The Harmony Bar & Grill on Atwood Avenue, a Madison institution known for its community focus and good food, will be changing hands come fall. Long-time regulars and neighbors Pam and Mike Barrett will take over for Brennan Nardi who, after navigating the pandemic and ensuring the bar’s future, is ready to step away from ownership.
The Barretts have been active members of the community for more than 25 years, moving to the Atwood neighborhood just five years after The Harmony opened its doors in 1990. Mike co-founded the Schenk-Atwood-Starkweather-Yahara Neighborhood Association and has been a vocal community advocate for green transit. Pam, a former physical therapist, is a musician who has fronted several bands over the years, most recently BingBong. She has performed often on Harmony’s stage.
The unpredictability of business post-COVID and the staffing shortage did not keep Pam and Mike from making an offer. They went into this endeavor understanding the turbulence of the times and acknowledge the many pitfalls of the industry: “There’s the potential of COVID coming back with a different variant. There’s the potential of road construction. The market as far as finding workers is really tight,” says Mike. “But Brennan has done such a good job of stabilizing the staff. We also know the history of Harmony; we know the dedication, especially right here in the neighborhood.”
Nardi’s leadership along with the community support for The Harmony is what kept the bar afloat throughout Wisconsin’s pandemic Safer-at-Home order. The bar was closed for 46 days starting on March 17, 2020. In November 2020 a GoFundMe was started when Nardi was concerned The Harmony wouldn’t make it through the winter. It accrued some $40,000 in donations.
Nardi and her husband, Brad Czachor, bought The Harmony from longtime owner Keith Daniels in 2013, and she took charge upon her husband’s death in 2019. The pandemic and the shutdown stretched her thin, and after securing the restaurant’s future and ensuring it was in the right hands, she decided that it would be a good time to step away.
“I would love to stay connected to The Harmony, whatever that looks like,” says Nardi.
The Barretts hope to maintain a part of the culture of the east side of Madison. Nardi spoke to Pam, Mike, and some of The Harmony’s other regulars to let them know she would be selling the bar. Fearing it would be replaced with high-rise apartments or office buildings that could wash out the character of the community, the Barretts contacted Nardi with an offer almost immediately so she didn’t have to sell on the market.
Mike hopes to implement some environmentally friendly solutions to the utilities systems, like a green water heater and a UV light disinfection system to fight against any possible COVID outbreaks. Pam envisions some menu changes for more variety.
Mike says the bar doesn’t need an overhaul and plans on remaining open during the ownership transition. Both consider The Harmony to be a hub of cultural and community engagement that brings people of all ages together, and they plan on preserving the spirit of the place.
“Basically what we’re doing is we’re inheriting an already existing entity,” Pam says. “What we’re hoping to do is just be good stewards.”
[Editor’s note: This story has been edited to correct the dates of The Harmony’s pandemic closing and the GoFundMe effort.]