Christian Hayes stands in the garden seating area at The Garrison in 2020. The restaurant opened five years ago in the former Sparhawk Mill on the Royal River. Hayes is looking forward to spending more time with his family. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

Yarmouth restaurant The Garrison, recognized for its adventurous and sophisticated food, closed Saturday after hitting a breaking point in its struggle to keep up with its bills, its owner said.

“The last year has been brutal for so many reasons, and for the first time the actual struggles which usually hide behind our spreadsheets and facade has spilled over to our dedicated staff,” chef and owner Christian Hayes wrote in a statement on The Garrison’s website.

Hayes opened The Garrison five years ago in the former Sparhawk Mill on the Royal River. The upscale New American restaurant stood out for its quirky menu inflected with Mediterranean and Asian influences.

“It’s been a long five years,” Hayes said in an interview Monday. “I feel like with COVID, it’s been like restaurant dog years. Especially for a restaurant like The Garrison, which is not a turn-and-burn restaurant; it’s very focused and chef-driven.”

Hayes said being somewhat “secluded” in the mill building seemed to cut both ways for The Garrison.

“There were two sides to being hidden in the mill,” he said. “There was this awesome quality to it where we were sort of a hidden gem. But I couldn’t imagine the reach we could have had if we had a picture window on a street in a busier section of town or in Portland. It might have been different.”

 

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Hayes also owns Dandy’s Handy Store and adjacent takeout burger joint Thoroughfare, also in Yarmouth. He has also owned Dandelion Catering Co. for 16 years. With the closure of The Garrison, Hayes said he will be able to put more time and money into those businesses, and also into being a father.

“Freeing up an extra 70 hours a week is pretty key to being able to focus your energies more,” Hayes said. “I’m not the same person I was when I started cooking 25 years ago. I want to be home and see my kids. I want to be the best dad in the world.”