A head of steam: Brewpub in Fairfax looks to the future
By Brent Ainsworth
Marin Independent Journal Sunday
October 23, 2005
On a recent morning at Iron Springs Pub & Brewery in Fairfax, owner Michael
Altman was on his hands and knees cleaning out the grease trap in the kitchen.
"I don't know why, but I enjoyed it," Altman said with a laugh. "We're
learning. It's never a dull moment."
It has not been a dull first year for Iron Springs, one of five brewpubs in
Marin. A brewpub is a microbrewery - a manufacturer of less than 15,000 barrels
of beer annually - that has a restaurant on the premises.
Yesterday, Altman and his wife Anne celebrated their one-year business milestone
with scores of new friends at a daylong "soiree & fund-raiser,"
featuring live music, a temporary dance floor, an anniversary ale and a silent
auction that raised money for the Fairfax Pavilion Restoration Project.
In a way, the party has lasted all year, since Ross Valley Brewing Company was
rechristened as Iron Springs, an earthier, homier haven than its previous identity.
On any given week, the Altmans entice potential new patrons and keep a grip
on the old ones with kids-eat-free deals, Teacher Appreciation Happy Hours and
other specials.
It's working. Iron Springs is gaining traction in Fairfax.
City Hall taxable sales reports indicate the business generated $5,144 in sales
tax revenue for Fairfax town coffers during the first half of the year, $565
more than Ross Valley Brewing did during a similar period the year before. And
that indicates gross taxable sales topping $500,000 during the first half of
the year, about a 12 percent increase in business over the period a year before.
"It's been wonderful, the reception we've gotten," Altman said. "I'm
overwhelmed and blown away. É It's been nice to get stopped on the street
and given a compliment. I'm seeing our 'Only in Fairfax' T-shirts all over town."
"Each one has to be spot-on," said Altman, who has a staff of about 30. "Our crew is great. (General manager) Jennifer Gilardi and (assistant manager) Jeffrey Kroop are such valuable assets who work really well together. We've given them the autonomy to add their own vibe to this package. ÉOur chef Luis has been with this place since it opened as Ross Valley, and he's fantastic. Even Hector, our dishwasher," is a critical member of the team "making this place what it is."
Gina Doyle has been a server at Iron Springs since opening day. "He's one of the best bosses I've ever had," she said of Michael Altman. "They are both sweet and they care about their staff. We do a lot of staff outings together. They had us up to their house for a Fourth of July party. The staff is really like a family."
Hot off the grill
At Iron Springs, patrons can order dishes such as big plates of homemade fries
($3.75), Iron Springs Wings ($8.50), the Greek Plate of hummus, greens, roasted
peppers, olives, feta and toasted tortilla chips ($7.95), a grilled portobello
sandwich ($8.95), a half-pound burger ($8.95) or meatloaf with garlic mashed
potatoes ($12.95).
Iron Springs offers a wide array of styles and rotates them through the four
seasons, from a crisp, clean Kolsch to jet-black stouts to bitter India pale
ales. Often, 10 different beers are on tap on any given night. Pints are $3.75,
or $2.50 during one of the many Happy Hour windows.
Got rugrats? Four items on the kids menu (quesadilla, burger, nachos, grilled
cheese sandwich) are $4.95, and hand-crafted sodas are $2.50.
"I was there last night for dinner and I overheard a conversation that was straight out of a commercial," said Rich Winter, owner of Blackbird Digital in Fairfax, a regular customer and the designer of the Iron Springs Web site. "There was a dad with two elementary school-age kids. The dad says, 'Did we just find a great new place or what?' The kids go, 'Yeah!' And then they started talking about what they were going to order the next time they came."
Regulars at Iron Springs include young families, retirees, mountain bikers and road cyclists, civic leaders, Deadheads, power-tie-wearing professionals and fun-seeking singles.
"It's an amazing array of characters," said Altman, a Deadhead who attended his first Grateful Dead concert in 1981 and stopped counting after 160 shows. "Our goal was to be an extension of everybody's living room. There are people we see three, four, five times a week. There are families who are fixtures here. And there's also a younger crowd that tends to come here for our music Wednesday nights."
Altman believes the hand-crafted beers and sodas, the reasonable prices and
the laid-back atmosphere are what brings in the families. Often, children play
board games in the corner while the adults finish a meal in relative peace.
Head chef Luis Carillo presents a diverse menu of hearty fare that is less expensive
than the Ross Valley Brewing Company offerings. "For the most part,"
Altman said, "I think anybody who walks into a brewpub wants a good beer,
a good burger and a good time. It's not that complicated, but you have to do
it right."
