Meet the Family Williams

Know Your Neighbors

by Julie Lundin

For over 43 years, the Old Barn Out Back has been a staple for great food in the Shawnee community. The Williams family opened the restaurant in 1979, and it has remained in the family ever since. Meet the Williams family on Wapak Road: Pete, Bridgett, and their children: Gabe (22), Michaela (20), Alaina (18), and Noah (16).

Pete and Bridgett are both from the area and have been married for 24 years. Pete graduated from LCC in 1990, and Bridgett graduated from Spencerville in 1991. They met in January 1997 after Pete returned home to help run the restaurant after two and a half years in Orlando, Florida. By that December, they were engaged and the rest, as they say, is history!

Pete and Bridgett love the Shawnee community and enjoy living so close to the Shawnee Schools where their kids have been involved in numerous sports and activities through the years. Gabe is currently a senior at Xavier University in Cincinnati studying biology in hopes of working in healthcare. Gabe is also the President of the Xavier Triathlon Team. While at Shawnee, he ran cross country, track, and was on the swim team. Michaela is currently living in Lima and is working as a licensed massage therapist at Modern Health & Wellness Chiropractic Care. When she attended Shawnee, she ran cross country, was on the swim/dive team, and was also a cheerleader. Alaina is a senior at Shawnee where she runs cross country (qualifying for State all four years), is on the track team, and is also a cheerleader for the Indians. Noah is a junior at Shawnee. Like his siblings before him, he is on the cross country team (holding the school record for men’s cross country), basketball team, and runs track.

The Williams family is very active and they love to wakeboard and surf behind their boat. They travel all over the country with their boat, but their favorite place to go is Lake Norris in Tennessee. They also enjoy skiing and snowboarding at Boyne Mountain in Michigan. When the kids were younger, the Williams family took their motor home out West for extended vacations. Some of the places they visited include: Yellowstone, The Grand Tetons, Glacier National Park, Banff National Park, the Grand Canyon, New Mexico, Colorado, and they even hiked five of the national parks in Utah!

Pete and Bridgett are involved in both the Shawnee and LCC Schools, Lima St. John’s Church, and several non-profit organizations. They know how important it is to give back to their community and their family is happy to do so!

The Old Barn is a labor of love for the entire family. Pete purchased the restaurant from his parents in 2000 and has been the owner and operator ever since. During the busy holidays you can find the entire Williams family working at the restaurant, and at the end of a long day they will sit down at one of the tables to share a meal together. During the 2020 Covid lockdown, Pete and Bridgett were able to totally renovate the restaurant, which is now known as the Old Barn Restaurant and Grill. They added a bar, outdoor patio, painted the exterior, developed a new menu with help from their family and friends, as well as many other updates. The Old Barn is also a great venue for wedding receptions, business events, and they even offer outside catering.

Starting in February, the restaurant will have live music on the weekends and there will even be a “Sweetheart Buffet” to celebrate Valentine’s Day!

You can check out all of the details at the restaurant’s website: oldbarnlima.com

Love (n.); an intense feeling of deep affection. With February being the month of love, the Williams family represents this word in so many aspects of their life. They have a true love for sports, adventure, business, and most importantly, their love for one another and their community.