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Date: 12/9/2020
ENFIELD, CT – On Nov. 25, the Wood-n-Tap Bar & Grill officially opened to the public their new location in Enfield on 55B Palomba Dr.
Wood-n-Tap has been in business for 18 years, ran by owners Michael Hamlin and Phil Barnett.
“We’ve had a lot of success and we’ve done a lot more of our expansions on the southern half of the state, so we wanted to come up North and try a new market and location,” said Wood–n–Tap Bar Manager Quint Johnson. “The vibe that we’re going to create is customer service first and come as you are atmosphere. The idea of the company has always been that. We are very open and accepting. There will be a full-service outdoor patio that will seat up to 100 people well-spaced during the six-foot separation concept.”
He continued, “There are turf areas, brick areas and a full outside bar which at this point depending where we are with COVID, we could be seating quite a few people out there directly at the bar top. The general vibe will definitely be a lot of fun in the air and it’s going to be a great time.”
Wood-n-Tap is described as “Americana cuisine” and offers a variety of food. From their signature bar bites of mini angus burgers topped with American cheese, pickles and honey dijon, to their monster nachos of chicken or beef smothered with cheese, sour cream, tomatoes, jalapeños, black beans and shredded lettuce. Wood-n-Tap is also known for their burgers, sliders and baby back ribs. They even have plant-based burgers, salads such as their arugula salad, California cobb, caesar and Thai, and a veggie hummus wrap filled with lettuce, tomato, avocado, olives, onion, peppers and balsamic vinaigrette with falafel.
“Every quarter, we do a seasonal menu. Each seasonal menu we always have new added items,” Johnson said. “The menu is always to have something to offer everybody. Everything is done in house. All of our sauces are gluten-free. We have chefs on site all the time to really make sure whatever you need for your dining experience to make it as excellent for you as humanly possible.”
Wood-n-Tap started off with their grand opening charity event on Nov. 20 and 21 to support Enfield High School Safe Grad. Johnson explained they’re supportive of community-oriented work. “In the future, we look to offer more support to different events in the area or anything that’s happening where we could maybe partner up for after parties or any way we get to support the people that are here and give them that new vibe environment,” explained Johnson.
Part of what Wood-n-Tap has done in the new restaurant has been geared towards setting themselves up to be prepared for a COVID-19 spike. During the initial shutdown in the spring, Wood-n-Tap took the opportunity to set a brand-new training program for their companies with a business model in mind designed for that.
“We’ve retro fit the others and for Enfield, we designed an advance for that potential because we want to make sure we have the best opportunity to keep our staff employed,” Johnson answered. “At the end of the day, your health and safety are incredibly important and we always treat each like family here. We strive for that good service – come as you are – but also be safe and be taken care of.”
In terms of a potential shutdown, the restaurant has designed themselves to be able to do higher volumes of take-out business. In the era of takeout business being vital to servicing a community, Wood-n-Tap offers family platters to-go, which is a concept the restaurant created in response to COVID-19. The restaurant is going to expand upon that offering in the near future, and Johnson explained that more recipes are to come. In addition, their cocktail program will also be to-go based on the new legislation passed by the governor. Residents can be their own bartender in the comfort of their home with four different cocktail kits that include everything they need to make some of the Tap’s best drinks.
Johnson replied, “We created these family meals that are rib platters or steak platters designed to feed families of four to eight people so the average family going home from work does not necessarily have enough time to cook. Not necessarily wanting to take the whole family out to dinner because of what’s happening in the environment, they can place an order with us, pick it up, feed the family and have the great Wood-n-Tap experience at home.”
Wood-n-Tap Bar & Grill is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. serving lunch and dinner with indoor, outdoor seating and curbside pick-up available.
For more information call 860-718-8277 or find their website at woodntap.com.