's support and goodwill and have discovered personal renewal, too, from their restaurant's rebirth.
Loyal customers are dropping by as word travels about the Meadows' recent reopening.
The restaurant's entire staff of 15 have returned, serving items like the Meadows' signature Lake Erie perch in a basket and the tartar sauce on the side with its gentle dill flavour.
Construction crews became caught up in the months' long effort to restore the roadhouse. They met tight deadlines and they designed components like the new bar from scratch.
A flooring crew surprised Thomas-Jahn with a decorative tile of the restaurant's name in the floor at the entrance. Look at the new bar, and there's another Meadows' sign workers set in stone, too.
Touched by such goodwill, the restaurant couple invited family, friends, construction and restoration workers for a special party recently. There were 150 people in all, and the couple handed out special gifts like hoodies with the roadhouse name.
"They were all amazing," Thomas-Jahn said of the community support.
Such efforts, filled with such heart and hope, have restored the spirit of the place -- though, apparently not the ghost or eerie presence some maintain they've experienced at the Meadows late at night.
Called The Lookout, he, she, or it, apparently vanished with the fire, says Thomas-Jahn.
The restoration work has left the essence of the Meadows intact. "It's still the Meadows," Thomas-Jahn says. "It's just completely brand new."
The work was especially tricky for an old building, says Mike Touma of Preferred Restoration Windsor Ltd. , who also worked on the project. "But it was a pleasure working with them," Touma says of husband and wife restaurateurs. And when he saw the front entrance tile work with the Meadows name, he wanted one for the bar.
"It was just a little touch that needed to be done," he explains simply, adding the owners put their heart into their business and this restoration.
Family, friends and other food fans followed the progress on a Facebook online group website. Visitors remain struck by how good the place looks; different somehow but still the same, they tell the restaurant couple and staff.
The dining room's cedar wood walls have been replaced with a combination of lighter pine interspersed with cedar. Beautiful hardwood floors swollen from water to fight the blaze have been replaced with earthen-coloured, decorative tile.
Jahn wanted to freshen up the exterior, too, and he came up with a Tudor design. The kitchen where the blaze began has been all but gutted and looks brand spanking new with shiny stainless steel everywhere.
More importantly the couple, who bought and reopened the Meadows only three years ago, look to a bright future. The small shuttle bus in the parking lot will be put into service for winery tours. A new side entrance may later lead onto a new patio.
The cause of the fire was traced to a halogen light, and the building suffered extensive smoke and water damage. The loss, worth more than $500,000, was insured.
Immersed in the restoration effort, the couple, who have four sons, have in a way found a rebirth too.
Jahn, 56, says he's signed up for a St. Clair College culinary arts course to become a chef.
"I figured since I own a restaurant, I should learn how to cook," he explains.
Thomas-Jahn, 46, says the phone calls she's answering now include reservations; a wedding reception and a baby shower have been booked.
Neighbouring winery owners and other business people have dropped by offering a much-appreciated welcome back, and they expect to bring more business, too.
In turn, the couple says the Meadows will continue to seek out local suppliers and stock items like local wines and food ingredients as much as possible.
The couple has also committed to green business practices as much as possible, using items like cleaners with natural ingredients. The kitchen has become trans-fat free, without ingredients containing the artery-clogging dietary fat.
Many say the Meadows feels the same, just slightly different. Look closely around the dining room and bar and there are items like artwork of historical cars and a welcome-back floral gift from a restaurant supplier.
A model boat sits on display, a special gift from the family of a customer who had died and who had enjoyed so many good times at the Meadows they figured it belonged here.
Nearby another decorative folk-art sign says it all: "When you're here, you're family."
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One of the last roadhouses in the region, Meadows By The Lake, 9278 County Rd. 41 at County Rd. 50, west of Harrow is open Sunday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and until 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday; call 519-738-BEER (2337). The Meadows has restored its menu, too, with original prices and items intact since the fire, such as half-pound burgers, Mile High Sandwiches and Perch In A Basket; many entrees between $8 and $15.
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THE MEADOWS BY THE LAKE
A SLICE OF LOCAL HISTORY
A landmark, the Meadows at the corner of County Roads 41 and 50 dates back to a store and gasoline station built on the site in 1928. In the 1930s, the business was turned into a hotel or tavern and licensed for beer and wine in 1935 as the Meadows hotel, the only one in the Colchester-Malden area.
Joe and Helen Martin bought the business in 1972 and 10 years later obtained a liquor licence that allowed for mixed drinks.
The location had long served as a way station for travellers. In the 1800s, a stage coach stop was located nearby for travellers between Oxley and Amherstburg.
A blind pig was set up at one point just north of the Meadows. People would drink there and dine at the Meadows hotel before it was licensed to serve beer.
-- from Star files
© Copyright (c) The Windsor Star
 

 

Local restaurant re-opens five months after devastating fire

Meadows by the Lake re-opened March 30 2009 Posted By Ron Giofu/ The Amherstburg Echo

Meadows by the Lake restaurant will re-open Monday, March 30 after being closed for over five months due to a fire.

