We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Laura Patrick a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Laura, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?

Immeasurably. As an owner of a large-scale German inspired bar and restaurant (Bay Street Biergarten), a freelance attorney, and a member of multiple other “make your own schedule” ventures for over 10 years, I honestly can’t fathom having a “regular,” job. One of the driving factors of opening up my own restaurant with my two operating partners, was to avoid sitting at a desk from 9-5. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t look down on anyone who has a “regular job!” If I had the patience and found it fulfilling, I think I would jump at the chance. I imagine there are many upsides, like leaving your work at the office, not dealing with a crisis in the middle of the night, or the ability to be unavailable when you need or want to. And I do have to admit that sometimes I get frustrated or generally overwhelmed by the fact that when something happens the buck stops with me.

I have enough crisis stories to fill a book, but I will always look back on one certain reoccurring event with both fondness and resentment that at times has left me wondering why I am so hell bent on being the boss. Every year we host an Oktoberfest celebration and every year we get complaints about the noise. This event is during the day, near a port and only a couple of blocks from a major square where enormous events take place throughout the year. Our speakers face the water and the city port, we own many a decibel reader and have taken all precautions we possibly can to appease the literal noise police. However, something about a large group of people getting together to celebrate a beloved seasonal event at our particular venue makes people angry. Or at least very sensitive to noise. One year, I obviously knew it was coming – someone had already complained about the event before it even happened! But, the show must go on. So, while I was hosting a stein hoisting competition (if you haven’t heard of it, definitely look it up!) and corralling people for the event with a megaphone that was so quiet the participants couldn’t even hear it, lo and behold, the police had arrived for our third complaint of the day. At this point we’re pretty annoyed, the cops are pretty annoyed and the chief of police is there (also annoyed.) At one point during our discussion, I remember being threatened to be taken away in handcuffs! Luckily the kind officers acknowledged the absurdity of the situation, saw reason and we avoided jail that day.

All that to say, that I can’t imagine many “regular jobs” where you would be standing face to face with a body cam. wearing a Dirndl, begging officers to walk the streets with you and your decibel reader. But if that’s what it takes to also make hundreds of patrons happy and live out my dream of owning a restaurant, then that’s what I’m going to do. Because no matter what I have always preferred a challenge. Dirndl and all.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a licensed attorney and marketing specialist who co-owns and runs a bar and restaurant called Bay Street Biergarten, I am an operating partner of my family’s hospitality business PPHG, as well as in-house counsel and an executive producer of a production company called 4Corners Productions. I got in to the hospitality business, because of my family who owns a hospitality company that slowly grew as I did. I didn’t pursue anything in that field however until after I finished law school and passed the bar exam. The idea of being a lawyer full-time, either sitting at a desk all day or in court just wasn’t all that appealing to me. So I teamed dup with my two partners and started the restaurant that has been open for 10 years now. The space is vast and open just like an authentic beer hall and we offer German inspired, southern made cuisine, as well as an enormous beer list. In addition to everything else I do, I have a podcast with a dear friend through the production company about overcoming trauma called “Next Page.” While I am proud of all of my endeavors, I have to say the Biergarten and the podcast are my top two proudest career accomplishments. The restaurant really is a testament to accomplishing a very difficult feat as a team (keeping a restaurant open in a hugely competitive market and during covid. C’mon!). And the podcast brings me so much fulfillment, because I know we are truly making a difference for trauma survivors and hopefully helping even more listeners by de-stigmatizing discussions about mental health.

Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?

I think a lot of people believe that if a restaurant is open and busy that they must be rolling in money. Nothing could be further from the truth. A large operation requires a large budget and sometimes our existence can rely on just a few key days or events. I remember when Covid was just a feint rumor and all of the sudden they announced March Madness was cancelled. As a sports bar, our staff and the business as a whole sometimes relies on large tournaments or league schedules to get through a slower period. So, when it was cancelled, we were worried to say the least. Little did we know that the pandemic was about to get real up close and personal. I know many businesses suffered during the pandemic, but the restaurant business was hit brutally hard. As the two week closure slowly became an indefinite shutdown, we were definitely in panic mode. We couldn’t afford to pay our staff even the minimum server wages and as we reluctantly let them go and helped them file unemployment, we still had no idea if they would come back if we were able to re-open. One would think that once they let us open up “outside,” we would feel better, but we then had to battle the southern summer heat. The series of “re-openings,” continued to be painful, as we all had to figure out this new world we were living in. One that despised the very concept our restaurant embodies – hospitality, community, closeness, live music, service. etc…But with the help of our amazing community and government loans we made it through.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

When my co-host and I started our podcast, Next Page, we knew it was going to be an uphill climb to get listeners. With thousands of podcasts out there and new ones popping up every minute, there was little hope that just our mere existence would garner an audience. We knew out of the gate the only way to get people’s attention outside of our own circle and without a lot of money, was through social media. It was slow going at first, but I had already built up a following for the restaurant and knew that the key was just to continue to push content out there. I tried to keep it interesting with audio as well as visual quotes from our guests, but could tell that just our podcast content wasn’t going to necessarily draw new listeners or followers. So I looked at other pages with a big following to figure out a plan. I noticed quotes were getting shared nonstop, so I started creating visually appealing inspirational quotes not related to our podcast for the page. The idea being that if we built a following for the quotes, those followers would migrate slowly to the podcast. And it worked! In under a few months I grew our Instagram following from several hundred to over 11k. So my advice to others would be to keep pumping out content and don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t skyrocket to begin with. The good news is as you build, that momentum carries you even further. Also check out the competition and what they’re doing whether right or wrong. Take what works from them as well as what’s “trending@ at the time and replicate it. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and the best way to grow.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/laurapatrick85
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellepizzle/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laurapatrick85
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-e-patrick-esq-9559156/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/iamlaurapatrick?lang=en

Image Credits
Professional Photos of Laura – credit to Bradford Rogne (https://rognephoto.com/)