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PORTSMOUTH – Despite the challenges of the past few years, co-owner Keith Barringer said his last 15 years as co-owner of Rudi’s Portsmouth and 10 years at Rudi’s Market Square have paid off. Both restaurants, co-owned by Brook Gassner and named after her late husband, will close their doors for good on Saturday, January 8th, after service.
“It was a great run. It really was, ”said Barringer. “I made a lot of new friends. I got to know a lot of people. Between employees and customers – well, there are three Facebook posts going on right now, and when I read the comments this morning, it brought tears to my eyes. The last couple of years with COVID-19 have definitely taken away a lot from me financially and from my drive alone. It was very, very challenging, but I’ve had a lot of good times. “
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Rudi’s Portsmouth opened on June 18, 2007 and took over The Metro restaurant from legendary restaurateur Sam Jarvis. Many of the elements and traditions of this legendary restaurant have been preserved, including the elegant bar and history of offering great food, drink and hospitality, as well as live music from local musicians. The restaurant included a bar and lounge with piano, dining room and function rooms, as well as outdoor seating during COVID-19.
Barringer and Gassner opened Rudi’s Market Square, a cocktail lounge, on June 7, 2012, making it only the second restaurant in the last 105 years. The first was the Jarvis restaurant owned by Sam Jarvis and his uncle Andrew Jarvis.
Personnel challenges helped make the decision to close Rudi’s
The building was bought by McNabb Properties a month ago, Barringer said. He said the new owners approached him about staying, but he had already decided to close the restaurant after his lease expired. He informed the employees about two weeks before the sale with six weeks’ notice.
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Hiring enough staff was a challenge for Rudi’s and many restaurants and companies.
“I planned to close anyway. My lease is expiring and between COVID and staff it’s just impossible to run a business this size, ”Barringer said. “We worked with a three-man kitchen. The size of Rudi’s needs a full staff. Obviously we were closed for four months at the beginning of 2021 due to COVID. The back lounge was closed for two months because I couldn’t find staff to work on it. We couldn’t perform any functions because we didn’t have enough staff. So the formula just doesn’t work with the current personnel situation. “
Still, after discussing it with McNabb Properties, Barringer said he postponed the closure for a week to allow time for discussion and decision-making.
“You made me an incredible offer to stay, very generous. They are really nice, professional people and I almost got it, but at the end of the day it would still put me in the same situation with staffing. “
Emotional farewell
Assistant manager Elizabeth White, 35, said she has been with Rudi’s 10 months after it opened about 14 years ago.
“I feel like I grew up here,” said White. “This job has helped me a lot to grow. When I started doing it. I didn’t even know how to talk to people … it just made me feel more comfortable with myself. “
With tears in her eyes, White said she wasn’t sure what the next chapter in her life will be and that she will miss her colleagues and clients the most.
“I feel like Portsmouth has changed so much since I was founded … everything has become so different … it’s definitely hard, but new adventures are fun. … I’m closing one chapter and opening another, “said White. “You get to know people, small, intimate details of their lives. You can help them have big celebrations … as long as I’m here I’ll wait for several of the same people and you watch them grow too. “
Long-time customers and residents of Portsmouth Darryl Grant and Linda Thomsen have been coming to Rudi’s two to three times a week for about 10 years and say it is both familiar and cozy. They know the bartenders, the owner and love the general atmosphere.
“I’m sad it’s a staple in Portsmouth and we’re losing a staple. I’ll miss it very much, “said Grant. “We lost a few other staples in town … this is one of the last pristine places in town for locals to come and have a glass of wine and just socialize.”
“I’ll miss it because there is nothing like it in Portsmouth, the size of the bar, the intimacy,” said Thomsen.
Most of the people at Rudi’s came on Saturday night knowing the restaurant was going to close, Barringer said.
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The restaurateur, who also had Colby’s, which opened in 2003, said after 15 years at Rudi’s and a total of 18 years in the restaurant business, it was time for a change.
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“It was a tough decision. It was really. If it had been different, I would have carried on. If the line-up was different I would go on, ”Barringer said. “I almost feel like I’m doing other restaurants in town a favor. I release half a dozen people to work for them. “
Take time for a new chapter in life
Instead, Barringer said he would move on to other aspects of his life.
“I’m going to take some time off. Many of my personal projects have been put on hold for years because of the gastronomy. I will only work on projects around the house that I wanted to get done. I will miss it. I’ll definitely miss it, but it’s time for me to move on to something else. “
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Rudi’s team is also known for working in the community on projects like an annual Thanksgiving dinner for those with nowhere else to enjoy the holidays and an annual Dinner in the Dark event that raises funds for Future In Sight were providing services to the blind and visually impaired in New Hampshire.
For barringers, many rewards came from this community.
“I had a lot of fun. I had a lot of frustration, but a lot of fun. Building the wine bar was great, “he said.” There’s no better feeling than walking through this restaurant when you have two bars full of people, a function room full of people, a dining room full of people, live music – and you can just sit back and think, ‘I created it all.’ “