With new restaurant, Southwick's Zoo enters next phase
Photo | Savannah Donohue
Southwick's Zoo has added in-depth video content and an interactive map to its website so potential visitors can get a better look at its offerings.
On one side of Galliford's Restaurant and Tavern – Southwick's Zoo's new restaurant – is a view of the African plains exhibit, giving the restaurant a mini-animal kingdom lodge feel. Visitors can sit overlooking a mixed enclosure watching ostriches and zebras while eating a bowl of chowder.
In March, Galliford's became the zoo's first ever full-service food establishment. Named after Robert Galliford Brewer – the father of Betsy Brewer, zoo co-owner and vice president of marketing – it specializes in New England comfort food, with seasonal menus.
“It was something to help our visitors,” said Brewer. “They used to have to leave to eat, and the kids were all cranky. This will just be a nice way to end the day.”
For what's new at Southwick's, Galliford's is just the tip of the iceberg. The Mendon zoo is in the midst of a long-term rebranding project, with the help of Worcester marketing agency Envision Digital Group. A new website, more digital advertising and updated commercials are in the works.
Southwick's visitation has doubled over the past 10 years, and it is expecting 500,000 visitors this year, making it the busiest tourist attraction in Central Massachusetts. The goal of the rebranding is to better appeal to the changing population of zoo goers, said Brewer.
“The rebranding is timely with some of the newest updating,” said Jeannie Hebert, president and CEO of the Blackstone Valley Chamber of Commerce. “The zoo is a big part of the area, and it is tremendous for tourism.”
A family business
Southwick's Zoo was founded in 1963 by Brewer's grandfather, Justin Southwick, and has remained a family business, so Brewer grew up there.
“I remember stories of having baby tigers in her laundry room and feeding [them] every few hours until they could be on their own,” said Hebert.
Brewer's grandfather had a passion for waterfowl, often going to fairs to show his exotic birds, said Brewer.
Originally called the Southwick's Animal Farm, the zoo started with Brewer's grandfather taking donations from people who wanted to see his birds, before expanding to other animals. Today the Southwick's Zoo covers 200 acres and had 450,000 visitors last year, its busiest year to date. The exhibits have shifted to mixed enclosure, which contain more than one kind of animal, with its largest being its 50-acre elk wellands.
“We learned more about animals over the years. We want to do what is best for them,” said Brewer.
What's changing
The new logo, designed by Southwick's Manager of Marketing Rebecca Mansfield, is simple with the zoo's name next to a stylised lion's face. It replaces the old orange-and-black logo featuring silhouettes of animals.
A new website is expected to launch within the next month and a half, said Kham Inthirath, founder and president of Envision Digital Group, which helped with the rebranding. The new website will be easier to use and include an interactive map to help potential zoo goers design a personalized itinerary.
In addition, Envision plans to help Southwick's create immersive video content on the exhibits and programs, as well as a video on the zoo history.
Dedication to the environment
Within all the changes, however, the Southwick's Zoo has remained committed to education and conservation, said Brewer, who, in addition to her zoo duties, is the founder and executive director of Mendon nonprofit EARTH Ltd., which works with Southwick's to provide educational and conservation programs. The zoo plans to expand these programs in the future.
One of EARTH's more popular programs is the rhino encounter, focusing on rhino conservation, said Brewer. White rhinos remain threatened due to poaching and habitat loss. Guests can sign up online to learn about the changing plant and conservation before getting to meet the Southwick's Zoo's two rhinos, Thelma and Louise.
“EARTH Ltd. is really delving into the rhino issue. We need to educate people. If you educate the public, good things will happen,” said Hebert.
The zoo is installing an educational maze on conservation and habitat for its small otters, as well as adding exhibits for red river hog, the racoon-like coati, and three-banded armadillo.
Galliford's impact
Conservation extends to Galliford's, which uses organic produce and wild caught seafood. The restaurant is heated by a geothermal heat pump system installed by New Hampshire firm Design Day Mechanicals Inc.
The system brings heat up from the ground in the winter and puts heat back into the ground in the summer.
As a result, Galliford's uses no fossil fuels to heat its building, saving approximately 15,376 kilowatt hours a year in electricity consumption, enough to power about 15 homes.
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