SPRING 2020 VOL.

Harrisonburg, Virginia

Enjoy a Restaurant like No Other

Special People Run an
Unforgettable Restaurant
Any successful business has successful people
IN THIS ISSUE
standing behind it. Ask Matthew Clancey, executive
chef and general manager of Clementine. Clancey SPECIAL PEOPLE RUN AN
takes deep pride in the restaurant’s employees and UNFORGETTABLE
believes that the staff, a strong menu selection,
RESTAURANT
interesting drinks, live music and a great atmosphere
make Clementine unique and set it apart from other
restaurants in Harrisonburg. And he should know.
LIVE MUSIC AT
Clancey and his siblings grew up in Harrisonburg, CLEMENTINE
Virginia, in the 1970s. At a young age, Clancey
traveled often to the Caribbean, Mexico and Ireland.
These formative trips prompted his interest in food
and restaurants. His life revolved around family, and
FOOD CLEANLINESS AND
Clancey was introduced to cooking at a young age by
SAFETY
his mother.

“She was a stay-at-home mom when I was a little kid,

so she did a lot of baking and cooking around the TAKE OUT
house,”Clancey said. I always liked to eat, so I got
involved with the cooking."

Unforgettable, continued on page 2

 SPRING 2020 VOL. 1
He learned that in the restaurant industry,
Unforgettable, continued from page 1
the owner, like the captain of a ship, is the
last man standing. Staff members would
work until their shift ended, but Clancy had
to tend to problems and find solutions before
the next day’s opening.

After many adventures and experiences,

Clancey was drawn back home to
Harrisonburg and became opening chef of
James Madison University’s then new East
Image credited to Brandon Payne (Scrandom Media). Campus Dining Hall in 2009. At JMU, he
Clancey often cooks these appetizer creations of hummus with pita bread (left),
falafel (middle) and bruschetta (right), are popular items on the menu. learned the norms of running a business,
In high school and at the beginning of community training, staffing and corporate procedures.
PHOTO BY MARTIN R. SMITH
college attendance, Clancey never knew what he
wanted to do when he grew up, until he found his Over the years, Clancey’s varied
passion for food. opportunities have enabled him to learn
valuable cooking skills and to develop
“I was working at restaurants at the time and found lifelong relationships in his profession. With
an affinity for [cooking]. So instead of going for the his extensive résumé and array of jobs and
four years bachelor’s degree, I went to culinary titles, Clancey’s background stands solid in
school,” Clancey said. his ability to work anywhere.

Clancey decided to attend the Culinary Institute of He realizes now that Harrisonburg will
Charleston in South Carolina and got his first job at forever be his home, as life boomeranged
Red Sky Grill in Seabrook Island, South Carolina, him back to the valley and its people.
after graduation. For the first time in a soon-to-be
litany of interesting experiences, Clancey worked in
a professional kitchen.

After a few years, he then moved on to become

executive chef of the Cheat River Inn in Elkins,
West Virginia; baker and caterer at Cook Hands
Catering in Harrisonburg and executive chef at
Jordan Hollow Farm Inn in Stanley, Virginia. Each
job built off the other as Clancey learned by cooking
basic American style to cooking French cuisine.

Clancey then made another big switch to be owner of

South Atlantic Grill in New Smyrna Beach, Florida.
This new chapter was Clancey’s first time as owner
of a business.
Executive Chef and General Manager Matthew Clancey
(left) and his Sous Chef Bill Bleecker take a break
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outside Clementine.
 SPRING 2020 VOL. 1
Unforgettable, continued from page 2

In 2014, Clancey accepted a job at Clementine and

has been working at the café since then.
Clementine's customers receive the same quality
services since it opened in February 2008: a wide
array of food choices, open bar, live music and
entertainment for patrons of all ages. Even better,
everything is offered at very reasonable prices.

