Bar and restaurant owner Mike Nash
is betting on the success of the new Mr. B's
in West Bloomfield.
Mike Nash holds a quick
business meeting.
accounts with college buddy-
turned-business partner Mar-
ty Tuchman. Together they
purchased a tiny aisle bar.
Employing lessons learned at
Fisher Hill, the partners'
choice of location in Rochester
was not based on a nearby in-
dustry, but rather on accessi-
ble parking, visibility from a
major artery, as well as
seating and expansion
capacity.
Though their new 40-seater
had potential, it proved too
small. Risking everything,
Mr. Nash and Mr. Tuchman
took out a loan to double the
bar's size.
"It was a great financial
undertaking for both of us.
Nobody would give us a mor-
tgage," Mr. Nash says.
Finally, the partners struck
up a deal with a local bank.
"The fellow there made us
sign personally for
everything. Our house,
whatever we had we signed
away and used that as col-
lateral for mortgage money,"
Mr. Nash says.
"If we hadn't made it, it
would've been a disaster," Mr.
Nash says. "But if you're a
true entrepreneur, there
comes a point when it's all
out on the line. You have to
have vision. You have to have
guts. There's no two ways
about it."
So the tiny dive expanded
and immediately shored up
profits. Today, Mr. B's Food
and Spirits in Rochester seats
400 guests and covers 8,000
square feet. According to Mr.
Nash and Mr. Tuchman, the
gamble was well worth it.
"It was a success the
minute we expanded. After-
wards we started to gain
momentum," Mr. Nash says.
The momentum brought op-
portunities. Mr. B's Bloom-
field opened its doors only
three months after Monterrey
began business in downtown
Royal Oak, standing kitty-
corner to yet another Mr. B's.
The partners emphasize
they do not own links of a
restaurant/bar chain. Theirs
is a restaurant/bar group.
Menus vary. Decor and am-
bience reflect the tastes of
respective owners, they say.
"When you walk into each
restaurant, you're not walk-
ing into a rubber stamp," Mr.
Tuchman says. "Each one
takes on the personalities of
the people running it."
Garnished with overgrown
chili peppers dangling from
ceiling hooks, Monterrey com-
bines Soho and Mexico to
create a hip cantina at-
mosphere. Though it caters
primarily to a casual crowd,
patrons range from sedate
families to garrulous groups
of bachelors, toasting the
engaged with pitchers of
margaritas.
Manager Rob Banish
describes Monterrey as "more
restaurant than bar," whereas
Mr. B's are just the opposite.
So far, the Mr. B's in
Rochester, Royal Oak and
Troy are partying spots chief-
ly for people in their mid-20s
to early 40s. With large-
screen TVs tuned into athletic
events, a jukebox, and video
games, the bar/restaurants
lure the free-spirited and
sports-fanatic into a den of
din and drinks. Although the
new Mr. B's touts an upscale
menu to attract area diners,
Mr. Nash expects the latest
location to double as a bar
like the others.
Even without a kosher
menu, Mr. B's in West Bloom-
field may well become a
hangout. Rob Jackier, vice
president of the Mr. B's
Restaurant Group and part-
ner in three ventures,
predicts that the facility
will draw young Jewish
customers.
"But we don't want to drive
away non-Jewish and older
guests," he says. "We are not
targeting, per se, a Jewish
clientele; but we expect our
clientele to be largely
Jewish."
Mr. Nash is the president of
the Mr. B's Restaurant Group.
His partners in West Bloom-
field include vice presidents
Mr. Tuchman and Mr.
Jackier, and two new
operators, Randy Banish and
Holli Day. They recognize
that the new location has a
menacing track record.
Formerly the site of Confettis,
the site hasn't always been
graced with profits. To com-
pound matters, tough
economic times are hurting
restaurant profits every-
where.
"It's like we're walking
through a minefield and all
around us are burned-out
hulks," Mr. Nash says.
Nevertheless, Mr. Nash
snatched up the West Bloom-
field lease as soon as he heard
about it. He claims to defy
hard times by heeding the
lessons of the late Jewish
financier, Bernard Baruch:
Advance while others are
retreating.
Another pet rule of thumb
pertains to owners, Mr. Nash
says. Working partners are
key to high employee morale
and efficiency, he stresses. He
says that money for new
undertakings comes straight
from partners' pocketbooks.
"We don't go in leveraged,"
he says, citing a capital cost
of over $750,000 for Mr. B's
Workmen complete construction at Mr. B's, which opened at
the end of May.
Bloomfield. "You decrease
your chances of making it the
more debt you have."
Mr. Nash also warns
against the three "Ls": Li-
quor, ladies, and lucre. He
says they come with the ter-
ritory, bankrupting many a
good bar owner.
"This business is theater.
The more successful you are,
the more energy is in the
room, and the more theatrical
it gets," he says "The Ls
become the environment in
which you work. You've got to
have discipline with all
three?' •
Dubious temptations con-
tinually challenge a bar
owner's integrity, yet Mr.
Nash suspects that MADD
and "just say no" campaigns
have straightened the laces of
most bar-going crowds. These
days; guests generally order-
more food than alcohol, and
the partners say that barroom
brawls are extremely rare
and greatly contingent upon
the bar's location. All in all,
much of the seediness has
been weeded out, he says.
Even if the captivating
taboos of his childhood have
somewhat lost their stigma,
Mr. Nash says bars still hold
mystique for him. Looking
back on his 17-year restau-
rant/bar career, he says his
obsession with the bar
business is not inspired by
curiosity anymore, so much as
it is by a quest for success. He
recalls his parents' reaction
to his first success:
"On a Friday night, I'd be
busy in Rochester, but at
maybe 9 p.m. things would
slow down a little, and . I'd
stick my head out and there
would be my father (William)
and mother (Hilda), sitting
there in their Chrysler, look-
ing at the traffic going in and
out of the door. Occasionally
they'd come in. Most of the
time, they'd just say 'Oh no,
we just want to sit out here
and watch?
"They wanted to see that I
was successful," Mr. Nash
says.
Mr. Nash and his wife,
Janice, now have sons of their
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
55