Retired Motocross Next Race

Opening A Restaurant and Bar During a Pandemic

Chad Ward raced professionally for more than a decade now that his racing days are over, his next ride to take on is the restaurant business.

He has been around cars and motorbikes his whole life. Now his son Axel age 7, races professionally, following in his dad’s footsteps.

Chad and his wife Crystal had been wanting to start a restaurant for three years. They also wanted me to move to the beach. They vacationed several years, road racing bicycles from Cullman, Alabama, to Panama City Beach.”

 Guts To Race Motorbikes Why Not A Restaurant During A Pandemic

They opened Dreamers Restaurant, Bar, and Exotic Cars on May 30 in Panama Beach, Florida. “The tag line is ‘making your dreams a reality.”

“With COVID, we were never fortunate enough to have a grand opening. We did a soft opening and stayed open,” said restaurant manager Laurie Harris.

The restaurant, 1136 Thomas Drive, is 3P Certified by 3P America, which means every few months, 3P America comes in and sprays and mists the entire building. “The cars are detailed weekly and sprayed with a sanitizer,” Harris said of the COVID-19 precautions.

Parked inside their restaurant is a Lamborghini Aventador and a Ferrari California. The Ferrari currently is available to rent by the hour, half-day or full-day, $1,000 for 12 hours through Turo.com.

“We’ve rented it three times already,” said Mike Daley, co-manager, a retired sergeant major with the U.S. Marine Corps. “If people are in the restaurant, I will open the car for them to look. Often, I let people sit and take a picture. It is a big draw for the kids.”

This past June, the restaurant raffled off rides, and locals gave their tickets to kids. It is enough of a thrill to sit inside an exotic car!

The restaurant currently has a seating capacity of 205 inside and another 40 to 50 on the patio under the pergola.

Inside seating is currently only allowed at 50% capacity due to COVID-19 precautions, and they have outside seating as well.

Reservations are done through Open Table.

Chad and his family still reside in Cullman, Alabama but come down about every weekend. They are looking to purchase a home locally and plan to open a second Dreamers. They are looking to locate the next restaurant in Pigeon Forge and Destin.

Dreamers is one of the newest restaurants becoming a popular part of the beach community. Considering the timing may not have seemed the best to open a restaurant, it is their theme that has helped them stand out from the competition!

Restaurants Offering a Unique Theme Stand a Better Chance of Being Successful

Uniquely themed restaurants tend to become destinations that generate a lot of word-of-mouth advertising. If they have good food to back up the experience, there is no way they can lose!

If they are consistent with their food quality and continue developing their theme, they should be in the winner circle for a long time!

I can teach you how to touch on enough elements to create a remarkable experience for your guests through a theme they will love!

In today’s restaurant environment, it’s now a necessity to have a unique theme.

If you want more information on choosing a theme go to my Startup Success Plan and purchase Step 4 Creating  An Entertaining Theme.

Contact us TODAY, and let’s get started on your unique THEME.