The Cheshire Cheese Inn: A Happy Environment for Both Staff and Customers
"No Sir! There is nothing
which has been contrived by man,
by which so much happiness is produced
as by a good tavern or inn." - Dr. Johnston
By CATHOLINE BUTLER
VANCOUVER - The Cheshire Cheese Inn has been established since 1979 (26 years), and is located at 4585 Dunbar Street (at 30th Avenue) in the Dunbar area of Vancouver. There are two other Cheshire Cheese locations, one in Kerrisdale and the other in North Vancouver, but the Dunbar location is the flagship establishment.
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AT THE CHESHIRE CHEESE in Dunbar are Sylvia Sutherland (Irish dancer with the Stewart School), Alan Cassidy (owner of the Cheshire Cheese), Chuck (dishwasher of 26 years) and Shannon McRae.
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I recently dropped in to the Dunbar location to speak with owner and general manager, Alan Cassidy. There is a nice little patio in the front of the pub where you can order a drink and watch the world pass by as you nibble on your favourite British pub-style food and enjoy the hospitality.
Inside the Cheshire Cheese Inn there is a real warmth and cosiness and there is certainly an old country feel and look about the room. This is along with the friendly staff and service that we have come to expect of a good British establishment.
Alan Cassidy knows his customers very well and he greets them by name. Many of the staff at the Cheshire Cheese have also been there for years. Chuck the dishwasher has been at the Cheshire Cheese for 26 years, since day one. George the chef has been there for the past 16 years. Over the years, many students have also worked at the Cheshire Cheese while putting themselves through school. This fact alone tells you that it’s a happy environment both for staff and customers.
The Cassidy family emigrated to Canada from Liverpool, which is also known as the capital of Ireland, said Alan. “Our relatives are mainly in Dublin and County Cork. My dad, Derek, first came to Vancouver and opened this location. I have worked at all the locations and 10 years ago, I purchased the Dunbar location from my father and have been here ever since.
“The North Vancouver location was also opened by my dad, but he sold out there about 12 years ago. He still owns the Kerrisdale Cheshire Cheese, but is not hands on any more. He has a manager who runs the day- to-day operation for him now. He lives in Vernon these days. So, we’re all independently owned right now, but we try to stay similar in many ways with the food, but we do vary a little bit, here and there, there’s no doubt.”
The Cheshire Cheese is mainly traditional British food, and Alan said, “we’re meat, potatoes and Guinness, if you like. We’re the basic British staple diet, although, we do have a variety of food and we do have a big menu for a location this size.
“We also do pasta, seafood and vegetarian dishes. Some of our British specialities are toad in the hole, Welsh rarebit, steak and Guinness pie, and fish and chips. Our specialty desserts are bread pudding, trifle, homemade apple and rhubarb pies, to name a few. And every day and night we have a draft and cocktail special.”
Alan said the focus at The Cheshire Cheese Inn tends to be towards the sports side of things. “When there’s a big sporting event on, we tend to focus a bit more that way,” he said, “our customers are mainly Irish, Scottish and we do get a big crowd of English, but it’s a pretty mixed bag.”
Each Cheshire Cheese location offers its own unique characteristics explains Alan. “Cheshire Cheese North Vancouver is more of a daytime location, although they do have entertainment at night for certain celebrations. The Seabus goes into North Vancouver so they deal a lot with tourism.
“The Cheshire Cheese in Kerrisdale is very busy at lunchtime, whereas we deal with repeat clientele. We see the same faces coming in four or five times a week, having a beer, a basket of chips and a chat with their friends - this location is more of a meeting place, a hang-out place.”
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The Cheshire Cheese Inn is located at 4585 Dunbar Street in Vancouver. For more information, call (604) 224-2521.
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