Emerald Greens upgrade: Barry and Brittany Dunlop are creating Jasper’s next iconic gathering place

Brew still comes up in conversations these days. Behind the counter at Emerald Greens, Barry Dunlop still hears from former visitors pining for the unique atmosphere and delicious food from the iconic Jasper restaurant he and Josh Premuda opened in 2016.

“Brew was awesome,” Barry said. “There’s a lot of great restaurants in Jasper, but Brew was something different.”

Even his wife Brittany and her friends like to reminisce about the huge communal table and long brunches at the restaurant the partners operated for about five years before the pandemic changed everything.

The memories remain, and as recently as six months ago, the inquiries continue. Like when a couple who went on their first date at Brew inquired about the restaurant’s legendary fries for their upcoming wedding.

“It’s good when you hear stuff like that,” Barry admitted.

Community is important to the couple. They love to entertain at their Jasper home, and though Emerald Greens on Vine Street provided a social outlet and allowed Barry to keep serving people great food, something was missing.

It’s why Barry went over to check out The Shamrock in Ireland when he heard it was for sale. “I told Brittany, and she was like… what are you doing?” he laughed.

They looked at it and walked away without committing, but their eyes were opened to the realization that they wanted to do something more with what they had built over the past few years on Vine Street.

The vision began to coalesce into a new reality as they passed by the former location of Downtown Running along Mill Street. The large open space was a blank canvas for Emerald Greens to create its own iconic atmosphere and vibe. To become a new favorite third space in the community, shaped by Barry and Brittany’s shared vision and history.

They decided it was time to build something entirely their own.

“Everybody can talk about, ‘oh, it would be nice if we did this,’ or ‘it’d be nice if there was that’; sometimes you just have to be, ‘okay let’s do it,” Brittany said. 

She designed the building’s footprint herself before handing it off to the architect — one more entry in a long list of spaces she’s reshaped over the years, from the couple’s own home where they love to entertain their friends to the original Emerald Greens café. That instinct to build spaces meant to be shared runs through the new design: a communal table returns, plus a private room for events, expanded seating and bar seating, with a special wall celebrating the members of Founders Club.

Near the bar, the Founders Wall will carry the names of community members who’ve backed the restaurant’s launch through its Founders Club, a literal, physical record of the people who helped build the space before it ever opened. Each founder will have their name on a special hexagonal walnut plaque and enjoy a few extra benefits outlined on the restaurant’s website here: https://www.emeraldgreensjasper.com/founders-club.

The hexagons, which are ubiquitous throughout the design of the building and new logo for Emerald Greens, draw on Barry’s connection to the Giant’s Causeway near his hometown of Portballintrae. The town sits just a few miles down the Antrim coast from the famous stretch of roughly 40,000 interlocking hexagonal basalt columns formed by volcanic activity millions of years ago.

By day, the café side serves dishes that nod to Barry’s Irish upbringing alongside global influences — a Belfast Breakfast Sandwich built on Irish soda farl, a Korean fried chicken sandwich, Japanese soufflé pancakes. In the evening, Emerald Greens shifts into full gastropub service: elevated pub fare like fish and chips, steak frites, and bangers on a stick with curry ketchup, served with waiter service and a more upscale presentation.

Barry, a longtime cocktail enthusiast who stepped away from the craft for a while, is bringing that focus back to the new restaurant’s bar program. The plan includes separate cocktail menus for brunch, afternoon, and dinner service, paired with an emphasis on presentation down to the glassware. Beer drinkers can expect around six taps, while the rest of the bar leans toward wine, prosecco, champagne, and European beers. Weekend brunch will return as well, Saturday and Sunday, with bottomless mimosas — a direct callback to the Brew days.

“It’s gonna be fun,” Barry said about brunch. “Hectic, but fun.”

This history and cultural connection to both of their homes is important to the couple. Barry’s journey to Jasper began in the hospitality industry in his hometown. At 11, he and his twin brother, Paul, would head down to the Bay View Hotel located in Portballintrae early on Saturday mornings to collect empty soda bottles. The hotel had four bars, and the boys would place all the empty bottles in skips, or recycling containers.

In the evenings, they would return to wash the glasses. “We had on our little bowties and shirts,” Barry remembered.

A step up into the kitchen at 14, mainly because it allowed him to make more money than his twin brother, Paul, was the confirming movement of his trajectory into the food industry. After graduating from high school, he attended the Northern Ireland Hotel and Catering College, then worked in several kitchens in Ireland before eventually ending up in the United States working for Hilton in Chicago.

In Chicago, he met Brittany, who was living and working there. They bonded over their love for travel the night they met, and dates turned into an invitation to Jasper for Thanksgiving (a totally new experience for Barry) and eventually marriage. They moved to Jasper a few years later when the time felt right to return to Brittany’s roots.

Her connection to Jasper runs deeper than her upbringing. Her grandfather, Jerp Becher, was part of Becher Kluesner Funeral Home. Watching that business operate up close, she said, gave her an early window into how deeply woven a single family enterprise can become into a community’s daily life. “It is such an integral part of the community,” she said, recalling how much people in town loved her grandparents.

She and Barry want the new Emerald Greens to become an integral part of the community as well, with their own unique twist.

“It’s about creating something and always improving,” Barry said about his love for what they are doing. “And it’s about the customers. When they come in, and they say, ‘Oh my God, this is awesome!’ I think that’s the main thing.”

“It’s something that we want to be here for a long time,” Brittany added.

Emerald Greens is set to open in early October. You can learn more about the restaurant and apply for open positions on their website here: https://www.emeraldgreensjasper.com/. They are also still accepting members of their Founders Club: https://www.emeraldgreensjasper.com/founders-club.