By Joshua Wood, Cowboy State Daily
josh@cowboystatedaily.com
Just a few months after getting its time to shine on the Food Network series “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives”, a Laramie restaurant is officially on the market.
Andy Glines, owner of Crowbar and Grill, has put his business up for sale. The Laramie restaurant was one of three featured on the March 25 “From Italian to Asian” episode.
Two of the dishes from the restaurant highlighted by Fieri were the bulgogi (Asian seasoned steak) fries and billhook pizza. Crowbar and Grill is one of four Laramie restaurants to be featured on the most recent season of the show.
J’s Prairie Rose, a breakfast and lunch spot; Born in A Barn, a sports bar specializing in creative burgers and wings and Sweet Melissa’s, a vegetarian restaurant, were all featured on the show prior to Crowbar and Grill.
Since then, Alibi Wood Fire Pizzeria and Bakery and Weitzels Wings aka Double Dubs have also been featured on the show.
Part Of The Plan
Glines told the Cowboy State Daily his plan was to put a few years in the business then decide how to continue.
“I guess I had this 10 year mark in my head of ‘I’ll do this for 10 years and then re-evalute and see what else I want to do’,” said Glines. “We’re just kind of coming up to that.”
Glines said when Crowbar and Grill had reached the eight-year mark, the onset of COVID had pushed back any thoughts on selling the business. Last fall, Glines began thinking again about listing the restaurant. Then they were approached to be on Fieri’s show.
“We got selected to be on ‘Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives’ and we’re like ‘Okay, let’s wait it out through this and see what it looks like’,” said Glines. “Now we’re just ready to pass the torch to somebody else.”
Glines said if being on a national television show played any part in helping the decision to sell along, it was minimal.
“The plan was in motion before we got selected. When that came up, obviously that was huge for us and a big moment for me and (I) was super proud of being able to get on that show and have the reputation,” said Glines. “Going forward, it was just a selling point but it didn’t really affect what our numbers looked like for the past 10 years.”
Still Open For Business
Though Crowbar and Grill is officially on the market, Glines has no plans of shutting the doors anytime soon.
“There’s no reason to shut down. I’m still making money, the place is doing just fine so there’s no reason to shut the doors,” said Glines. “It’s literally just that I would like to go do something else.”
Glines said it may take a while to find a buyer, or even the right buyer, for Crowbar and Grill. He wants to find somebody who would uphold the values of “the Crow.”
“Since I opened the place, it was always very important to me that this space would always be a safe and inclusive space for everybody. I will never treat employees as dispensable,” said Glines. “We’ll always be understanding of them and treat them with respect.”
Another value Glines would like any potential new owners to uphold would be giving back to Laramie “as much as they give to us.”
It’s All About Branding
It’s possible Glines may not be waiting as long as he thinks for someone to show interest in the business.
According to Dominic Valdez, a Laramie County-based realtor, being featured on a popular Food Network show could help in marketing the business.
“If I were doing some of the marketing for it, I would definitely play that up in a big way,” said Valdez. “It’s a recognizable brand.”
When it comes to any property, differentiation is key, said Valdez. Being featured on the show may make Crowbar and Grill a higher profile but there’s no guarantee it will bring a higher sale price.
“It would seem like any investor or buyer would look at the hard numbers sales wise and the costs involved,” said Valdez. “Probably analyze it from that direction.”
Until the right buyer comes along, Glines will still keep things at Crowbar Bar and Grill business as usual.
“We’re just going to keep operating in the same exact way until that happens,” said Glines. “We’ve had a great time. We feel (it’s) time to move on and let somebody else take it over and hopefully it stays there for many more years to come.”
