It was a case of the chicken wing rather than the left wing at G.A.B.’s Resto-Bar on Laurier Street last week.
With an 8-0 record in the Central Canada Hockey League, Rockland Nationals “Jr. A” players traded their sticks for waiters’ trays to pass the crispy morsels to G.A.B.’s customers for the “Wings & Wins” event during the Tuesday night chicken wing special.
“The event went really well,” says G.A.B.’s owner Sameer Chhibber. “Kids showed up to get pucks and player autographs, and our customers enjoyed being served by the Nationals. It just goes to show how our Clarence-Rockland community supports one another.”
The event was part and parcel of G.A.B.’s continued efforts to connect with and support the community that in turn supports the restaurant and other local businesses.
A long Rockland food-and-beverage history
With his father and business-partner Anil, Montreal-born Rockland resident Chhibber bought G.A.B.’s Restaurant in 2018.
The refurbished building has long been part of Rockland business history, according to Chhibber: that includes an era when brothers Guy and Alain Bernard dubbed it, as an acronym, “G.A.B.’s” starting in 1992 and a much further past when it was Russell Tavern, an early-1900s watering hole.
“Back then, it was the typical spot with ‘Ladies and Escorts,’ an entrance where a man could only enter accompanied by a woman,” Chhibber says.
That was then; this is now: amidst the odd bottle of “50” and assorted four-tops munching wings and other pub grub while watching either the Sens or the Habs, Chhibber has worked hard to establish the sports bar as a place for the community.
His own history with the restaurant reaches to 15 years ago.
“My father and I both started working here in 2009,” he says. “He was in the kitchen, and I was front-of-house. The owner at that time had been here for 35 years, and he asked if we wanted to buy it. We did. Right before COVID-19.”
When you ask him, Chhibber says that G.A.B.’s has always been about community – and more than just the restaurant’s motto, “Bonne bouffe dans ambiance amicale!”
“We wanted to maintain what they were doing because they were already involved so much with the community. I wanted to continue that legacy, and they’ve told me that we’ve outshone what they’ve done.”
Sparked by pandemic hurdles
Despite its crushing bodycheck to the restaurant industry, it is, on occasion, possible to find a silver lining in the pandemic’s dark cloud of ravages: the evolution of G.A.B.’s is one such case.
Chhibber, during the shut-downs and dining room restrictions, embraced social media – a first step in building community engagement – in order to support Rockland businesses and workers, including his own staff.
“Our social-media presence just blew up,” he says. “I started doing specials online and trying to help as many people as I could through COVID.”
The foundation had been laid, and today, if asked to describe the business, Chhibber simply says that G.A.B.’s is “a family-owned restaurant, a community restaurant.”
There’s that sense of connection in-house too, as it exists in many restaurants: among seven kitchen staff and ten in the front-of-house, many employees started at G.A.B.’s when they were 15 years old and are now in their mid-20s.
But don’t be fooled: the community commitment is more than social-media goodwill and word of mouth. Chhibber estimates that he donates roughly $20,000 to the Rockland community each year.
“We support hockey teams and do bottle drives, for instance, at this time of the year. And we do a lot of contests where we just give back as much as we can. In return, that helps our business,” he says.
For example, he describes the bottle drive for a local girls’ hockey team that G.A.B.’s helped with last week.
“The beer store takes my regular order and delivers the beer, but for the past few weeks I’ve told them to not take my empties and therefore there’s no refund for us. We’re donating dozens of cases. That translates to $300 or $400.”
More than just boosting business
While other local businesses support community as well – I was just at the RiverRock Oktoberfest event and saw evidence of business partnerships there – Chhibber’s isn’t merely a virtue-signaling gesture: it has an element of his own lived experience.
“No, it’s not just to drive business,” he says when I ask. “My dad came to this country in 1986 from India, and he was working three and four jobs. I’ve seen that. I know what it is to struggle. We don’t come from a rich upbringing. So, we want to try to help people as much as we can.”
While it’s hockey season – an expensive sport for families – it’s also back to school, a costly time of the year. Though he doesn’t have his own kids, Chhibber and G.A.B.’s have run events and contests that get gift cards into family’s hands to supplement buying clothing, shoes and school supplies.
“Sometimes it costs $300 or $400 dollars, so an extra $100 can help a family that can’t afford that,” he says.
His clientele, he estimates, are perhaps as high as 70% government workers with good incomes, but he orients his assistance to that part of the population who might struggle – and that’s despite rising costs and changing restaurant dining patterns that affect his bottom line.
“Our margins have changed because food costs and other costs have gone up, as well as the minimum wage increasing significantly over the past three or four years. So, our margins are shorter, and we make a little bit less now.”
Chhibber, however, approaches business with a sense that the rising tide lifts all community boats, even as he helps promote other food businesses at times.
“I’m comfortable and have a few investments for the future,” he says. “I just try to give back as much as I can. It’s not about making millions of dollars. If I can, I’d rather help 500 families.”
Food writer Andrew Coppolino lives in Rockland. He is the author of “Farm to Table” and co-author of “Cooking with Shakespeare.” Follow him on Instagram @andrewcoppolino.
