Minding Your Business - The Barley Neck

The Barley Neck

Eat. Drink. Host.

5 Beach Rd.

East Orleans

508-255-0212

BarleyNeck.com

Open 7 Nights at 4:30 p.m.

Dinner until 8:30 p.m.; 9 p.m. on weekends

Bar open until midnight most nights

Cameron and Tyler Hadfield have worked together for years. The Harwich natives both worked at the Chatham Squire and then together opened the Rail, a restaurant across the street from the Barley Neck Inn, four years ago. The two naturally fell into their roles: Tyler is more comfortable in the kitchen, in the back of the house as the chef, and Cam, the more outgoing to the two, is the front man. When opportunity knocked for them about a year ago to take over and eventually own the Barley Neck Inn, they took it! Today Tyler is the inn’s executive chef and Cam is doing his part at the front of the house and more at the inn.

The brothers bring a wealth of restaurant knowledge to their latest venture. “I started at the Squire when I was 14 years old,” said Tyler. “I was on the soup and chowder station then, a ‘souper.’ And I watched it all happen from that vantage point. The first time I saw a sauté pan flame up on the line, I knew that was what I wanted to do.” Cam even then was more content on the floor in the front of the house, bussing tables, expediting the food orders and eventually as a server/bartender.

“Between the two of us we’ve done it all in the restaurant business,” said Cam. Tyler nodded in agreement. “We have more years of combined restaurant experience than either of us have been alive!” Cam added with a big smile.

“And our former Squire staff friends are still there for us,” said Tyler. “We call them every once in a while with a question. Their support has been so valuable to us.”

Sometime in the near future, I have a feeling restaurant employees and employers will be calling the Hadfield brothers for advice. What they’ve achieved at the Barley Neck Inn and the Rail has been embraced by Cape restaurant aficionados.

“We oversee the operations there and here at the inn,” said Cam. “And our staff does shifts at the Rail and at the inn.” Presently their sister Brea Hadfield is managing the Rail and Jordan Dash is the chef, so they can concentrate more on the Barley Neck.

Their first move as owners of the Barley Neck was to “bring the prices to be where they should be,” said Cam. “Quality plus value. What a better experience!”

“We still serve Cape Cod classics but brought it up a notch or two,“ added Tyler. “We appreciate that going out to dinner can be expensive and is a special night out, so we want to make sure people feel it’s worth it.” The menu includes burgers and fries, clam chowder, beer-battered fish and chips, chicken wings, fried calamari and pizzas, plus miso glazed salmon, blackened scallops, braised short ribs, clam casino pasta and a rump steak with a loaded baked potato.

They have live music on weekends all year round and trivia nights in the tavern in the off-season. They have outdoor seating on the spacious front lawn during the warmer months, too. There are three dining rooms, so they accommodate private parties and cater off-site. What can’t these two do? Experience the Barley Neck tonight!