Weathering the Economic Storm
It's no secret that our industry has experienced a veritable economic hurricane this past year. According to many experts, we're still in the eye of the storm, and won't see any distinct clear skies until sometime in 2011. All is not doom and gloom, however. Many operators are thriving right now, due to smart business acumen, the ability to adjust to the current economic climate, advantageous use of reduced construction and rental costs and other strategies that appear in this story and others in this issue.
by Mary Daggett

During the last half of the 19th century and first half of the 20th, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula was a bustling, lucrative copper mining center. The Calumet and Hecla Mining Company was one of the major companies in the entire nation, run by Boston mining barons. Its competitor, the Quincy Mine, was founded with investments also coming from Massachusetts, hence the name “Quincy”, after the Massachusetts city of the same name. In 1908, Robert Grasseschi’s great-grandfather died in the Quincy Mine. “He was electrocuted far underground,” said Grasseschi. “The Michigan mines cut as far as two miles down into the earth. The temperatures reached as high as 93 degrees at the bottom of the mineshafts.” When Grasseschi bought a restaurant in 2000, he named it Quincy’s Restaurant & Lounge, in honor of the mine, which was on the South Shore of Lake Superior near today’s town of Hancock. The restaurant is in nearby Dollar Bay, about five miles away.

Sports Arenas – Magnets for the Masses
When you think of the places that attract swarms of people year in and year out, the sports arena is on the short list. Ancient Romans rooted for their favorites in chariot races at the Colosseum. Three thousand years ago in Mesoamerica, the Mayans gathered in arenas to watch the game of pitz, a distant cousin to soccer, played with the world's first rubber balls. One wanted to end up on the winning team in pitz-the captain of the losing team was sacrificed to the gods. Spectator sports have played a major role in the human lifestyle down through the ages, although thankfully they have become more civilized. Today, athletes aren't sacrificed; in fact, the great ones are truly idolized. Brett Favre, Tiger Woods and LeBron James make headlines nearly as often as world leaders.
by Mary Daggett

Sports arenas are hallowed ground in America. Storied places such as Lambeau Field in Green Bay, the Brickyard in Indianapolis and Wrigley Field in Chicago pack in thousands of faithful fans year after year. Sports fans naturally want to slake their thirst and satisfy their appetites in anticipation of a sporting event, or to celebrate a hard-won victory afterward at a nearby eating and drinking establishment. The following Reinhart customers illustrate why catering to the local sports fans is a real boon to their bottom line.

IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK...
How many times have you been disheartened to learn that a precious historic property has tragically been wasted by the wrecking ball? In this story, we’ll take a journey back in time with operators who recognize the historic value and beauty in preservation and tradition, and who have turned their historic properties into iconic landmarks. While the past is truly present in these operations, the current operators are very much with the times in terms of savvy business practices, menu excellence, careful restoration and modernization and the continued importance of fine customer service.
by Mary Daggett
The Wild, Wild West
The West didn’t come much wilder than Deadwood, South Dakota. Wild Bill Hickok was shot here, pretty dance-hall girls served up whisky as leather-tough cowboys stomped their boots in the sawdust along with the music. Wait a minute . . . that’s what’s happening today and every day at Saloon #10 and the Deadwood Social Club. From 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., visitors to this living museum can relive those thrilling days of yesteryear. Over a hundred years’ worth of historical western and mining camp artifacts festoon the walls and the bar. Louie Lalonde is one of the owners of this storied place today, expanding on what her parents, Lew and Marion Keehn, established over 50 years ago.

DINING ALFRESCO: A FEAST FOR THE SENSES
There is something simply irresistible about dining out-of-doors. Mother Nature provides the ideal atmosphere to titillate the senses. Operators must set the stage with great food, drink and comfortable outdoor furnishings, but the rest of the sights, sounds and scents come naturally—and free of charge. Even more compelling is dining alfresco with a view of water—whether that be an ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, a lake, river or pond. Operators blessed with ample sidewalk space to accommodate a few tables, or those with back-yard or side-yard space enough to accommodate a patio or deck, ought to put that space to good use. The operators mentioned here all reap the benefits of alfresco dining.
by Mary Daggett
There’s a “Catch” to Angelo’s Success
Back in 1945, George D. Petrandis built George’s Café and Bar on pilings located over Florida’s Ochlocknee Bay in order to be in the “wet” county of Franklin, whose border lay on the north bank of the bay. It soon became a popular “watering hole.” As more and more people tasted the wonderful fresh seafood, it became a favorite dining destination as well. This was the beginning of what is today called Angelo & Sons Seafood Restaurant, in Panacea, Florida, near Tallahassee. Angelo is George’s son, and as a boy, he cooked hushpuppies while standing on a box in his father’s kitchen. Also as a boy, he learned to broil steaks and seafood, along with his brothers, Jimmy and Johnny. The boys’ mother Bulah and Aunt Helen served tables. Angelo and his wife Arline ran the restaurant from 1985 until 2002, when Angelo’s son Thomas and his wife Jenny took over. The recipes used today include many that have been passed down for three generations.