We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jason Deibler-Love. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jason below.
Jason, appreciate you joining us today. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?
My wife and I moved back to Michigan when we became pregnant with our twins. We already had a 3 year old son, and we had been working for other companies, opening hospitality operations in LA, NYC, Austin, New Orleans, as well as developments in Toronto, Seattle and San Francisco. We decided to move back to start our own business and have more time (less travel!) with the children. A couple months before our renovation and first full year of operation, my wife died unexpectedly, due to past childhood trauma that came back with depression after some medical setbacks with one of our twins.
India’s passing, being my business partner AND wife, left a huge hole in our operations and the grief is ongoing. Instead of closing or slowing down, I was able to lean into it with the help of an amazing community and staff that India had helped build and welcome.
Jason, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
We purchased a 200-year-old church that had been renovated into a theater in 1970. The historic theater is on the second floor, and the ground floor was filled with rooms that had been used as a book store, baked goods store, and other iterations over the years. We tore the walls and framing out ourselves, redecorated and painted, built a bar, and expanded the kitchen We applied for a grant that paid for ½ of a renovation that included an outdoor patio, ADA ramp, and lighting & sound equipment. The Lucky Wolf (at the historic Paw Paw Playhouse) has become a community hub, which we had hoped would bring people together through the arts and great coffee & wine. We are open daily as a cafe & limited service restaurant/wine bar, and host many events throughout the week, both in the cafe and the theater.
We also invested in another 200 year old building a few blocks away, which houses Warner Supply Hardware, and have renovated an apartment above it that we rent out and use as an artist’s apartment. We plan on applying for a further grant to renovate the rest of the second floor into more rooms.
Finally, with India’s passing, I am forming a non-profit that will be tied to film and music festivals and other events with the goal of bringing more awareness to mental health, through the arts & community we are building.
How’d you meet your business partner?
I had been the General Manager of The Ace Hotel & Swim Club in Palm Springs, California, and India was working at the cafe next door to the hotel. We met, hit it off, and after a year had moved to Los Angeles to open the Ace Downtown Los Angeles & Ace Theatre, while she was managing the Stumptown Coffee cafe there. After its successful opening, we moved to New Orleans to open the Ace New Orleans as well as Stumptown Coffee New Orleans. Two years after that opening, we moved to New York City, gave birth to our first son, and managed multiple properties. We have been traveling to other cities working with other companies, until our decision to move back to Michigan and open our own venue.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
We were lucky enough to have our homes value in California increase in value since our purchase, so we could move to Michigan with some savings to invest into our businesses. The initial investment came from our savings as well as a commercial loan from a nearby bank. Once we had a year into the self-renovation and running the cafe in a ‘soft opening,’ we approached another bank to cover the renovation loan once we had successfully applied and received grant funding.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://theluckywolfpawpaw.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luckywolf_pawpaw/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/luckywolfpawpaw
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-deiblerlove/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-lucky-wolf-at-the-historic-paw-paw-playhouse-paw-paw
- Other: https://sunflowerfilmfest.comhttps://www.doitbest.com/warner-supply/https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1117420833498514666?check_in=2024-07-05&check_out=2024-07-10&guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=7685fb84-a12e-4a5f-be20-e7f8c96376fa
Image Credits
Jason Deibler
Kennedy LaPlace