"Clementine's menu has always been eclectic, which

gives me a lot of latitude with what [I am] able to
do,” Clancey said. “Mostly, we have been working
with Southern food and Pacific rim (Japanese,
Korean, Vietnamese and Thai), and we sprinkle in a
little French,
P H O TItalian
O B Y M A and
R T I N Spanish.”
R. SMITH
Image credited to Brandon Payne (Scrandom Media).
Clancey serves his kale salad with bacon and endive.
In addition to its great food and drink selections,
Clementine also offers live entertainment. Weekly The restaurant business is about time
trivia, open mic and live jazz shows entertain management and keeping good relations with
customers who enjoy food and drinks in a friendly staff and with each customer that comes along.
community atmosphere. Singers perform varying The customers are the reason why Clementine
genres and play every few weeks. People can relax is so successful and why Clancey thoroughly
at their tables or get up and dance in front of the enjoys his work. It took years of practice and
stage. experimenting to show Clancey that his home is
at Clementine, a stone’s throw from where he
"There’s
“There’s reallyreally nothing
nothing likeitit in
like in all
allofof grew up.
Harrisonburg,
Harrisonburg, andand such such a uniqueexperience
a unique experience
[differentiates
[differentiates it] from
it] from largervenues,”
larger venues,” Clancey
Clancey said. “Clementine staff is treated as one big family
said. small
“We cater “We cater
andsmall
largeand large parties;
parties; host music,
host live and the [staff] in turn treats our customers like
live music,
talk shows, talk shows, [guest] DJs and, of
[guest] family,” Clancey said. “We always guarantee a
course,
DJs and, offer food
of course, and food
offer drinks,and bothdrinks,
inside orboth
out great meal and hospitality. It was easy to come
inside on
or the
outgarden-like patio.”
on the garden-like patio.” into an already greatly run and established
business where staff and customers showed
Clancey’s many duties as manager of the restaurant their constant support.”
take him away from his passion for cooking as
there are a lot of other responsibilities. Clancey Currently, because of the COVID-19 pandemic,
often finds himself doing paperwork and making Clementine is open for take out and delivery
calls, regretfully not spending as much time in the orders only. The kitchen offers a “limited”
kitchen as he would like. menu, which can be viewed on the restaurant’s
website. Despite the “limited” title, Clementine’s
"When I first got here, I created the menu and many menu options remain favorites with loyal
babysat it for awhile to make minor changes," customers who can enjoy the foods they know
Clancey said. "After that, it was back to the office and love.
for more business-related work."

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 SPRING 2020 VOL. 1
Unforgettable, continued from page 3

The restaurant has become somewhat of

a rather large family; a community, where
“we take care of our Clementine family as
best we can,” he said.

“I know it’s a long road ahead, but I

believe there’s nothing we can’t handle,”
Clancey said.

Image credited to Brandon Payne (Scrandom Media).

Clancey’s creation of pita lamb fold-overs with shredded carrots, peppers and
parsley.
PHOTO BY MARTIN R. SMITH
“We’ve had to lay off a lot of our staff because of
the virus and the financial burden it has cost the
restaurant,” Clancey said. “Our staff [members]
know if they need food to eat, they can come and
get food off the menu. If they’re short on money
for bills, we can help them out with that.
If they’re short on cash to get necessary
prescription medicine, we pay for it. It’s just kind
of a thing we do.”

Clancey is confident that Clementine will reopen as

soon as allowed. The restaurant can sustain social
isolation for the next couple of months. Clementine
will “deal with it as it comes.” Clancey hopes to re-
hire all previous staff members as he can’t imagine
Clementine without every single one of them.

This restaurant acts as a family, helping its

members through thick and thin. Through the
years, Clementine has been through life’s ups and
downs. But as the experienced leader he is, Clancey
is confident in getting Clementine back to Image credited to Brandon Payne (Scrandom Media).
Clancey often cooks these entrées of lamb pita-foldover with veggies
providing delicious food and great entertainment (left), shrimp scampi (middle) and breaded chicken cutlet (right).
for patrons as soon as possible.

OPEN FOR TAKEOUT AND DELIVERY!

