Rossco’s Pub marks quarter century of good service and good friends
Ross Beach says his favourite aspect of owning Rossco’s Pub, which celebrated its 25th anniversary on Oct. 10, is the connection he’s maintained with the community through the years.
“The biggest thing after 25 years is I grew up with so many different people — I got to know them personally, I got to know their families — and then they had kids, and now they (the kids) are coming in here.
“Overall, it’s just the great friendships and great customers that always came back and we really got to know them,” he said. “They’re more of a friend than a customer.”
Beach, who was born and raised in the Hat, was inspired to open his own pub based on the positive experiences he had working in the hospitality industry in the few years prior to Rossco’s 1992 opening.
“There was only a few places in town,” he said. “I had some great experiences from previous owners that I worked with and I just decided to open up and see what was going to happen.”
The bar has continuously evolved “to keep up with the times.
“We’ve always put money back into the business for our customers,” said Beach. “We started with 80 seats and then we expanded over the years.”
Another part of keeping up with the times, in terms of day-to-day operations, is technology.
“Checking up with the social media is probably No. 1 thing that we try to stay on top of,” he said, adding that it’s a valuable platform for receiving customers’ feedback.
The website Trip Advisor recently named Rossco’s the top pub in Medicine Hat.
Beach said he’s honoured by the high profile endorsement.
“I was just blown away,” he said. “Trip Advisor is pretty big and it’s well known for critical hospitality places.
“It was a really good pat on the back that I’m doing something right.”
Beach also reserved credit for his staff, in both the front and back of the house.
“I’ve got a strong front service, as well as strong kitchen team, and they’ve kept up my quality and they know what I like.
“We’re all striving to make sure that every customer that gets in here gets good service.
“We’re constantly changing,” he said. “We’re always improving. We’re always to make sure that what we serve to customers is No. 1 at all time.”