Business Ventures
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Steel City Coffee House
In 2002, myself and three friends formed a buisness partnership and decided to invest in downtown Phoenixville. The downtown historic district was just starting to realize revitalization with major renovations to the Vaudeville era theatre, The Colonail Theatre, and the introduction of a new eatery, Black Lab Bistro. It was rumored that the long abandoned steel mill property (in excess of 100 acres) that sat in the middle of the borough would be the site of new construction and that the foundry (the only building left on that property) would be totally renovated. In addition, it was reported that SEPTA would build a Philadelphia to Reading Regional Rail Line that would have a stop, literally, two blocks from the downtown area. We felt that the time was right to invest in the downtown business community.
The actual company, Steel City Coffee House did exist in 2002 at 203 Bridge Street (corner of Bridge and Main). The location had been a shoe store (Fazzini Shoes) for about 50 years until a fire swept through the property in the mid-1990's. The first owner and founder of Steel City Coffee House worked with the landlord to fully renovate the property to include a first floor coffeehouse. He opened around 1997, but struggled with the business until about 2000. He then put the business and contents of the business for sale. During that time my business partners and I had walked past the property, pressing our noses up against the window, claiming how it was the perfect location for a coffeehouse.
So in May 2002, I started and L.L.C. with my three friends and started to build a business plan. In October 2002, (in spite of being denied a loan by the first bank we went to and the tragic and unexpected death of our business attorney just days before signing on the sale of the business) we bought the business, which at this time really only included the rights to the name and the contents of the business. We were able to get it for very little money due to the fact the business had been closed for two years and really had never established a reputation.
It certainly didn't happen over night, but over the next 8 years, Steel City Coffee House blossomed into a busy coffeehouse and music venue, and is today considered one of the top small music venues in the Philadelphia area. We were named "Best of Philly" in 2005 by Philadelphia Magazine and "Best of the Main Line & Western Suburbs" by Main Line Today in 2010. The business was credited with bringing other buinesses into the area and in fact, many of the deals that were struck between landlords and business tenents on the Bridge Street were negotiated inside our coffeehouse.
During the years, we saw great development in Phoenixville, including the addition of Iron Hill Brewery, Molly Maguire's, the refurbishment of the Columbia Bar & Grille, the addition of great restaurants like Majolica and Marly's. We also saw the addition of great new businesses like Wolfgang Books, Hipster Home, Diving Cat Studios, the Phoenix Village Art Center (non-profit), Gould Frame, Country Charm Furnishings, Handcrafted Cookie Company, Potomac Bead Company, Black Walnut Winery,and service businsses like Fashionista's Salon and Salon Fibre. Along with that came the reality and sadness of business that started and went out of business within a year. The recession, which started in October 2008 and from which we have not fully recovered, certainly did not help matters. Political in-fighting and the misappropriation of tax payer money has not helped either.
In 2010, seeing that the financial climate was not changing and realizing that Phoenixville was not realizing it's full potential, the remaining partners in Steel City Coffee House decided to sell our business. In addition, as the general manger of the business,the day-to-day operations of the business were interfering with my ability to pursue my personal goal of finishing my Ph.D. in Criminal Justice. We were fortunate to have an employee who was interested and motivated to keep Steel City Coffee House a true community coffeehouse while realizing it's additional value as a small and well-loved music venue. In June 2010, we sold the coffeehouse to one of our employees.
So what did I learn in the 8 years of running a business? A lot! My duties at the business ran the full gamet. I was an active participant owner, meaning that I did the dishes and swept the floors just like the other employees, but I did scheduling, inventory, marketing, payroll, accounting, and during several points in the ownership, I booked the venue with entertainment. What did I love about the business? I loved the sense of community that developed from Steel City Coffee House. Everyone knew about the coffeehouse and treated it as a community gem. Being the owner of a coffeehouse music venue really brought music into my life. Prior to the coffeehouse experience, my life had lacked music. I had not been exposed to a wide variety of music as a young person, in fact, my selection of music had been severely restricted by my mother who felt that much of the music in the 1970's was "secular". At one time in my early teens, I remember my record collection included John Denver, The Boone Sisters (Pat Boone's daughters), and Anne Murray. So, later, when I got out of the house I had to play catch up to understand who people were talking about (Elton John, Billie Joel, etc.). And it took me much later to understand and come to apprecite music of different genre's. So, I really credit ownership of the coffeehouse with bringing music into my life.
What else did I love about the coffeehouse? I loved the interactions with the musicians and seeing the musicians grow and change throughout the years. We hosted a number of artists that have gone on to bigger and better, including Melody Gardot (one of my favorite artists), Amos Lee, Sharon Little, and Hoots & Hellmouth. You just never know when an artist is going to blow up. The coffeehouse also allowed the opportunity for me to meet many tenured artists who are legends in both the Philadelphia area or in American music history. Very few people can say they have worked with the likes of: Robert Hazard (RIP), Eric Bazillian (of the Hooters), Jonathan Edwards, Johnny A., Graham Parker, Duke Robillard, Kaki King, Patti Larkin, Francis Dunnery, David Sancious, and many, many more. I am very greatful for the opportunity I had to meet and work with these artists. I also enjoyed the friendships throughout the years with the employees, many of whom I still have contact with.
