Today we’d like to introduce you to Steven Bequette.
Hi Steven, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I used to work for a company that had me flying to Sweden every two weeks and sometimes staying for longer periods. I fell in love with the country and culture instantly. Also in the past I had DJ’d for several bars and managed a bar in Manhattan, so on a whim I decided to open a bar, but have a place to display my love for Swedish culture. I opened Fluffy’s Swedish Pub in November of 2018. It has a unique Swedish vibe and decor, and later we decided to make it a dog friendly pub, so people can bring their puppies in while haveing a drink. We keep pictures of our puppies on the wall, and keep water bowls and bones for them behind the bar.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The first obsticle was the location of the venue. Previous bars at the location had a reputation of violence. Reputations seem to stick with the location rather than the business. I had to change that reputation by having a zero tolerance rule, and have sucessfully made it one of the safest and cleanest bars in the area. Another obvious obsicle was the COVID pamdemic that had us closed for over 4 months. Luckily I had a day job to where I was still drawing a paycheck so we were able to survive it.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Fluffy’s is a non-smoking, dog friend pub with a Swedish theme. You will find us and extremely clean and safe space even considering several puppys come through each day. We host live music once a month, Karaoke twice a month (sone to be every Friday), and several other fun things like 80’s partys, glow parties, etc. Our staff considers the group as a family and we treat each other as such. We are famous for Little Beers shots since we were the first to bring them to Leavenworth, and they have become everyone’s favorite. Peanut Butter Latte shots are a close second. We also take pride in supporting all of the other venues around us and send customers in between each other. If we all cooperate, we all succeed.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
Since I still keep a day job, I’m able to do more investment into my business to ensure it is a place I would want to hang out at. All small business owners should come in with an open mind and realistic goals. I vowed to invest every cent back in to the business until it is where I want it to be and not expect to make any profit for the first five years. I would warn anyone making this kind of investment to be sure to understand that going in.
Pricing:
- Wells $3.00
- Domestic Beers $3.00
- Pitchers $8.00
- Craft Beer $3.50 – $6.50
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.fluffyspub.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fluffyspub
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fluffyspub
