Twenty years ago today, we opened the doors to Gibbet Hill Grill for the first time. To put a little perspective on that date, George W. Bush was president, the Red Sox hadn’t won a world series in 86 years, and Friends had just aired its final episode a few months earlier.
Back then it was far from obvious that opening a restaurant in Groton was a smart move. To begin with, we had virtually no experience in the restaurant industry. We had a pretty good location picked out and some youthful exuberance. That’s about it. We managed to convince ourselves that with both Lawrence Academy and Groton School providing parents’ weekends and graduations and reunions, we could always count on some full weekends from the out-of-towners even if the rest of the time it was quieter. What we severely underestimated, and really is the reason for our success, is how incredibly supportive the townspeople of Groton and the surrounding area have been towards Gibbet Hill. Your patronage is why we are still here.
Thank you for coming back when we were still figuring out how operate as a restaurant. Thank you for lining up in your cars during COVID when all we could do was curbside drop off. Thank you for coming to our sledding days, our farm dinners, the Cattle Run, our senior citizen Thanksgiving dinners, and every other event that we’ve done as we try to be a valued place in our community. Hopefully 20 years from now we’re still lucky enough to be doing this job that we love. In the meantime, thanks to each of you who have made the first 20 possible.
Kate, Josh, and Jed Webber
