Serving Allegany, Garrett, Washington Counties in Maryland
Christopher Grossnickle was interested in opening a restaurant in downtown Hagerstown that would cater to the lunch crowd and serve soup, sandwiches, and salads. Christopher planned to have a salad bar that would make it easy for patrons to come in and make a salad to take back to office/work. He has worked in the restaurant industry for over 13 years, and believes this will help him to be successful in this venture. Christopher contacted the SBDC for help in completing cost projections and assistance in securing financing for the business. Alice Growden was the principle contact on this project and assisted Christopher with analyzing financial data. She also prepared cost projections and spreadsheets to illustrate the project cost breakdown and expected cash flows.
Christopher ran into trouble in securing a loan from the city of Hagerstown as the city was not looking to provide financing for restaurants at this time. Alice offered alternative funding sources for Christopher to look into, but in the end he chose to get funding through private sources and did so successfully. Brickyard Grill was officially opened on November 17, 2010 in downtown Hagerstown, creating three new jobs. Chris said that he appreciated the assistance of the SBDC. His dream of opening a restaurant had become a reality.
Posted: 02/07/2019