Starting anew
The Altmans, who were living in Boulder, Colo., first heard about Ross Valley
Brewing Company last May when he saw an ad in a restaurant realty newsletter.
"It said there were motivated sellers," Altman recalled.
Mark and Eileen Cunningham and partner Michele Kimpton opened Ross Valley Brewing Company in November 1998 with high-end dining in mind. Eileen Cunningham said last summer that life changes - specifically, parenting and young kids - led to the sale of the business.
The Altmans stepped in. "This was a very calculated risk," he said. "I've been doing this restaurant business for 25 years, starting at Beefsteak Charlies on Long Island when I was a 14-year-old dishwasher, and I know you won't survive if you have a poorly conceived plan."
The Altmans, behind a consortium of advisors, closed the doors for nearly two months to fix equipment and give the place a facelift. Although statistics from the Brewers Association, a national organization that oversees microbreweries and brewpubs, show that 90 percent of brewpubs survive the first year, that is largely because of the kind of extra planning that brewers such as Altman must do.
"It was a very calculated gamble," Altman said. "This place had a proven track record. I didn't have to deal with lots of building permits.
"The Cunninghams gave a lot to this community for six good years, and they deserve a lot of credit," Altman added. Altman said the Cunninghams attempted to cater to a higher-end crowd with fine cuisine rather than pub grub, and the vibe was "more Mill Valley or Ross than Fairfax."
A change in decor
The Altmans' first priority was to warm up the atmosphere. The bar and dining
area had a cold, industrial feel, so carpet was rolled out and artwork hung
on the walls. A glass partition that separated the bar from the dining area
was removed. The heating system was revamped and ceiling fans were added.
"People who knew the old regime recognized the carpet first," Altman
said. "The carpet is more family-friendly. Warming it up was really important.
For the most part, all we did was add carpet and paint and throw up a bunch
of hippie postersÉ Just changing the motif made a lot of people happy."
Altman has left most of the brewing chores in the hands of Coley Thinnes, who
honed his skills at the much larger Lagunitas Brewing Company of Petaluma. All
the brews are Altman's recipes, but Thinnes has the freedom to tweak things
as he sees fit.
Whatever the formula, the beer is flowing briskly from the taps. Altman expected to produce about 500 barrels of beer in Iron Springs' first year, but he said it will be closer to 700 barrels.
The bottom line
Food accounts for about 60 percent of Iron Springs' sales, with beer next at
about 25 percent. Altman says he is pleasantly surprised by sales of wine and
Iron Springs merchandise. T-shirts are $12 for shortsleeve and $15 for longsleeve;
sweatshirts run $25 and embroidered caps are $18.
Although he declined to discuss financial specifics, Altman said that the hard work is paying off. He and Anne have yet to draw a salary, but "already on paper we have turned it around from what it was. You've got to reinvest in the machine. Lucky for me, my wife is a genius when it comes to that. She's a stickler with numbers and she keeps me on my toes. More than that, Anne is the heart and soul of this operation."
The immediate goals include a sales increase of 8 to 10 percent, a salary for the co-owners and "becoming more of a community player," Altman said.
Anne Altman works as chief of concessions for the U.S. National Park Service's regional office in Oakland and knows the minute intricacies of the food service industry. "The health inspector loves us," Michael Altman says with a smile.
Downtown connection
Iron Springs is located in the Fair-Anselm Plaza, just east of downtown Fairfax
and across Center Boulevard from Albertson's supermarket. Altman said it's a
little bit odd to be located in such a complex, but "all the other tenants
get along great."
According to Mayor Tremaine, the town is working on a prominade project to help link Fair-Anselm more closely with downtown. Streetlights, sidewalks and bike lanes are part of the project, which is slated to start in the spring.
"There's a beautification project transpiring that could be a big help to a lot of small businesses," Altman said. "I love all the parking across the street from us, but I don't love that we're so disconnected from the rest of downtown. On that stretch of road between us and downtown, there are no streetlights or sidewalks."
Garry Graham, co-owner of the 19 Broadway nightclub in downtown Fairfax, described Fair-Anselm and downtown as "two different towns É it's been a source of contention for years. Finally they're going to do something about it. We certainly think it can't do anything but improve the foot traffic that goes back and forth. É It's going to increase business on the whole."
Graham predicts a strong future for Iron Springs. He's helping by serving Iron Springs ales on tap at his own bar.
"He's a hustler and knows how to promote," Graham said of Altman.
"It's always good to have a merchant in town who knows how to kick a little ass. He's brought some new spirit into town and he's a nice guy. When you have a good reputation, you fly with it, and he's got a good rep already."
The Altmans bought a house one mile from the brewpub and plan to start a family soon.
"We're here for the long haul," Michael Altman said.
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