I wandered into Harpoon Hanna’s a little before Happy Hour just to take a couple of photos and maybe try and choke down a beer. The hostess was young and pretty and pleasant and went to check to see if the taking-a-couple-of-photos part was OK. I knew from experience that having a couple of beers was OK, so I headed into the bar to wait. The craft beer on tap selection was perfectly acceptable, including a house beer (more on that in a second) but I chose a Lot 3 and settled in.
Increasingly, the better restaurants are making deals with local breweries to produce an exclusive beer. These are often made to pair well with the restaurant’s menu. Ask for the house Pale Ale the next time you’re at Harpoon Hanna’s. I assure it will be the perfect beer for pretty much anything you’re having to eat.
Before too long I was joined by Kelsey Jakubiak, event coordinator for Harpoon Hanna’s, and we found our way outside to the deck. It was winter but the weather was spectacular, one of those February surprises. And it was more than welcome.
Open for business. For Real.
Outside on the deck, Kelsey was talking about why they stayed so busy all year. The Happy Hour crowd already had started to trickle in as we left the bar. By the time we checked back in there weren’t many seats at the bar and many if not most of the surrounding tables already were full.
Harpoon Hanna’s is open 365 days a year. It always has been. One of the tough things about resort restaurants is that a lot of them have different days they are closed during the off season. I know when I’m trying to choose where to go for Happy Hour it can be a trick trying to remember who is open when. There is no such problem at Harpoon Hanna’s. If it is an afternoon during the year, then Happy Hour is on at Harpoon Hanna’s. Off season Happy Hour prices are comically low, but they’re still inexpensive in season.
Kelsey showed off Harpoon Hanna’s pretty extensive complex (in case you’ve ever been, the place is enormous) including the restaurant’s event room and the main dining room. What was fun about the dining room was there was a fire place. If you never have been in the winter, there’s a Great Room-style aspect to the dining room. It was a warm afternoon and Kelsey was mentioning that they often have the fire going the whole time the dining room is open in the winter, but since it was unseasonable warm, they decided to leave the hearth cold.
Experiential advertising
Hanging out on the deck at what (come summer) certainly will be the packed Hanna’s Hideout made me not only wish for summer but plan to return. The best part of living in (or visiting) a resort off season is that you get to test drive the best places while they still are easily accessible. That way, come summertime you know which places are worth the effort to go to and which are, frankly, not. If you can’t cut for me in the winter, there’s no way I’ll have the patience for you come summer.
The folks at Harpoon Hanna’s clearly know what they’re doing. The place has been open more than three decades. It’s always been massive and always been open all year. That isn’t a sign of a place that doesn’t take excellent care of its people at all costs.
