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What was your occupation prior to Beef's?

Stacy: I was a stay-at-home mom for 14 years to our three kids. Before our kids were born, I was a dental assistant.

Why did you become a Franchisee?

Stacy: We wanted to open our own business to have a second income that could pay for our children's college education. We didn't have Beef’s in Owensboro, in fact we'd never even heard of it. Barry found it online and the concept interested us. We drove to Louisville and visited several Beef's and fell in love with the idea of owning our own.

What's the best part of owning a Beef's?

Stacy: The best part of the Beef's family is that there is always someone to contact when we need help or if we have any questions. We would never have been successful if we weren't part of the Beef's franchise family. Without the structure of a menu, pricing, purchasing, support, etc. there is no way we would've lasted even one year. We celebrated 12 years of business last April!

Does community involvement play a role in your success?

Stacy: Being involved in our community is my favorite part of owning a Beef's in the town where Barry and I grew up. We always donate to every school, church, and other organizations whenever they ask. We may not be able to donate in exactly the way they ask, but I work with them to figure out a way we can help. Besides fundraisers (spirit nights), we rarely donate cash or pay for sponsorships in cash. Instead, we give gift certificates in increments of $10 for the same monetary value. This assures that we will get a return from the team or school we sponsored.

Whenever we hold fundraisers for people in need who live in our community, I love it when the individual is able to be at Beef's to see the place packed in support of them. They are always overwhelmed and it's a privilege to be able to hand them a donation check to help them in their time of need.

What was your occupation prior to The Brass Tap?

Sid: Prior to opening The Brass Tap, I owned a beer and wine shop in McKinney, TX with my brother.  A love of craft beer made me want to expand my horizons. I own four Brass Tap locations. The first Brass Tap is in Allen, TX.  We then expanded into Prosper, TX, followed by Frisco, TX and opened a fourth location in Cross Roads, TX.  We have plans to continue expanding.

What made you decide on The Brass Tap specifically?

Sid: When we opened our shop in 2010, there weren’t many craft breweries or places to get craft beer, and by 2011 the industry was blowing up.  Now, there are about 30 breweries in our immediate area and more than 120 in the state of Texas.  The whole craft beer industry has changed. Back in the day, we didn’t have many local breweries. Truth is, the closer a bar is to a brewery, the more popular those beers are, and as a result, we carry Tupps and Rollertown, on tap. We like to support local breweries and that’s what people like as well. The Brass Tap is known for its large selection of draught beer and our craft beer menu rotates.  What makes us unique is that we don’t keep the same beer on tap all the time. Out of 80 taps, we have about 11 that stay all the time. The rest of them always rotate. Every time you come in, you have something else to try so you can expand your palate.

What else does The Brass Tap offer?

Sid: Beer is not the only thing The Brass Tap has to offer.  The most popular menu item is the Boom Boom Shrimp, which features beer-battered shrimp tossed in a signature sauce.  The restaurant recently added pizza to its menu, which has also been popular with patrons. In addition, the restaurant is launching a food truck menu.  It’s not necessarily smaller portions, it’s just a better value.

What makes The Brass Tap special?

Sid: Customer service is what sets The Brass Tap apart from other restaurants.  We take customer service seriously.  Our employees are well-trained and ready to help.  Each employee has knowledge in craft beer and they are ready to answer any questions or make recommendations based on customer tastes and preferences. If you are into craft beer, or even if you have never had a craft beer, we have something for everybody.

You owned another franchise before deciding to "retire." Which one?

Skip: I got into the Popeyes brand. Over the course of 13 years, I built, opened, and purchased at least 13 restaurants.

After selling those locations and retiring, you changed your mind about retirement and decided to go in a new direction?

Skip: My son is 20 years old, and he’s been in the business with me since he was 15, so I wanted to do something to continue to help him develop, follow in my footsteps, and then set his own path. That’s when we got to looking at the Newk’s brand. It’s a Mississippi-based brand, and it’s a household name here. Everybody knows and loves Newk’s. So, I reached out to the new franchise team, and was welcomed with open arms.

What attracted you to Newk’s?

Skip: I’ve known Newk’s ever since it was first around: I knew McAlister’s Deli, which was the first brand that the Newcomb family founded, so when they came out with the Newk’s brand, it really appealed to me. It’s a step above, and it’s great food, great leadership, management, service, and a great reputation in Mississippi. It’s a good bit above the fast-food industry, which I’ve always been in, and that’s why I wanted to get involved with it, and be able to offer something a little nicer, and a little more family friendly.

How are you approaching the franchise as father and son?

Skip: This is our first business venture together. My son just graduated college in May, of this year, from University of Southern Mississippi with his bachelor's degree in restaurant management and business management. He’s loved the restaurant brand ever since he started working, and he's always wanted to follow along behind me and try to have the same successes that I've had. I’m mentoring him and I’m guiding him to try to be as successful as he can be. Our agreement is to build six new restaurants together, and the more he gets to know about the business, the more he can start handling things himself.

We hear your grand opening was a big success. Tell us more.

Skip: The response by the community was overwhelming. It's a small town of only about 5,000 people, but we have a main thoroughfare through town that funnels people… if you live North or just a bit east or west of the Mississippi River, you have to come through Magee to get there.

There are people from all over: Missouri, Chicago, Illinois, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, on their way traveling and on vacation. So, when we talk about how the store has been received, with only 5,000 people in our town, it’s been an overwhelming response and has exceeded our expectations. For those people just passing through, we always say if we can get them to stop one time, and eat our food and enjoy our service, we’ll get them when they come back, and we’ll catch them every year. I’m not just marketing to people in our town, I’m marketing to travelers from all over the country.