Visit our website at https://clementinecafe.com/temporary-menu/
Or call 540-801-8881
 SPRING 2020 VOL. 1

Live Music at Clementine

Clementine is a local restaurant located a mile Singers who recently came to
away from James Madison University's campus and Clementine include: Steven Bends, Tim
has been serving the Harrisonburg community for Reynolds, Reina Del Cid and Jason
12 years. The restaurant and bar, where customers Charles.
can eat and drink, hosts live music. Clementine's
live entertainment is one of the many reasons why Clementine's unique setting is a great
the restaurant is so unique. place for both dining and entertainment.
A small stage positioned in the back of
Clementine hosts all kinds of weekly entertainment the restaurant provides great acoustics
including trivia nights, bingo, open mic. and live to people located anywhere in the room.
music. Patrons can enjoy food and drinks at their An area sectioned off in front of the
table while participating in games or listening to stage is designated for standing and
the music.
PHOTO BY MARTIN R. SMITH dancing.

Derek Niver, Clementine's band booking director,

works to schedule performances a few times a "I personally think that Clementine
month. Singers and players of different genres and is a more intimate venue than a lot
backgrounds travel to Clementine to perform. of venues you might think of," Niver
Patrons come to hear the types of music they love, said. "Our capacity is a little
or to hear something new! Niver recalls a
smaller, so I think, in that sense, it's
performance from guitarist Jarekus Singleton.
a little more special because most
of the crowd is probably seeing
"It was one of those acts where he started playing
them for the first time. You can get
and everyone shut up and listened, and it was
awesome," Niver said. "Even though it was a pretty close if you want to be."
smaller crowd, attendees all went home and told
their friends and raved about him. Every time we've Clementine staff especially loves how
had him back, he brings a pretty big crowd." attendees come together at the live
entertainment shows. Patrons and staff
can meet new people who share the
same interests as themselves. Shows at
Clementine are also a great way to
connect with people outside of
Harrisonburg, as people come to hear
the music from all over Virginia!

Clementine recommends scheduling

dinner reservations ahead of time to get
a table. The restaurant offers a full-
service bar as well as a vast food
selection. The menu caters to varying
Singer Jarekus Singleton (middle) and his band perform on Clementine's
stage. pallets with options ranging from grilled
salmon and filets to burger and chicken
Live Music, continued on page 6
sandwiches.
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Live Music, continued from page 5

After the show, customers can walk

downstairs and have some fun at Ruby's
Arcade. Open until 1:30 a.m., this late-night
bar is a perfect place to hang out and play
games after the show. The arcade has many
options including: bowling, pool, darts,
shuffle board, ping pong and foosball.
Customers are encouraged to venture to the
bar once Clementine closes.

You can purchase tickets for shows at

After Clementine closes, Ruby's Arcade provides a great
http://clementinecafe.com/music or through locale for guests to eat, drink and play

Facebook. Tickets cost $12 in advance and $15

at the door. For more information about Clementine's Food
tickets, location and future events, call 540-
801-8881 or email [email protected]. Cleanliness and Safety
Did you know that the U.S. Department of Health
inspects restaurant's cleanliness once every six
months? The government agency verifies that
restaurants handle and prepare their food products
properly. Clementine staff can proudly say that the
restaurant has a good rating and is deemed safe for
food consumption! Eating at poorly rated restaurants
may lead to exposure to germs and bacteria which can
lead to illness.

With the recent outbreak and spreading of the

coronavirus, it is important to be familiar with ways
to keep yourself healthy and safe. Next time you order
take out or delivery, check the rating posted on the
Virginia Department of Health website at
vdh.virginia.gov. Take matters into your own hands
and wash them before eating!
The Virginia Department of Health encourages patrons to wash their hands before eating

Clementine is a restaurant located in the Culinary District of downtown Harrisonburg.

The multi-purpose restaurant, which also serves as a bar and live-music venue, is a
20-minute walk from JMU’s campus. Clementine offers weekly musical experiences
of varying genres; a sit-down bar and a very extensive menu. Customers of all
ages are welcome to enjoy food, drinks and entertainment. For more information
about the restaurant, visit http://clementinecafe.com/.