The Barstool Fund - Red Rock Tavern (Oldest Restaurant in Hartford)
As a reminder everytime we hit the goal for a new small business we move to the next one. We want to help as many small businesses as we can. Your donations save these businesses from going out of business through no fault of their own.
Reader Email
Hi Barstool Sports,
Thanks for being a leader and extending your arm to small businesses. My name is Chelsey Mancini, my father, Don Mancini, owns Red Rock Tavern, in Hartford, CT. I am fourth generation Red Rock as I like to say.
Our restaurant was established in the 1930s -- Red Rock Tavern (formerly Kenney's Restaurant) is the oldest restaurant and bar in Hartford, CT. We survived the prohibition era disguised as a grocery store where customers could find fresh vegetables upstairs and cocktails downstairs. Generations of our family have worked here, starting with our off the boat Italian great great uncle and great grandmother who cooked in the kitchen until she was in her 90’s. She made the most delicious sauce, never used oven mitts, and would beat us with a wooden spoon if we misbehaved in her kitchen. Four generations later, my father is at the helm, and I am quickly learning the ropes.
Kenney's/Red Rock was and still is very much a family operated establishment between grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, you name it. But the bull behind the success and continuation of Red Rock in the last 20 years has remained in the hands of my dad. As far as I can remember, my dad has worked his ass off 7 days a week, open for lunch, dinner, and after hours, to provide not only for his family, but for his community. As a die hard sports advocate, his most favorite thing to do is working with the local college sports teams (Trinity College and University of Hartford) by catering all of their home and away meals. He has also made dozens of large food donations to nearby hospitals, police departments, fire departments, and senior citizen communities. On Thanksgiving, we continued our annual “Feed the Homeless” day, where we served over 200 turkey dinners to less fortunate community members. He would give his shirt off of his back for anyone, never spends a dime on himself, because he is so selfless. No really, the only time he gets new clothes for himself is when I buy them for him for Christmas. I swear, every person in the city of Hartford knows my dad -- you cannot be in the restaurant for five minutes without someone asking "where's Donny?". But that's what makes Red Rock so great, it is very much your neighborhood bar. You get people from the homeless man on the street that my dad gives a bottle of water to everyday, to the governor of CT walking through that door for lunch. I pride myself on the diverse range of customers who have joined our family over the years, and this year we were honored with Hartford Magazine’s “Best Neighborhood Bar 2020” to exactly resemble the melting pot establishment we have.
I am hoping from what you can gather from all of the above, my dad is a super old school type of guy, barely can operate his smartphone, let alone a computer. As a result, I try to help him survive in this new digital way of life we live in 2020. I help manage his website, social media, etc. to keep him and our family business in with the times. While we made it through prohibition, we have struggled through the COVID-19 pandemic. Since COVID hit, we've had to pivot dramatically. He's had to totally change his business model and strategy overnight and in ways that are so unfamiliar to him. I work full time in Boston, MA but since COVID struck us, I headed straight back to Hartford to help my dad. I have worked side by side with him every single day since March, to keep the business afloat. Just as tireless as he works, I have been trying my best around the clock on top of my day job, to help hustle and keep the business going -- it is survival mode. Red Rock means so so much to me and my family, and I want to see the business continue for a 5th, 6th generation. Despite our desire to support our community and front-line workers, we find it harder to continue, given our financial struggles. We were hit hard early in the pandemic and continue to suffer as the state has tightened restaurant restrictions, again. Our revenue is down to 20% of its usual amount, and we won’t survive much longer. We are asking for enough to help us continue to pay our staff and keep our doors open. We have continued to pay our employees throughout the entirety of the pandemic and plan to do so as long as our doors are open.
Thank you for your leadership and initiative to support small businesses across the country. We hope that you find our little family business worth a donation.
We are located halfway between New York City and Boston. Next time you visit the pizza capital of the world, make your way 30 minutes north, and we would love to treat you, Frankie, Uber Debbie, and the rest of your crew to a meal and family stories.
Instagram: @redrocktavern
www.redrocktavern.com
P.S. thanks for featuring my hungover self on your page last summer
Cheers -- Pizza is Forever T-Shirt Girl aka Chelsey Mancini