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A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, Groce-Bibby has worked in the kitchens of the Castle Hill Inn, Ocean House and Weekapuag Inn, all award-winning luxury hotels in Rhode Island. She also worked in the executive dining room at the Morgan Stanley Building in Times Square, where she met her husband, chef Tyrone Bibby.

After a few years of what she called "chasing money a little too much," however, Hannah and Tyrone wanted to slow down and find a house. So they looked to her hometown: Auburn.

It was there that Groce-Bibby, now 27, used to follow her father, chef Stephen Groce, to work at Balloons Restaurant and the Owasco Country Club. In high school, she worked under Duffy Mastropietro at Michael's Restaurant while taking cooking classes at Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES and participating in SkillsUSA.

Back in the city where she fell in love with cooking, Groce-Bibby realized something about herself: She's never going to slow down. And after all her time working in others' kitchens, that meant having her own.

Groce-Bibby reached the point where she felt comfortable buying a restaurant while working for Sean and Beth Lattimore at the Springside Inn in Fleming. Their tutelage filled in the unforeseeable blanks left by her Culinary Institute of America program, she said, such as the basics of profit and loss.

Once word got around that Groce-Bibby was in the market for an Auburn restaurant, owners began making offers. She went with leasing the Auburn Ale House, which , because he seemed most willing to help the first-time restaurateur get on her feet. 

Since taking ownership of the 288 Genesee St. business Oct. 1, Groce-Bibby has focused most on improving what she knows best: the food. First, she and the kitchen staff took apart its equipment and power-washed everything. Then she combed the restaurant's inventory, getting rid of some items and cutting down the menu accordingly.

"The menu was so big, the guys couldn't manage it and the kitchen crew was overwhelmed," she said.

Groce-Bibby has also begun adding items. Her method is introducing them as specials, and if they sell out in short enough a time, she'll install them on the menu.

A beef stroganoff dish she made for a customer's birthday became such a hit with diners that the kitchen can't keep up, she said. Applying her fine dining know-how, she designed a recipe that involves braising the beef in-house with liquid that's also homemade. Now, she's making fresh pasta for ravioli and another pilot dish.

"You can go anywhere and get a sandwich and wings," she said. "I'm just trying to work on more quality entrees."

By improving the Auburn Ale House's food, Groce-Bibby hopes, its daytime will become as busy as its nighttime. But as a beer enthusiast and home brewer herself, she's also made a play for craft drinkers by adding beers made by , of Weedsport, and , of Auburn.

While the restaurant's regulars have taken to Groce-Bibby and her changes so far, new faces have come through its doors due to word-of-mouth about the new food. Lois Hollibaugh, a bartender and server for two years at the restaurant, said Groce-Bibby's efforts are clear to both customers and staff.

"I love her. She's tough when need be, but she's amazing," she said. "I love that she loves what she does and puts her everything into what comes out of the kitchen."

Groce-Bibby is also working to speed up the restaurant's service, which had developed a reputation for being slow, she said. She anticipates that some of the other changes she makes might rankle regular customers while welcoming new ones.

But under Groce-Bibby's ownership, she continued, the Auburn Ale House won't lose its identity. The screen-laden room will still get loud on NFL days — but with better food and beer, the noise will be more bearable now, she said.

"Little by little I'm going to start capturing a lot of different crowds," she said. "We're building it back up."