“I do believe that trend is getting stronger.” “Hundreds of decisions that we make mean people are a bit more proud to spend their money there instead of somewhere else,” Gafner said. So that whole quality of ingredients is going to keep becoming more and more important,” he said, noting that more diners are looking for “restaurants that are more conscious of environmental sustainability, locality, things like that, restaurants that are using compostables instead of single-use plastic. “I think a lot of people are still going to be going out and spending money on dining out, but they’re going to want to feel good about what they’re spending it on. If you don’t want a $19 burger, I totally understand that, but I just don’t want to serve a $10 burger because I don’t want that product in my restaurant. Discounts don’t exist any more,” Gafner said, “even if my burger ends up being $19 because it’s a great cow that’s raised right here, and we make the bread and we make the pickles. “To keep doing ingredients that are local and sustainable and of better quality, it’s just really expensive, so I’m just done, I’m not doing a discount. The new restaurant won’t open until April, but Sean and Rebecca Gafner already have the menu planned. It’s definitely a high value to our company, and it’s a high value to our customers, and I believe that’s a trend that’s going to continue.”īut such standards aren’t cheap, he said. “I’m sure there are ingredients people are using that are more affordable, but I don’t know anything about those products, because I believe the importance of the ingredient, the importance of the product, is a high value. “We use the ingredients that we’re actually proud of,” Gafner said. Those beef and lamb burgers will run $13 and $14, respectively, for a double. We’ll also make delicious chicken wings and fresh-cut fries and feature many of Longmont’s delicious craft beers.” “However, our good friends, Buckner Family Ranch, do it as well as anybody, and we are honored to only feature their grass-fed beef, lamb and pork. “I was raised on the 99_bar cattle ranch but we don’t raise our own anymore,” he said. The meat they will be grilling will be locally sourced. “Our two sons, Caleb and Ryder, who have grown up cooking in our other restaurants, will be running the burger grill, making 99_bar a four-generation brand,” Sean Gafner said. Running the new restaurant will be a family affair as well, he said. “My dad grew up to use this brand on his own cattle, as well as anything else that needed a good lookin’ signature.” “It was important that this brand stayed in the family,” Sean Gafner said. “He had a buddy with a brand of 91_bar, so when it came time for him to create his own cattle brand, the decision was obvious: just make it a bit greater than that.”įrank’s oldest son and Sean’s father, Randy Gafner, was 8 years old when the 99_bar brand was transferred into his name. “In 1930, Frank Gafner was a teenage cowboy learning how to raise cattle,” Sean Gafner said.
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