British Pub Brightens Canaan (Conn.) CC

Retired couple Wendy and Tom Gailes opened Limey’s to offer British hospitality with menu items like Beef Wellington, fish and chips, bangers and mash and Yorkshire pudding.

In a nod to her hometown, Wendy Gailes and husband Tom have opened a British pub at Canaan (Conn.) Country Club called Limey’s, the Litchfield County Times reported.

The restaurant will be the third venture for the retired couple and is an extension of the popular restaurant of the same name they ran for seven years in Sheffield, Mass. Their first restaurant, the Pub & Grub, opened in 1990 and was sold in 1997. After a short respite following the sale of their second restaurant in 2007, the couple decided to jump back into the mix when club owner Richard Shanley asked if they were interested.

“I think we were both fed up with retirement,” said Wendy. “All of our lives we have been busy—we moved 27 times when Tom was traveling around the world. And this was a chance to get back into something I love.”

They gathered with former pub workers and upgraded the restaurant at the club by revamping the bar area to improve visibility and install booths in the lounge area to replace high-top tables. English influence on the menu is obvious, through offerings like Beef Wellington and Yorkshire pudding.

The couple even recruited their former chef, Barry Deffers, who was employed at The Boathouse in Lakeville. When he made the decision to join Limey’s, he found a very busy restaurant.

“I don’t think there is anyone in Canaan who doesn’t know we are here,” Wendy said.

Deffers said the food is as fresh and local as is possible, offering steamed clams, baked onion soup, seasonal salad collection, pub burgers, Cuban paninis, and British favorites fish and chips and bangers and mash. Wendy said they are trying to keep their prices low.

Tags: Barry Deffers Canaan Country Club Limey’s Richard Shanley Tom Gailes Wendy Gailes