If there's one business that fully embraced the word 'pivot' during the pandemic, it's Perfect SZN, formerly known as Don Cherry's Sports Grill in Bradford West Gwillimbury.
Owners Eric Fex and Jason Farrugia are excited to reopen under a new name and brand, after almost a month of renovations and menu tweaks. The pair celebrated their official grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony this week with Bradford Mayor Rob Keffer, York-Simcoe MP Scot Davidson, and members of council and the business community.
"It's a good turnout of the community to wish you well on the grand opening," said Keffer. "As well-established and respected restaurateurs, your launch of this exciting new eatery and pub is a welcome addition to our town."
"The place looks great," said Davidson. "On behalf of myself and the government of Canada, I want to say thanks and we can't thank small businesses enough. This is where we come to share the fun moments that we have."
Over the past two years, amid all the back and forth of opening and closing, taking out and dining in, the pair says they have learned to adapt quickly in volatile situations.
"The pandemic has really taught us how to think and adjust on the fly," said Farrugia, pointing to one of the new posters on the wall that reads 'PIVOT'.
In the summer months, the pair took part in the town's patio program, transforming it into a local hot spot, with picnic tables, umbrellas and large stage for live entertainment in front of a colourful, 'selfie-worthy' backdrop.
The pair have another restaurant location in Barrie, which opened in February 2020, just before the pandemic hit.
Because the Bradford restaurant already had an established clientele, Farrugia said it was easier to adjust to the restrictions of the pandemic with the community's support. Because they had just opened the Barrie location, it was a bit more of a struggle to keep afloat.
"We would have never have built Barrie if we knew a pandemic was around the corner," said Farrugia.
The Barrie location made the switch to Perfect SZN in November 2021, and used the downtime in the recent round of restrictions in December/January to revamp the inside of the Bradford restaurant. They officially reopened under the new name earlier this month.
Fex has been working at the Bradford restaurant for the past 10 years after opening it with his parents in 2012 under the Don Cherry franchise. It wasn't until 2018 when Farrugia came on board. Farrugia had become good friends with the Fex family after doing construction work for the restaurant.
Fex's parents were looking to get out of the restaurant industry and ended up selling their portion of the business to Farrugia. Together, Fex and Farrugia have grown the business to where it is today.
Farrugia spends most of his time at the Bradford location, and Fex at the Barrie location since moving to Orillia last summer.
The pair are very hands-on in their approach to management, often stepping in to help fill in the gaps when needed.
"I come in I will sweep, mop the washroom," said Farrugia. "Sometimes I bartend, sometimes I serve, sometimes I'm the busboy, whatever it takes to get through."
With his background in customer service and sales, Farrugia manages the front-of-house staff and drink menus, while Fex handles more of the culinary side of the business.
"He (Fex) keeps his finger on the pulse of what's happening in the food world, and I try to keep my finger on the pulse in the drink world," said Farrugia. "It's a perfect match."
The name Perfect SZN (pronounced Season), is a play on the sports term and the pair's cuisine, which features their own unique seasonings.
"We are a sports bar, but we don't want it to feel like a sports bar, so we went for comfy-casual," said Farrugia about the restaurant's new look and vibe.
The new menu features a new take on some of the old favourites like the Buffalo Chicken Salad, Bruschetta Flatbread and Calamari. Their party room at the back, which used to be called "Coach's Corner" has been renamed "Trophy Case", a nod to the town's old bar on Holland Street.
The pair have always kept their business community-oriented, sponsoring local sports teams and donating to the Big Brother and Sisters, The Legion and Lions Club.
Twice a week, the restaurant donates meals to the Out of the Cold Cafe. They also donate $1 from each sale of their 'Donut-Ator Burger' to the Helping Hand Food Bank.
"We do it because we know it needs to be done," said Farrugia. "For us, community is a big part of what we do."
The friends and business partners are looking forward to the upcoming patio season, and the loosening of restrictions as the pandemic wanes.
"It's only going to do well for us going into patio season, we are definitely looking forward to it," said Farrugia.
If they are able to keep both restaurants open for a solid year without any further interruptions, they will be looking at expanding to a third location.
Perfect SZN is located at 100 Dissette St., in Bradford. The Barrie location is at 353 Anne St. N.
