New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
‘It’s a breath of fresh air’
Customers rave about new eatery’s food, atmosphere
MILFORD — Sandra DeRosa Briggs has worked in the restaurant and bar business for 35 years and never wanted to own her own place until she was let go from one last year.
Then she bought that bar.
She bought the Bridgeport Avenue business in August, renamed it “Hair of the Dog” and opened Nov. 2 amid a pandemic.
“I never wanted my own bar until they let me go. Then I said, ‘I don’t want my own bar, I want that bar,”’ Briggs said.
It’s only been a few weeks, but customers are raving about the food, atmosphere and the establishment living up to its slogan, “The neighborhood bar that you wish was in your neighborhood.”
Though it’s not in customer Dennis Flanagan’s neighborhood — he lives across the bridge in Stratford — he said he stops there a few days a week on his way home from work in West Haven.
The food and ambiance are “fantastic,” he said, and the staff is “outgoing and fun.”
“Sandra put her whole heart into this and it shows,” Flanagan said. “I’m willing to drive by a few bars before I get to her. … It’s a breath of fresh air.”
He said he and his wife have dined there on the weekends and the food is great, whether takeout or eat-in. Flanagan said he knew Briggs as a bartender from the prior business, and when he found out she opened Hair of the Dog , “I said, ‘Good for you.’”
Briggs said she was let go from the previous iteration of the establishment in May last year over philosophical differences, but when she
bought the business this year, the previous owners were supportive.
Briggs, her husband, Bill Briggs — who happens to be the bar’s wine salesman — and their son live right down the street from the business in the house where she grew up. She started in the business as a bus girl at age 12 in the same building where her tavern is now. Since then she’s worked various restaurant roles there through six owners, including herself.
But she also gained years of restaurant experience working for family who owned restaurants in Westport and Trumbull.
Briggs noted that while she had never desired to own a restaurant or tavern, she had lots of ideas of how to make the business better and more fun, but the ideas were not implemented. So now she’s putting them into play herself and said it is “gratifying” and successful.
“The minute you walk in, I want you to be entertained,” she said.
One of her business mottos is: “I’m a bad influence, but were going to have a lot of fun.”
Customers talk about “the vibe” in the place. The walls are orange with turquoise accents, she’s big on good
music, ’80s pop, Van Halen or whatever the mood of the crowd. They may have two movies playing in the bar such as the classic “Airplane” or a Cheech and Chong movie, but no news. Humorous memes are on the walls throughout, including: “If I had of saved all the money I spent on beer and a good time, I’d spend it on beer and a good time.”
She loves music so much that the menu items are named for songs and they often spark a conversation. Customers love a dish she created, pineapple fried rice served in a half pineapple called “Rice, Rice Baby” after Vanilla Ice’s “Ice, Ice Baby,” and another popular menu item, “Don’t go Bacon my Heart” — a bacon cheeseburger. The appetizers come under: “Want to be Starting Something.” And soups? — “Heaven Must be Missing a Ladle.”
Briggs said the culture in her place is one in which she makes employees eat and there is an atmosphere of respect. Briggs also hired the best staff she’s worked with through the years, including a chef formerly at a popular area restaurant.
Her husband is a wine salesman and she is one of his clients — so that worked out well.
“We joke that we get everybody drunk together,” Briggs said.
Asked how it is to finally own her own place and put in the grueling hours with her attention needed for every detail, Briggs likened it to childbirth.
“It’s almost like I spend half the day in labor and half the day looking into my baby’s eyes,” she said. “It’s painful but I see all the things I’ve had in my head coming to life — the customers are happy, the staff is happy.” She said there is lots of “satisfaction” in that.
Briggs, who has lots of outdoor seating and many booked nights, said opening during the pandemic when they can’t have full capacity has been a good way to “start out slow.”
Customer Mandi Marcino of
New Haven said Hair of the Dog truly lives up to the neighborhood bar claim.
“Sandra will go above and beyond to make her guests feel like family,” Marcino said. “It’s the vibe and the people, staff.”
Krista Lanese of Milford loves the place, and that Briggs “makes the rounds and personally greets every table.”
“The food at Hair of the Dog is absolutely amazing. I have tried almost every item on the menu. … You can see and taste the quality of the ingredients that are being used in each dish and every meal is fresh and made to order,” she said. “Drinks are equally amazing. Sandra has concocted a martini and margarita menu that is out of this world. Blood Orange Margarita being one of my faves.”
Justin Wells of Milford, a selfdescribed food critic, said since the minute his party walked in, until they left, Briggs “treated us like VIP.”
Wells took his aunt/godmother there to eat and she was “very impressed.”
They had mahi-mahi tacos, the best French onion bread bowl he’s ever had and a pulled-pork pizza with pineapple salsa, Wells said.
“Everything was perfect ... especially the service,” Wells said. “I think Sandra is going to do even better once this COVID is over and next spring arrives.”