Beloved Sackville establishment The Painted Pony Bar and Grill is closing its doors on July 11 after ten and a half years in operation.
Owner Kathy Beal announced the closure on June 22 on the restaurant’s Facebook page.
Since the post, Beal has seen an outpouring of support, both on- and offline, she said.
 ”It fills my heart. (It) really does. I was super stoked when I read all those comments, and I’m like, ‘oh my God, did I do the right thing?’ You know? Because I love all my customers.”
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Beal had tried to sell the building but has since reconsidered. Instead, she will be renting most of the restaurant space to Chirps Bar, currently located at 98 Main Street next to Goya’s Pizza, she said.
“They approached me six months ago or so, and I said, ‘well, I’m not ready. I’ll let you know.’ So then I thought a lot about it, and I phoned them up and said, ‘yeah, let’s have a chat.'”
Beal said the bar is expected to be open before students come back in September, which is part of the reason she is closing up shop when she is.
CHMA spoke with a manager at Chirps who confirmed the move but declined an interview.
The only uncertainty is what she will do with the kitchen, which she is walling off as the bar doesn’t serve food.
A dream
Beal has worked in the service industry since 1977 and lived in Ontario for 35 years before moving back home to Sackville to help her father manage some rental properties. In the meantime, she worked at a restaurant in Moncton until her parents offered her the chance to open a restaurant in a building they owned.
The Painted Pony opened its doors a week after Valentine’s Day in 2016, but it was a dream Beal and general manager Paul Hachey had 30 years ago, working together in the Toronto area, said Hachey, who is originally from Bathurst.
He had come to visit and Beal said, ‘remember how we always talked about having a restaurant?’
His initial thought was that the building was huge, he said.
“ And she goes, ‘yes, but with our know-how, the two of us together, I think we can make it go.” And we have.”
Over the years since, the pair built up a solid base of regulars, many of whom became friends. Beal and Hachey have even attended a few funerals of long-time patrons, said Hachey. And those relationships are what he’ll miss most.
“ Just in the past couple of days after the announcement of the restaurant closing, the overwhelming support and people coming in for a last meal, the restaurant’s just been absolutely crazy busy. And it’s just everyone coming to say goodbye.”
For folks wondering what’s next for the pair, Hachey plans to spend more time on his second passion—interior design—and getting out in his garden. And Beal is going to take advantage of her cottage in Jackson’s Point to gather her thoughts over the next few weeks.
The end
Like many restaurants, Covid was hard on The Painted Pony, but worse has been the rising costs of food, which have doubled since the pandemic, said Beal.
“ And again, in a small town, you know, you can only raise your menu prices so much . . . because people are in the same predicament.”
But beyond that, Beal has had a long career and just felt like it was time to retire, she said.
“ I’ve never owned my own restaurant before. This is a first. I always worked for somebody else. (It was) a little frightening at the beginning, but if I was younger, I’m telling you, if I was younger, I would probably have stayed open for the next 20 years for sure. But it’s time to retire, so I am excited about that.”
