We were lucky to catch up with Will Lee recently and have shared our conversation below.
Will , appreciate you joining us today. What can you share with us about the story behind how you found your key vendors?
Finding the key vendors for the bars came long before the bars opened. I think that networking, in what ever industry you are in, is crucial for growth and sustainability. For me that networking began in the form of cocktail competitions and one-off events. By going into those events with the mindset of networking and building a long term relationship, it broadened the goal of just winning the competition or having a successful event. All of the key vendors that I currently work with, I have had relationships with that go back five to ten years, with some even longer. Most of them I would consider close friends. At the end of the day I look for good people to work with, who are doing good things, offering great products or services, and aren’t afraid to push the envelope a little bit when it comes to advancing the industry.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a bartender by trade, I did it for twenty years at various styles of bars. From Irish pubs to sports bars to clubs and most recently craft cocktail spots. In the beginning of my bartending career I was also going to school part-time. I received my BFA in Advertising and got a “real” job for a few months. Quickly realizing that sitting at a desk for that long was not for me, I committed 100% to bartending and exploring how far that could take me. I was introduced to the world of craft cocktails by way of competitions. I had found my new creative focus. For the following six years or so, I entered myself into as many competitions I could find, in order to gain more knowledge, network, and just learn as much as I could. Today I oversee two beverage programs and in the fall will be the third. At all of the properties we offer a high level of cocktails, cuisine, and hospitality that’s tailored to the individual concept of the space. The thing I am most proud of would definitely be the team that we’ve put together and all of the growth we have gone through.
Have you ever had to pivot?
Like so many others during the pandemic, pivoting was essential to be able for the business to survive. Overnight we went from operations as usual – to closures, ever changing guidelines, re-imagining our entire business plan and trying to navigate family life. Our only option was to find a way to weather the storm, and we did just that. We pivoted fully to a carry-out based restaurant, brought back as many of our team members that we could safely and switched our operating model in a matter of weeks. While not ideal, we were able to sustain a successful carry-out service that included cook at home meals, cocktail kits and more . We were fortunate to see so many of our loyal guests , many coming from over 45 minutes away, fill our streets with lines of cars waiting to pick up their individual orders. Once we were able to offer outside dining, we created an outdoor dining space allowing us to make up the difference of space lost inside. For us, this was our dream, and giving up was not an option.
How’d you meet your business partner?
I met one of my business partners through a friend while bar-tending at a local spot. Our mutual friend connected us over lunch to see if there may be some potential to create something together. We got to speaking about the industry and he expressed his dreams of opening a place one day with his twin brother, a Chef. We connected on so many of the same values and goals that we exchanged information and made plans to reconnect, as we both left the conversation feeling like there could be something more to our meeting. We kept in touch, and I invited him to a pop up dinner that my wife and I were planning at a friends spot in our town. He and his wife came as guests that evening and got to see a glimpse at the kind of work we were doing. Long story short, they loved the evening, the introduction to their brother, the Chef was made, his brother then brought in his best friend and fellow Chef, our families met and got along so well that we knew we had something amazing. A few years later, Grey Ghost opened its doors with the 4 of us as partners…and the rest is history — we just celebrated 6 years in business this summer at Grey Ghost, our sister bar Second Best just celebrated 4 years and we are slated to open our third spot, Basan, later this fall.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.fourmanladder.com
- Instagram: @will7ee
- Facebook: Will Lee
- Other: www.greyghostdetroit.com www.secondbestdetroit.com www.basandetroit.com