Freeland taproom, smokehouse offers slow-roasted eats

Much like a hunk of meat in the smoker, the idea for The Barnyard has been cooking for a while.

Owner Lisa Carvey opened her newest restaurant and taproom in Freeland at the end of 2025, taking over the space that had previously belonged to Greenbank Cidery and before that, the now-shuttered Penn Cove Brewing Company.

Over the past four years, while the two different beverage businesses operated at the location, Carvey ran a fried chicken food truck and a hot dog cart. She had been planning to add a smokehouse to the mix, and final permitting had just finished at the end of summer when she heard that the cidery was planning on closing. She made a swift decision to take over the taproom.

Because of these unexpected circumstances, she took a piecemeal and somewhat unconventional approach to expanding The Barnyard. A space in the back that had originally been used for brewing was turned into a commissary kitchen, where food is prepped before heading to the food truck on the premises where cooking is completed.

“In hindsight, it would have been lovely to put a real kitchen in there because then we would have been able to just serve from that space, but we just didn’t know,” Carvey said.

She believes the key to making the spot successful is having both food and beverages under the same cohesive business, rather than under two.

“I’m really hoping third time’s a charm and we can do really well throughout the year, rather than just relying on the summers and having it be so quiet the rest of the seasons,” Carvey said. “So far, so good.”

Compared to The Braeburn, Carvey’s full-service restaurant in downtown Langley that attracts more tourists and foot traffic, The Barnyard is a laid-back watering hole whose regular customers mostly seem to live nearby.

On a recent unseasonably warm winter afternoon, Freeland residents Derek and Kaitlin Robinson cozied up around the firepit with their 12-year-old pitbull mix, Aggie. With a peekaboo view of Holmes Harbor and mountains on both sides on a clear day, the views out in the yard don’t get much better.

“This is one of our favorite places around here,” Kaitlin said.

Smoked pork and beef sandwiches and pub fare like mac and cheese, tater tots and pretzels complement the 20 taps, which are mostly beer but also include root beer and cider.

“We have a keg of theirs on all the time,” Carvey said of Greenbank Cidery, which closed its taproom to focus on production.

The same month The Barnyard opened, Carvey celebrated her 15th anniversary as the owner of The Braeburn. She credited community members for helping to get the smokehouse and taproom open. Tables came from Prima Bistro in Langley, and the owner of Turnco Wood Goods in Clinton found church pews from a 1920 Baptist church in Tacoma.

“I didn’t have a budget really because I didn’t think we were gonna be opening a whole new thing this fall,” Carvey said.

A Greenbank resident, she now splits her time between Braeburn and Barnyard.

“I’ve been in restaurants since I was 14 years old,” she said.

Carvey has grand plans for the warmer months ahead, including the return of the Wiener Wagon and live music, which will be at a respectful volume for neighbors. Trivia nights will be starting on Wednesdays, and Carvey just launched a Barnyard Members Club. For an annual fee of $250, members get 10% discounts on all purchases and access to a special rooftop appreciation night, among other perks. Enrollment is open through Feb. 28.

For more information, visit thebarnyardwhidbey.com.