What Ales You?
Focusing on the craft-beer niche helped this pub thrive while others dried up.
When the craft-beer industry experienced a shakeout in the late
1990s, microbrewing experts Vic Gumper and Daniel Rogers decided
specialty-beer drinkers needed a place to go for the increasingly
hard-to-find craft brews they loved.
In 1998, Gumper and Rogers, both 35, left a failing microbrewery
to pour their expertise (and $150,000) into Lanesplitter
Pizza & Pub. Their marketing secret: The niche restaurant
serves unique beers made only in California. The daily menu at
their original location in Berkeley, California, boasts 20
different brews, which are rotated often. Customers rave about the
freshness of the beers on tap, and the unique mix gives the
restaurant an edge over pubs serving big-label beers. They also
offer award-winning pizza at a low price. Lanesplitter's three
locations served up $2 million in 2005 sales. "We want to
exceed our customers' expectations," says Gumper.
"That way, they keep coming back."