Cold beer, great service - Eskimo Joe's restaurant, Stillwater, Oklahoma - column

Nation's Business,  Sept, 1990  by Stan Clark

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Cold Beer, Great Service

I was in my apartment one Sunday afternoon watching TV when my best friend, Steve File, burst in, excited about his idea for a business: "I'm going to open a bar in Stillwater. All the bars here are doing just great!"

It was May 1975, and I was living in Stillwater, the home of Oklahoma State University, where two weeks earlier I had graduated with a business degree. I told Steve that his idea sounded great. "Let's go in partners!"

We drove right away to a vacant, two-story stone building near the OSU campus, a place I thought might be big enough, affordable, and in a good location for a bar. The owner happened to be there, and we struck a gentleman's agreement for a lease. That day our little beer bar was born.

In the 15 years since then, the "jumpin' little juke joint" we called Eskimo Joe's has grown into a full-service restaurant still famous for icy beer, cheese fries, and super service in an easygoing atmosphere. It also has been a springboard for two more restaurants and a retail and mail-order business selling casual clothes that all started with Eskimo Joe's T-shirts.

Restaurants and sportswear weren't in our plans, however, back in 1975 when Steve and I put together about $10,000 - from personal savings and a bank loan - to open the bar. We got some used tables and chairs (nothing over $5), remodeled the building's interior, and chose a name for our establishment. Steve insisted on "Eskimo Joe's" to underscore our claim that we had the coldest beer in town. We asked a graphics design student at OSU, Bill Thompson, for ideas for a logo. We liked his first rendering of an Eskimo and his dog so much that we bought it immediately - for $35. We also ordered 72 T-shirts with the new logo. I didn't think we could sell that many in a year, but we sold out the first week!

We opened July 21, 1975, with rented tables and the $5 chairs, and with the things our customers wanted - a great stereo for free tunes, and a new walk-in cooler for ice-cold beer. I set out to befriend every customer, because Steve and I wanted to give Eskimo Joe's a welcome-home kind of feeling. We turned a profit the very first month.

In 1978, Steve left Eskimo Joe's to try other businesses (he now runs a car dealership). I bought his half-interest and became sole proprietor. The staff and the revenues expanded steadily through 1984, when Eskimo Joe's really grew up.

Seeing room in Stillwater for an upscale, fresh-seafood restaurant with a "see-and-be-seen" atmosphere, I decided to open Stillwater Bay Oyster Co. Around that time, Oklahoma raised the age for drinking beer from 18 to 21. Suddenly, most of Eskimo Joe's customers would be underage for beer, so I had kitchens installed in March. In September, Stillwater Bay opened its doors. Overnight, we were in the restaurant business, and our reputation depended on the quality of food and service provided.

In 1987, after Stillwater Bay had proved a success, I opened a full-service, Sonoran-style Mexican restaurant called Mexico Joe's. The idea was to serve excellent Mexican food in a fun atmosphere, and it worked.

That year we also expanded "Joe's Clothes." Our sideline of selling T-shirts had grown to brisk, over-the-bar sales of sweatshirts, rugby shirts, caps, and other printed sportswear. So in September 1987 I opened a retail store and mail-order operation - Joe's Clothes World Headquarters, adjoining Eskimo Joe's. The product line was enlarged with items such as sweats, dresses, and children's clothing. We have an extensive catalog, and we ship worldwide.

Eskimo Joe's and the ventures that have grown from it are prospering for the same reasons that any business succeeds: We regard customers and employees alike as the firm's most important assets.

If you take a personal interest in your employees, they in turn will take a personal interest in your company. And when they feel they have a stake in the success of the firm, it shows in their attitudes toward managers, fellow employees, and guests.

Our employees embrace the company philosophy that our customers - our guests - deserve the best service possible. All the marketing and promotion we do won't pay off if our guests are dissappointed. We must strive constantly to offer great service, a great product, great value for our prices, and a good time for our guests - the best value of all. We want Eskimo Joe's to mean more than just a good burger or a great place to hang out with your college friends on a Saturday night. We want it to mean excitement and enthusiasm.

This past July, at our annual anniversary celebration, about 38,000 people converged on this little college town to see old friends and just help us celebrate. You can't ask for better customers - better guests.

If you're an entrepreneur who spends time with your guests every day, if you're going out of your way to make them happy, they'll go out of their way for you.

PHOTO : Stan Clark outside Eskimo Joe's.

COPYRIGHT 1990 U.S. Chamber of Commerce
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