Hermanos co-founder says eatery reopening today under new name

The co-founder of Hermanos South American Steakhouse announced he’s reopening the restaurant in the old Brandon firehall today under a new brand name in the wake of public controversy and family strife.

The restaurant will open to patrons at 4 p.m. as the Brandon Firehall Steakhouse and preserve popular steak and grilled dishes on the menu as management crafts a new business identity, Noel Bernier told the Sun on Thursday.

Bernier sobbed in a restaurant chair as he addressed his family’s challenges in opening the establishment more than two months ago and apologized for failing to support his son and daughter-in-law as they managed local operations.

“What happened here in the last eight weeks was through the most awful challenges: delayed licensing, culture shock, organized smear campaigns (and the) absolute painful stress of just being a business owner in an industry,” he said.

He commended co-owners Riley and Juliana Bernier for having the courage to relocate from Winnipeg to Brandon and try their best to run a successful business.

“Anyone who’s done family business knows it can create a risk, and this was a risk. It didn’t work out,” Bernier said.

In a statement on Wednesday, his son said the indefinite closure was due to a fallout with a business partner.

“While we believed this individual would bring valuable experience and expertise to the business, we later became aware of business practices that raised serious concerns for us about the impact their decisions were having on our employees and our family,” Riley said.

Bernier said he was unsure what harmful practices his son was referring to and declined to discuss the statement further.

Riley did not respond Thursday to multiple requests for comment regarding his father’s plans to reopen the restaurant.

The restaurant’s doors were locked for patrons and staff on Wednesday.

About 75 per cent of the restaurant staff have returned and are excited to open under a new brand, Bernier said, adding that he hadn’t had a chance to communicate all the details to a complement of roughly 20 staff as of Thursday afternoon.

The Sun saw three staff members at the Princess Avenue location getting organized in the kitchen and empty dining room, where more than 20 tables were set with dishware and utensils.

Bernier said staff didn’t deserve their work experience to be cut short at the restaurant and wants to focus on training people and simplifying operations.

“The he-said, she-said of whatever happened here with my family, that conversation’s going to happen in Winnipeg. And in Brandon, the conversation’s going to be about this wonderful group of beautiful people here who are amazing at what they do and who want to show off their skills to everybody,” he said.

Planned changes to the restaurant include closing the hayloft room to no longer accommodate private functions, closing the patio for the season and requiring patrons to only book reservations by phone or in-person.

“We’re essentially, you know, using this chance to say to Brandon … if you want to give the firehall a second shot, it’s great food and the controversy is leaving town,” he said.

“Hermanos is not for this city, and it’s going back to Winnipeg, and Brandon’s going to get what they really want, which is a Brandon steakhouse in the Brandon firehall, led and cooked by Brandon residents.”

Any other building developments will be determined at a future date, Bernier said, adding that he’ll be on site five days per week until the business is operating confidently.

Bernier said building owner Phil Dorn is in full support of the new launch. Dorn did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

Bernier said his only fear ahead of today’s scheduled opening involves whether any controversy and “noise” will overshadow the people who are working hard in the kitchen and dining area to make the new restaurant a success.

He addressed online allegations about individuals accusing the restaurant of owing them money for their labour by calling it a smear campaign. He said he’s reported the online posts to Winnipeg police.

He also spoke to complaints from people alleging their ticket to a fundraising event were never refunded during an eight-part series the restaurant held that began in mid-June.

Some people didn’t show up, he said.

“But what happened next was something that we’d never forecasted,” Bernier said. “And that was, one after the other, a parade of people demanding their cash back or calling us criminals.”

Bernier said he responded to most people who contacted him and gave them a gift card for the same amount of money.

“I’m also inviting anyone who’s had any beef, any situation, to come down and talk to me. Maybe I can make it right,” he said.

Bernier said he plans to get the Brandon restaurant up and running before he launches a new Hermanos at the Winnipeg Centennial Concert Hall.

Hermanos patron Karen Fouillard, who visited Brandon on Saturday, said she enjoyed a meal at the restaurant with a group of friends.

She was initally saddened to hear it was closing and is interested in eating there when she’s back in the city.

“We had a really great evening, and if the food is going to be somewhat the same, I would definitely go back again,” she said.

» tadamski@brandonsun.com