News

April 5th, 2021

Hello! Just a quick note to say we've returned a couple of things to the menu by way of popular demand...the BBQ sub and the Hummus plate are back! We also have house-made honey mustard sauce available again...try it with your sweet potato fries or chicken sandwich.

Even better, we're extending our weekday hours from 7 to 8pm! This means we are open 11:30-8 Monday through Saturday.

Also, while we are still not doing indoor dining, we have more outdoor tables available now! While we have this awesome spring weather come enjoy our tables right on the square.

October 22, 2020

It's Bloomington Restaurant Week and we are offering a deal all week! It's two entrees of your choice, and a house salad or bowl of chili, all for $25. You can order the special through our online orders system, over the phone, or in person. Enjoy!

August 22nd, 2020

Hello everyone!

We've missed you, and are excited to announce that we are reopening for carry-out orders this Monday August 24th!

We also have some bittersweet news, which is that we sold the restaurant today. We've been struggling for months to figure out some way to survive through these times with a limited business model, and we decided that we simply don't have the resources (both financially and emotionally) to do it. We love what we do, our staff, and our customers, and it was a tough decision to make, but we think it's the only way that the restaurant can survive.

However, the good news is that the new owner wants to keep The Owlery what it is and Toby will still be managing the restaurant until December. We also have a lot of our wonderful staff coming back, so you will see familiar faces and the menu won't change. We are sad to say goodbye but glad to know that someone is taking over who can continue the business and ultimately take it to greater heights than we could have! In the immediate future, our hours and menu will be limited as we get back into the swing of things. Please check our website and social media for the most up-to-date info. We're very much looking forward to seeing you all again and cooking for you!

Stay safe and thanks for all the kindness you've shared with us over the last few months and over the last 10 years that we have been doing this!

Sincerely,
Toby & Ryan

May 14th, 2020

Hi all,

As states begin reopening their economies, we wanted to write a quick and honest update about how we are feeling and why we are going to stay completely closed for the time being.

Most importantly, we don't see any way for us to open (even for delivery/pick-up only) that still allows us to maintain practices that will guarantee the safety of our employees, our customers, and ourselves. To do even the minimum amount of business to cover our fixed costs, we would have to have at least three people working in a building that is only 18 feet wide with narrow hallways and tight work spaces. We have to work side by side in the kitchen, crossing back and forth with each other frequently. There is simply no way for us to practice social distancing at work. Additionally, we receive a produce delivery six days a week and at least five or six other deliveries throughout the week, in addition to needing to make regular grocery runs. We can try to place fewer, larger orders and do our best to sanitize everything, but that is a lot of contact with people and products. We know that many service-oriented "essential workers" are feeling increasingly at risk and often getting sick, and we do not want to place additional risk on our employees or on the delivery drivers and grocery store employees we rely on to do business.

Additionally, we want to make smart financial decisions today to allow us to stay open for the long term, and for now we feel that means staying closed. We have managed to cut all our bills as close to zero as possible, and nothing would be financially worse for us than ramping things up only to have to stop again due to a potential second wave of the virus. We also don't feel ready to ask our employees to come back, especially when many of them would have to give up unemployment benefits, for a job that we cannot guarantee the future of.

Finally, we simply never set out to be a carryout or delivery business - the experience of having customers dine with us is central to what we do at the Owlery. We decided to open a restaurant almost a decade ago because we love the experience of going out to eat. We love providing that experience for our guests, and it feels really good when we get it right. When we make your food, put it in a box, and watch it sit while we wait for you to pick it up or for it to be delivered... well, it's just not what we set out to do with our business, not to mention all the additional waste we would generate by putting everything in to-go boxes and plastic portion cups.

We have received a lot of kind messages and we greatly appreciate those of you that have donated to our staff or purchased a gift certificate. We realize that we will likely need to make some drastic changes as we navigate this new reality, and we know there are a lot of folks who want to see us open back up again soon. We do intend to do that one day, but we're just not there yet. We have heard over and over again that it is important to stay home, though the word on that is changing as some of our leaders seem to be placing more and more value on reopening the economy and less value on keeping our communities safe. We feel now that it's more important than ever for us to make this decision for ourselves to stay closed. We miss you and miss cooking for you. We miss our wonderful staff. We miss family brunch and drinking a Dragonfly after a busy shift. And we promise we will do our best to see you all and serve you all again someday. Thanks as always for your patience and support!

With love and gratitude,

Toby and Ryan
owners, The Owlery

Hours

NEW HOURS
Monday thru Saturday
11:30am - 8pm
Sunday
10am - 2pm

Location

118 West Sixth St.
Bloomington, Indiana
47404