Until the virus crisis is over for Whidbey Island, the Braeburn Restaurant has meal service that allows locals (and visitors) to continue to enjoy quality meals through special ordering and pickup services.
Owner Lisa Carvey is working with 4 to 5 staff members each day, collaborating on the needs including taking orders, preparing the meals and providing meal service.
She says, “Our meal selection includes family-style foods.” Menu items currently offered include burgers (meat and veggie), mac and cheese, take-home heat and eat soups, and some special selections each day. Lisa is adopting her menu to respond to what people are looking for.
Lisa also is making a point of providing meals at reasonable prices, and has even reduced her prices on some items during this time.
Take out/curbside pickup service is offered Tuesday through Saturday, 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The Braeburn menu currently includes Breakfast kits, and a selection of family-style dinner foods, listed on their Facebook page. Braeburn’s acclaimed bread pudding is available every day.
Lisa is also inviting people to purchase gift cards that will help maintain the Braeburn through this time.
The History of Lisa Carvey’s ownership of the Braeburn: (Please note: restaurant times and full meal service will return when the virus subsides.)
Lisa Carvey, owner of the Braeburn Restaurant since 2010, decided the business had out grown the physical space at 197 Second Street in Langley. Working with her landlord, Pam Schell, she and her staff were able to expand into the space previously occupied by Gregor Books, and on June 1, 2018, the expanded Braeburn Restaurant re-opened with expanded seating. Lisa adds, “I love our current space!”
Less than a year later, in January 2019, a dinner menu was added for Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. In part, the dinner menu is a response to many requests they received from their breakfast and lunch customers over the years.
Lisa believes that this expanded space and the new dinner menus are attracting many new faces to the restaurant. She describes the restaurant as “laid back and casual.” The menu is “classic, American comfort food from different regions in the United States.” Lisa adds, “This is food like my grandmother used to make.”
The path to the Braeburn in Langley for Lisa started in Vermont, where she grew up. She moved to the Puget Sound Area when she was a young adult, never having been west of Montana before, to a house she had rented sight unseen. She got a job waiting tables at The Braeburn under the original owners Jim Matheny and Constance Ross. She left after a year and a half to move back east and be closer to family, but always looked back towards Whidbey.
Lisa worked in restaurants from the age of 14. When her father died, it made her evaluate what she wanted to do with her life. She realized that for a career to be satisfying for her, she wanted to chat and mingle with people, develop relationships, provide excellent customer service, and, above all, “Do something that would make my family proud.” Having her own restaurant met all of these criteria.
She visited the island in 2010 and met with her old bosses, Jim and Constance. They were planning to sell, and when Lisa expressed potential interest, they had an intuitive response that she would be the perfect person to take over the business. They even provided owner financing to make it possible. She became the new owner of the Braeburn in November of that year.
She met her husband, Sam Carvey three months after she bought the business when he came in to sell her wine. They married in 2013. He is a wine sales representative, and is excited to help her continue to grow her wine list and bar program as their dinner service continues to expand.
In addition to the breakfast and lunch regulars who are enjoying the dinners, the expanded Braeburn is drawing in lots of additional locals, as well as Langley visitors.
The current Braeburn staff includes kitchen manager Sean Morrow, eight line and prep people and a total staff of 27 people; plus up to five more to handle the summer crowds. Many of the staff have worked at the Braeburn for several years. Lisa comments, “I want my employees to enjoy working here, and working for me.”
The Braeburn is open for breakfast and lunch, Wednesday – Monday, 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. and dinners are served Thursday, 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Friday and Satruday 5:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Seating is first come, first served.
For more information, visit their website: https://braeburnlangley.com/.
