Boundary Bay Brewery Manager Nominated for Restaurant Association Award!

Janet Lightner, General Manager for Boundary Bay Brewery, has been nominated for a Washington Restaurant Association award.  The award ceremony will be held March 8th, 2009 in Olympia, WA.  Janet is in the running for 2008 Full Service Operator of the Year and is up against Lane Hoss from Anthony’s Home Port and Mo Shaw of Ray’s Boathouse.

When Lightner was interviewed by the Restaurant Association for her nomination, she said Boundary Bay Brewery feels like her second home.  She has worked in the industry for 35 years and has been Boundary’s general manager for the last 10 years.  Janet started working at Boundary Bay as a chef when the brewery first opened.  Now, she works there side by side with her life partner, her son, and her daughter.  She carries this sense of family into her interactions with the staff as well:  “Everyone feels like a family.  It’s important to me to know everyone’s name, even when our staff gets into the hundreds.  I like to say hello to everyone in the morning.” Equally important to Janet, is making sure the brewery is a place where people come to celebrate, to relax and to be comfortable.  Lightner believes that her work within the brewery is about building strong ties with the customers and the community at large, making the Bellingham community a stronger one because of it.