Meghan McGinty Bets the Farm

A local restauranteur brings back life and new meaning to a once-cherished, cozy eatery space on North Avenue

----------------

Story and Photo by Susan McConnell

Having been raised by a family with deep roots in the restaurant industry, Meghan McGinty chose to major in finance at Loyola University rather than study hospitality at DePaul. Her whole world had revolved around growing food, preparing food, transporting food, and serving food. Her cherry on top would be the knowledge of financing food, bringing it altogether under an historic roof in downtown Barrington.

McGinty is choosing to parlay it all on Barrington’s North Avenue in what was once the famous and well-loved Greenery Restaurant. After being dark and deserted for more than a decade, the old Barrington stalwart with a stellar reputation and quaint location is being resurrected with the name Farmhouse On North.

The difference is the current direction and the food philosophy that McGinty believes is leaning us into to the future. The words organic, local, pastured, sustainable, and even compound butters roll off her tongue, as she moves into the passionate realm of having grown up and working hard in restaurants of all kinds. She knows what people are looking for. They’re looking for wonderfully prepared meals created from food that is locally sourced and grown and raised organically and humanely. Then, they’re hoping for an environment that feels like home, where the people who serve your food are your friends.

“You don’t just eat the food—you share the experience,” McGinty says. Her whole family—who is involved in one way or another in the restaurant industry—is passionate about this project. “I have a huge support system in them.”

McGinty’s uncle is building the bar, her grandfather is installing the refrigeration unit (there will be no freezer, harkening to the freshness), and her mother and sister are helping her with marketing.

Grandmother knows best

“Farmhouse On North is situated in this historic building that is rich in charm and full of room, allowing us to build complicated offerings for our friends, such as a home-cured charcuterie, and my Grandmother Ida’s limoncello recipe.” This is the same grandmother who gave Meghan a TV stand in the butler’s pantry of her kitchen and while she cooked, gave Meghan ingredients from which to copy her: flour, eggs, water, spices—what else could a young restaurant entrepreneur want?

“Ida was the biggest role model in my life, and I look forward to sharing some of her recipes.” (When you visit Farmhouse On North, head to the bar on the second floor, named the Hayloft, where for the asking you can having a copy of Grandma Ida’s limoncello recipe.)

Twenty years ago, when McGinty was in the third grade, the question came up in school, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” The young future entrepreneur penned that she wanted to open up her own restaurant. She’s young, and she knows it. She’s had jobs where she was in way over her head and loved it. “I basically ran Cold Stone Creamery in Deer Park. We made everything from scratch and I also managed the books, the bills, and ordering.” When people wonder if she’s too young, her comeback is that she’s single, has no children, and can put 100 percent of her effort into this. Her brown eyes don’t flinch.

Keeping it local

Local farms that will be tapped are Harrison’s Poultry in Glenview, Double Y Cattle Company in Libertyville, Barrington Hills’-based Gentleman Farmer, as well as a network of Midwestern farms. McGinty visits the farms and establishes a relationship with each. She plans to use every square inch around the property of Farmhouse On North to grow herbs and vegetables, as well as a community garden plot in Barrington. It will all be organic, of course.

Because Farmhouse On North has a full liquor license, they’ll be able to offer Saturday and Sunday brunches complete with a Bloody Mary bar, mimosas, and mojitos spiced with homegrown mint. The pièce de résistance will be a small retail space that offers guests a selection of house-made preserved meats, local honey, and homemade preserves.

Hoping that you’ll feel as if you’re having dinner at a friend’s house, McGinty has figured out what part of the conversation is important.

“Homemade food is what talks.”

Farmhouse On North is located at 117 North Avenue in Barrington and it is expected to open in March 2016.