Success Story

Building a Positive Culture Results in 11% Sales Growth at North Country Brewing

After growing their basement brewery into to a thriving brewpub concept with 2 locations and 1 cannery, Jodi and Bob McCafferty realize the biggest learning curves often come from within. They credit a strong brand direction and accountability with transforming their bottom line and team morale.

"We had 52 employees and no management when we first started," Bob recalls, laughing. "We were so busy, I couldn't do inventory because I was washing dishes." The archaeologist-turned-restauranteur joined RestaurantOwner.com shortly after opening to learn the ropes of running the restaurant.

"The information was invaluable and helped us get important systems in place. Even now, when we go on vacation, I pack every issue of RestaurantOwner (RO's RS&G magazine) that I can."

Bob realized it was time to expand when they started running out of beer. To expand their brewing capacity, they bought an old warehouse and turned it into a cannery. Then in 2013, the restaurant where Bob and Jodi met went up for sale. They couldn't pass up the opportunity.

The expansion brought issues to the surface, but they weren't the issues Bob had expected.

"We had some strong personalities on the team. A lot of our employees had been with us from the beginning. The problem was, we weren't a little basement brewpub anymore. We'd grown and some of our team weren't adapting to the changes."

There was the bartender who insisted on playing the music she liked, even if it didn't suit the customers. Other employees became overly chummy with the customers and lost their sense of professionalism. Some just seemed irked by the growth.

"There was this constant umbrella of gloom and it was rubbing off on us and the customers. But, we didn't realize the problem was our team until we brought some of them over to the new location and the toxic atmosphere came with them."

Bob and Jodi realized they needed to do some soul-searching if they wanted to continue growing the business.

"We'd hired a lot of strategists but finally realized it came down to follow-thru. So, we took the expansion as an opportunity to get clear on what made us different and why customers would choose us over another concept."

Next, they sat the team down and announced the new direction. "I was very open and set clear standards," Bob recalls. "The message was 'Look, we're going West. If you're too much rope, we'll cut you loose.' I instituted Bobzilla's Rule of Thumb, which was all about holding our managers accountable."

Some team members didn't mesh with the new direction and were let go. "It was a tough decision. We had employees that were like family. But letting them go strengthened the brand."

The results were immediate and measurable. "We'd lost customers because of the atmosphere. Now those customers are back at the bar. Our beer is in two locations we couldn't have gotten into last year. And there's been an 11% increase in sales over the prior year in just one location."

The new energy extends to the cannery, too.

"There was a point where I was calling the cannery the Cantankery because of all the bad energy. Now that we've refocused on the brand and made changes to our team and systems, I love going to work again."

The McCafferty team stays busy with their two restaurants and the cannery. But they're always looking ahead for new opportunities.

"Sustainability is our next big project," Bob said. "We've had a farm since 2008. The spent grains go to the cows and the kitchen scraps go to the pigs. Our goal is to make the business zero waste."