The Back Room

New bar and lounge opens in Picton

The Back Room bar is aptly named. Access is via a corridor that takes a slight turn to the left after entering through the door on Picton Main Street. Inside, warm wood panels complement the newly painted walls, the colour of which hearkens to Pantone’s Classic Blue, and together they evoke the feeling of a restful and comfortable space. Artwork on the walls and vintage family photos give the place a homey feel. The soft furnishings add to the ambience, providing cozy nooks to settle in for an intimate conversation, or perhaps to get lost in a book and a glass of wine away from the bustle of the outside world. This is the vision of proprietor Gaby Cole, who has a fondness for the bars of the 1920s speakeasy era. She was encouraged to take on this project by some of her friends after she had successfully organized a number of community events, such as a party at Handworks in Bloomfield and the Hick or Treat fundraiser in Northport. “I heard there was a need for something a little more intimate, and a little more relaxed,” she said. “The Back Room is paying homage to the lounge that was originally here with Currah’s [restaurant] about a decade ago. We took the same space, but we gave it a little more love and made it a really welcoming place. We see it as kind of like a cigar lounge, but without the cigars.”

Proprieter Gaby Cole sits in a comfortable chair at The Back Room bar in the Bristol building on Picton Main Street.

Gaby grew up in the County, but moved away for education and then work. She attained a Master’s degree in art history and worked at the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Royal Ontario Museum before managing an art gallery in Mississauga for four years. After returning to the County she felt a little disconnected, so she spent a fair bit of time organizing some community events to get to tune in to the pulse of her hometown. She heard that Bree Seeley, owner of the Yum Club restaurant, was looking for a partner to share the space at the back of the Bristol building in Picton and make more use of it. That partnership has already borne fruit at a very successful New Year’s Eve party with a 1920s theme. “Bree provided food for the New Year’s Eve party and it was stunning,” said Gaby. “The logo for The Back Room is a hare—fastmoving and always on the go. I think it really speaks to both our personalities. I like to say we are women with jet packs.” Gaby said her experience in planning events at the Mississauga gallery is a good fit for her new venture. “It’s really about understanding the needs of your clients and being able to deal with client relations, so for me that’s the front-of-house aspect I’m dealing with and Bree is helping with back-of-house. We each bring strengths that the other person might not have.”

The bar will officially be open for business on January 14, but the space will actually be open for a free concert on January 11 at 7 p.m. and on January 13 for an ongoing dance class at 5:30. Gaby is offering a range of programming and entertainment at the bar. There will be live jazz each Wednesday with Aaron Nash and Ruth Dwight, radio host Mike Farrell will spin tunes with Mike in the Morning at Night on Thursdays, and the comedy group Short Attention Spa will liven up Saturday nights. Gaby expects that the bar will be complementary to the other restaurants on Picton Main Street. “I don’t want to be in competition with them, that’s not the County way,” she said. “This is about bringing something to the community that’s not currently being offered. It’s why we’ve done jazz nights and dance classes and things like that. We’re going to be staying open later than the other places, and we’re really going to be pushing things in the wintertime because we want locals to be able to come in and have some fun during what is often the hardest time of the year.” Some food will be available in the bar. “Bree is creating the menu, so it will be elevated bar snacks, as well as her fabulous chicken sandwich,” said Gaby. She expects to offer an affordable price point for beer and wine, with some more expensive choices available. “I love Scotch, so there will be some key whiskies on the menu. I’m a beer girl too and I love a lot of local beers, as well as Ontario craft beer and beers from around the world, so I want to eventually bring that in.”

One of the other offerings of The Back Room will be a Sunday Roast dinner provided by Bree Seeley. This will be based on the traditional British Sunday dinner, but adapted to suit a variety of tastes and diets. “We’ll have the traditional roast beef dinner with Yorkshire pudding, but we’ll have options of smoked fish, or sourdough waffles with Waupoos blueberries,” said Bree. “This will show our Ontario heritage, plus the influence of the First Nations people on the ingredients used by the early settlers. The food will be unpretentious and also sensitive to modern tastes, with gluten-free or vegetarian choices.”

Getting this bar space reopened has been a labour of love for Gaby, and she is grateful for the help offered by the community. “This bar didn’t happen with just me,” she said. “We had so many people who would just come in and say, ‘What do you need?’ There’s been a dozen or so people who have helped bring this space to life.” The bar will be open from 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday, with Monday evenings reserved for dance classes—including salsa and jitterbug lessons from Ben Nash. There will also be a Flashback February Ain’t Misbehaving murder mystery, where patrons are encouraged to come dressed in 1920s style. Details on upcoming events can be found at facebook.com/thebackroom252.