Hair on Fire!

We are screaming along now!  Busy, busy busy and thankful to be so!  There are so many folks who want to know whatever posessed us, two people with no food service industry to speak of, opening a business in a scary, risky part of the country-Northern, Wisconsin.  Frankly speaking, there are days when we want to know what possessed us too.

I could regale you with the stories of all of the adventures and mis-adventures to date, but I am guessing you can only imagine. 

There real story though, lies with people.  Our staff-  tenatious, determined and loyal.  We are humbled by their willingness to lay it all out there to help us succeed.  there is no way on earth we could do this without them.  It is our goal to relieve the extra stress and burden they have each shouldered so that they can enjoy every minute of the day with us.  Everyone gets along so well here.  That is virtually unheard of when working with different people from different places in a high stress environment.  When we get to flying through a busy night, we can still find time to tease and laugh a bit.  The chef and his staff in particular find a way to enjoy the hot, tiny kitchen and produce fabulous food that has built a name for us in just a few short weeks.

Our bartenders enjoy people, their stories and sharing the experience of really, really good beer.  Nothing thrills us all more than to create a new beer snob! 

The wait staff are superheros.  Two people handling a crowd like ours is never easy, but they manage to do it with style and grace.  I am amazed that there have not been any missteps- well, unless the novices like me are trying to lend a hand, but even then people are gracious and forgiving when I forget to re-fill a glass or forget to bring the ticket, for some reason my two biggest airhead moves.

But my husband has amazed me the most of all.  His move from career military man to long-haired host is a tranformation that has to be seen to be believed.  He loves to share his knowledge of craft beer with each and every guest and also loves to hear everyone's story.  "Where are you from?  How was your beer/meal?".  He wants to know.   I don't think anyone sneaks in and out without his thoughtful conversation.  There are times when he is very hard on himself for little things, times when he forgets the detail in the fast pace of the moment.  But to me, his gift of hospitality is anchored in his love for people and love for craft beer.

We need more help-  a few more partners in our journey.  We would love to have live music or other entertainment....so many ideas yet to be developed.  But today, I am feeling blessed.  People come more than once-  which tells us we are doing okay. 

Though we race through many days with our hair on fire, we are happy.  The future is bright and we hope to see you soon!