\n<\/p>\n
What do you know? Iron Horse is back in the food business. We\u2019ve been here before. The most notable boondoggle was the Iron Horse Coffee stand. I wouldn\u2019t call it an abject failure, but most would. We lost money, disappointed customers, looked dumb and incompetent. Ok, clarification, it was me that looked dumb and incompetent, it was me. I must think egg on my face is a good look. Or I like eating crow. Or feasting on shitburgers. I\u2019m getting stuck on analogies.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s move on.<\/p>\n
Then came the Iron Horse pub. That place was awesome. I still miss the place and the menu. Very much. There were great years down there. We made some money, lost some. We pleased customers. Except for that one guy who said the interior looked like a \u201ccheap knock-off Chipotle.\u201d That insult has lived rent-free in my head ever since. I hear many fond memories from customers who I see now that used to go there. I feel joy thinking of that place and sadness noticing its absence. The Pub was a place where a person could make a new friend, join a party, get into a bike fight. Except burgers. You could not get a burger for a long time. My bad.<\/p>\n
Anyway\u00a0<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s talk about Swiftfired Pizza Co.<\/p>\n
What a sordid affair that will be.\u00a0<\/p>\n
About a year and a half ago, I got a call from Corinne, the prior owner of Swiftfired. I was recruiting them to the Iron Horse village. In what is now reminiscent of the Bad Granny acquisition, (insert image of Greg anxiously biting his nails as this realization just now sets in) she said \u2018how about you buy the business?\u2019 In my usual enthusiast fashion, I thought \u201cfuck yeah, let\u2019s do this!\u201d What I said was a little more measured. Probably.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now this is a story of the Father-Son relationship. Or business partner. I can\u2019t be sure. When I expressed the opportunity to my \u2018business partner\u2019 his fatherly ways stepped in.<\/p>\n
Gary \u2013 \u2018you will probably screw this up. Your team is overloaded, I\u2019m going to buy it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Damn you, Dad. But, even at 45 years old when Dad takes a stand, I\u2019m just a little kid standing in the face of ultimate authority. It gave me cover that my team expressed many concerns about our bandwidth to take it on. Face saved.<\/p>\n
Gary\u2019s pizza co. it was. DBA Swiftfired Pizza.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So, at 82 Gary took the reins. He and Laury ran the show, and to their credit, people loved it. Rave reviews. \u201cBest pizza in town!\u201d \u201cSo good!\u201d \u201cThank God Greg didn\u2019t get his hands on it.\u201d Ouch. Accurate, but ouch. But Gary has now found operating a small restaurant is a bit more demanding than the not-so-silent business partner was looking to commit to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Passing the reins, but not the Iron Horse Reins. Analogies.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019m getting my hands on it now and with a team of enthusiastic and willing teammates, including one who works at both places already!<\/p>\n
Here we go. And, I want to make something clear: I think my dad\u2019s a business visionary genius. Business operating genius? Wrong blog to explore that.\u00a0 I don\u2019t believe in failure as much as I believe in outcomes I don\u2019t like that teach me to produce outcomes I do like. That\u2019s how I think about this business, this team, and this next phase.<\/p>\n
I like this outcome.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019m excited for my team to take on this new venture. We\u2019re keeping the pizza. We\u2019re keeping the crew. Everything else? Could change. Probably will. Hopefully in ways you like better. I\u2019m excited to add components and complexity to the wild ecosystem of businesses that comprise the entirety of Iron Horse. I\u2019m excited to welcome the inevitable \u2018unwelcome outcomes\u2019 and make a more fun and interconnected business community from them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And if we \u2018screw it up\u2019?<\/p>\n
Well, there\u2019s always crow on the Menu<\/p>\n<\/div>\n