One afternoon in the fall of 2007, Regina Bowman and her sister-in-law, Donna, decided to dine at the ARO Restaurant in Sundance. They ended up buying more than the lunch special.
"They went there for lunch and noticed that the place was up for sale," Jim Bowman says. "One of them made the comment that we should buy the place and everything took off from there."
Six months later, and with considerable support from the Wyoming Small Business Development Center (WSBDC), Jim and Regina took over ownership of the popular full-service restaurant at 203 E. Cleveland St.
With its main office located on the UW campus, the WSBDC is part of WyomingEntrepreneur.Biz, a collection of business assistance programs at the University of Wyoming in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Wyoming Business Council. The WSBDC helps to strengthen Wyoming businesses and create economic growth by providing management assistance, educational programs and helpful resources for Wyoming small businesses and entrepreneurs.
That's just the type of help the Bowmans needed before embarking on their new adventure as restauranteurs.
"They seemed to pretty well know everything we needed to do," Jim says of the WSBDC. "They're really done a good job for us."
In addition to various tips and advice, the WSBDC aided the Bowmans with the development of a business plan, helped them map out a three-year cash flow projection and taught them about bookkeeping practices.
Since assuming ownership in March 2008, the Bowmans have breathed new life into a restaurant that Jim says was "pretty dead." They've repaired or replaced a variety of equipment, spruced up the building's interior and exterior and added to the menu.
So far, so good. In 2008, the ARO turned its best profit in at least seven years, says Jim, a retired coal miner who worked 28 years at Eagle Butte near Gillette.
The ARO is open seven days a week from 7 a.m.-9 p.m.
The WSBDC also offers low-cost educational forums and one-on-one counseling at no cost to participating businesses in areas such as planning, management, marketing, and finance. The WSBDC has regional offices throughout the state. For more information, call 1-800-348-5194, e-mail wsbdc@uwyo.edu or go to the Web site at www.wyomingentrepreneur.biz.
Jill Kline is the regional director for Crook County. She can be reached by phone at (307) 682-5232 or by e-mail at jkline@uwyo.edu.
Posted on Wednesday, January 07, 2009
