Brewser's -- All in the Family
Coming from a long family of restaurateurs, one couldn’t imagine Gene Welsh doing anything else. And how could one of his best friends, Daniel Hauer, not come along for the ride? Together Gene and Dan will be running the newly opened Brewser’s Sports Grille in Coal Township, Northumberland County. Opening the doors of their restaurant for business, though, was not as simple as one growing up around the business might think.
D & G Ventures, Inc., Gene’s parents’ business, had an ending contract with the Bonanza franchise of restaurants. This was a business they were willing to let go, not desiring to renew their contract. However, they were able to keep the business in the family.
Denise and Eugene Welsh Jr. offered the building to their son as a chance to begin his own entrepreneurial career, and he took it. He partnered with Dan almost immediately, and the idea for Brewser’s began to take shape.
The pair decided to take the restaurant in a different direction; they saw a need in the area to provide a family oriented restaurant with the ability to make decent revenues. With their main target customer as sports enthusiasts who enjoy a drink with their meals and a large screen tv to watch the game, they maintain the family atmosphere. “We wanted to give back to the community by creating an atmosphere where you would not be afraid to come in with your children at 10 p.m. for an appetizer after a football game.
Early in their process they ran into problems in bringing this vision to fruition. In the initial loan application process, M & T Bank directed the partners to the Bucknell University’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC). Gene and Dan had already generated a business plan, but after their first session with the SBDC, they knew they could make some improvements and provide more details to help the bank understand that they had thought through their business.” Thanks to the SBDC ‘s help we were able to better focus on the details needed to make this a success”.
The SBDC also helped in preparing pro forma financial statements to use in the business plan and loan application. In a matter of a few months, the pair had improved their plan and returned to the bank for the loan. The bank took longer than expected in approving their loan, however, and the amount of the loan dropped considerably at the bank’s discretion. Here was another problem: reduced funds to make the necessary renovations to the old Bonanza building.
The family oriented business returned to its roots and perhaps karma kicked in. D & G Ventures, Inc. provided a large investment into the restaurant to ensure enough funds to complete the renovations which took longer than expected over the summer of 2008.
Now, Brewser’s is up and running, serving the community and their target customers. This new venture not only saved the jobs of 20 people, it now provides employment for 50. Two friends from the community are giving back to the community in a way that they love and enjoy. They were pleased to report that sales have doubled with their “Cheers”-like atmosphere.