In 2002, myself and three friends formed a buisness partnership and decided to invest in downtown Phoenixville. The downtown historic district was just starting to realize revitalization with major renovations to the Vaudeville era theatre, The Colonail Theatre, and the introduction of a new eatery, Black Lab Bistro. It was rumored that the long abandoned steel mill property (in excess of 100 acres) that sat in the middle of the borough would be the site of new construction and that the foundry (the only building left on that property) would be totally renovated. In addition, it was reported that SEPTA would build a Philadelphia to Reading Regional Rail Line that would have a stop, literally, two blocks from the downtown area. We felt that the time was right to invest in the downtown business community.
The actual company, Steel City Coffee House did exist in 2002 at 203 Bridge Street (corner of Bridge and Main). The location had been a shoe store (Fazzini Shoes) for about 50 years until a fire swept through the property in the mid-1990's. The first owner and founder of Steel City Coffee House worked with the landlord to fully renovate the property to include a first floor coffeehouse. He opened around 1997, but struggled with the business until about 2000. He then put the business and contents of the business for sale. During that time my business partners and I had walked past the property, pressing our noses up against the window, claiming how it was the perfect location for a coffeehouse.
So in May 2002, I started and L.L.C. with my three friends and started to build a business plan. In October 2002, (in spite of being denied a loan by the first bank we went to and the tragic and unexpected death of our business attorney just days before signing on the sale of the business) we bought the business, which at this time really only included the rights to the name and the contents of the business. We were able to get it for very little money due to the fact the business had been closed for two years and really had never established a reputation.
It certainly didn't happen over night, but over the next 8 years, Steel City Coffee House blossomed into a busy coffeehouse and music venue, and is today considered one of the top small music venues in the Philadelphia area. We were named "Best of Philly" in 2005 by Philadelphia Magazine and "Best of the Main Line & Western Suburbs" by Main Line Today in 2010. The business was credited with bringing other buinesses into the area and in fact, many of the deals that were struck between landlords and business tenents on the Bridge Street were negotiated inside our coffeehouse.
During the years, we saw great development in Phoenixville, including the addition of Iron Hill Brewery, Molly Maguire's, the refurbishment of the Columbia Bar & Grille, the addition of great restaurants like Majolica and Marly's. We also saw the addition of great new businesses like Wolfgang Books, Hipster Home, Diving Cat Studios, the Phoenix Village Art Center (non-profit), Gould Frame, Country Charm Furnishings, Handcrafted Cookie Company, Potomac Bead Company, Black Walnut Winery,and service businsses like Fashionista's Salon and Salon Fibre. Along with that came the reality and sadness of business that started and went out of business within a year. The recession, which started in October 2008 and from which we have not fully recovered, certainly did not help matters. Political in-fighting and the misappropriation of tax payer money has not helped either.
In 2010, seeing that the financial climate was not changing and realizing that Phoenixville was not realizing it's full potential, the remaining partners in Steel City Coffee House decided to sell our business. In addition, as the general manger of the business,the day-to-day operations of the business were interfering with my ability to pursue my personal goal of finishing my Ph.D. in Criminal Justice. We were fortunate to have an employee who was interested and motivated to keep Steel City Coffee House a true community coffeehouse while realizing it's additional value as a small and well-loved music venue. In June 2010, we sold the coffeehouse to one of our employees.
So what did I learn in the 8 years of running a business? A lot! My duties at the business ran the full gamet. I was an active participant owner, meaning that I did the dishes and swept the floors just like the other employees, but I did scheduling, inventory, marketing, payroll, accounting, and during several points in the ownership, I booked the venue with entertainment. What did I love about the business? I loved the sense of community that developed from Steel City Coffee House. Everyone knew about the coffeehouse and treated it as a community gem. Being the owner of a coffeehouse music venue really brought music into my life. Prior to the coffeehouse experience, my life had lacked music. I had not been exposed to a wide variety of music as a young person, in fact, my selection of music had been severely restricted by my mother who felt that much of the music in the 1970's was "secular". At one time in my early teens, I remember my record collection included John Denver, The Boone Sisters (Pat Boone's daughters), and Anne Murray. So, later, when I got out of the house I had to play catch up to understand who people were talking about (Elton John, Billie Joel, etc.). And it took me much later to understand and come to apprecite music of different genre's. So, I really credit ownership of the coffeehouse with bringing music into my life.
What else did I love about the coffeehouse? I loved the interactions with the musicians and seeing the musicians grow and change throughout the years. We hosted a number of artists that have gone on to bigger and better, including Melody Gardot (one of my favorite artists), Amos Lee, Sharon Little, and Hoots & Hellmouth. You just never know when an artist is going to blow up. The coffeehouse also allowed the opportunity for me to meet many tenured artists who are legends in both the Philadelphia area or in American music history. Very few people can say they have worked with the likes of: Robert Hazard (RIP), Eric Bazillian (of the Hooters), Jonathan Edwards, Johnny A., Graham Parker, Duke Robillard, Kaki King, Patti Larkin, Francis Dunnery, David Sancious, and many, many more. I am very greatful for the opportunity I had to meet and work with these artists. I also enjoyed the friendships throughout the years with the employees, many of whom I still have contact with.