AMHERSTBURG — Over five months after a fire devastated a local restaurant, they have risen from the ashes and re-opened. Meadows by the Lake suffered substantial damage in an October 15 fire but this past Monday was a big day as they re-opened to the public. They have spent the downtime making the necessary repairs, buying new equipment, making upgrades they had been eyeing for a while and dealing with hydro issues. "We're almost done," said Neda Thomas-Jahn, co-owner of the restaurant with husband Wayne. "We're well over $500,000 in renovations." While there were renovations that they had just wanted to do but had nothing to do with the fire, there was much more that was fire related. The restaurant itself needed much of the work, including all new stainless steel kitchen equipment, but the residential unit upstairs also needed repairs. With it being an 87-year-old building, Thomas-Jahn said that in and of itself presented challenges. "Every time you touched something, you had to redo it," she said, using an example of when flooring was removed, it made the bar uneven causing them to replace the bar. That turned the project from being a four to six week job into a five months-plus job. The whole ordeal caused financial and emotional stress, not just on the Jahns, but for their staff of 15 which have all returned. Their re-opening likely won't be without a few bumps in the road, but it is something they have looked forward to for a long time. "I have to admit, it was probably the worst 5 1/2 months of my life," said Thomas-Jahn. "It hasn't been a smooth ride. (March 30) will be a huge relief." Weeks of shopping forced them to try and remember exactly what they had and what they needed. Thomas-Jahn admits she became a "spreadsheet junkie" as she monitored the progress daily by looking over spreadsheets and lists. "I have a business degree. I just didn't know why," she said with a laugh. However, she said the contractors became like family. Preferred Restoration did much of the work, with flooring provided by Plaza Ontario. Simon Touma did woodworking and Affleck Metal helped with the stainless steel works. Thomas-Jahn believes the public will be happy they are re-open. "The phone rings all day, every day," she said. Once their March 30 opening date was established, people began calling for reservations. She said they lost out on business thanks to an award from a Windsor business publication. They will be expanding on their selection of local wines and Thomas-Jahn notes their cooking is trans-fat free. During the renovations, she added that many people would come by and look in their bins for any piece of memorabilia they could get. "There's a lot of historical memories in here for a lot of people," said Thomas-Jahn.

Local landmark enjoying resurgence after ownership change Meadow by the Lake completely renovated by new owners By Breck MacLellan
Tuesday April 03, 2007

Manager Rachelle Denomey and co-owner Neda Thomas-Jahn have been serving their customers at the refurbished Meadows by the Lake. (Echo photo by Breck MacLellan)

AMHERSTBURG -- An old business takes a new shape when owners Wayne Jahn and Neda Thomas-Jahn take over.
Fifteen months ago, Meadows by the River was at the beginning of its end. Wayne Jahn and Neda Thomas-Jahn, the owners of the store, seen great potential in the old Meadows by the Lake.
"This is my husband's dream to own a bar restaurant." explains Neda.
The building originally was built in 1923 before the prohibition days and it has really evolved since then. It is now a family owned business.
"I never expected this much to come so fast" says Neda.
The two owners completely renovated the restaurant. The parking lot is now paved which is a big difference from the gravel which use to be in its place. Meadows by the Lake is a wonderful bar and grill restaurant. It's now known for its family dining atmosphere.
One major set back that the owners are having is that the Amherstburg community has been slow to find out about the re-opening. They have had many people from outside the area come to the Meadows, but are hopeful more local people find their way there as well.
They are looking into having weekly events such as karaoke nights on Thursdays, and Wheelin' Wednesdays where people can come out on their motorcycles. They are also thinking about having aBlock Sale where half of the drive way will be blocked off and people could set up tables and sell some of their stuff.
On Sunday, May 27 Ride for Dads, which is a charity event which supports Dads with prostate cancer, will be stopping at the restaurant. There will be about 1,000 motorcycles in their drive way and later on in the afternoon about 200 hot rods will be out there.
Meadows by the River is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. on weekends. Starting in April they will be opening earlier on Sundays for brunch.
Meadows by the Lake is located at 9278 County Road 41, RR #5 in Harrow. If anyone has any questions about their menu contact them at (519)738-BEER (2337).