After many years and many meals, Black Bear owners planning to retire
by Angie Asam, Staff Writer
Barb and Bill Vansteenis have been in business in Rogers City for 30 years, and after having the Black Bear Caf? up for sale for the last five years, they have finally sold the restaurant and will be looking forward to retirement, and free time. The Vansteenis? will have their last day of business on Dec. 23 before handing the place over to new owners Scott and Jill Schroeder.
Prior to owning and operating the Black Bear, the couple ran Barnacle Bill?s Bakery on Erie Street. The bakery was located where the photo studio next to Radio Shack is located now.
The couple opened the Black Bear Caf? on Apr. 2, 1990 and have been not only the owners, but also the operators all of these years. ?We knew that eventually someone would come along to buy it. We didn?t think it would be this year with the shape of the economy,? said Bill. Bill admits that in his thirty years of business in Rogers City that he learned how to bake and how to cook, in addition to a whole lot about business.
?You take care of business first before you take care of anything else. You don?t always pay yourself; you don?t run up charge accounts with other businesses in town. You stay on a cash basis with everybody. In a business like this you need repeat business everyday. If you do a bad job, the word goes so quickly and it?s very hard to repair. You have to understand when you buy a business in a little town like this, it is like a marriage, it has to come first,? said Barb.
The couple has always tried to take care of business and accommodate everyone who walks in the door. Although they are looking forward to not having to be somewhere every morning before 8 a.m. getting ready to take care of people, they will admit that running the business has been fun and they will miss hearing the stories from their customers.
A restaurant known as Rob?s Reef was operating in the building they are in now, but it had gone out of business. The couple made the decision to get out of the bakery business and saw the space available and took advantage. Scott Schroeder has plans to redo the dining room of the restaurant and put his own touch on it and the Vansteenis believe that it is his intent to call it ?Skills Diner.? The couple likes the new owners? attitude and motivation for the project.
?We are just tickled to death,? said Barb. The officially signing date is Jan. 4 and it is believed that the new owners will open sometime in March, after doing renovations and making the place their own.
With an interest in cars, Bill will most likely spend his time working on his car and attending car shows, as well as just plain relaxing. Barb is looking forward to having a lot of flexible time that they can choose to spend how they want. They hope to have a whole month of not doing much of anything before maybe doing some small part-time work.
The couple has been at the business almost every single day it has been open since 1990. They have a few employees to help in the kitchen and waitressing, but with Bill in the kitchen and Barb on the tables they have made it work. One employee, Sara Erickson, who has been with them for about three years working in the kitchen with Bill, will be retained by the new owners.
The countdown is on for Barb and Bill as they near the time they never thought they would see, as Barb admitted that selling a business is usually
?We are still shocked that this whole thing is working out. We did have sisters interested in the place last December, but they didn?t have the money to go through with it. I was disappointed that it didn?t work out, but I am confident in this couple that things will work out,? said Barb. One thing they are hopefully for is that the community will support the new owners when they open. They have made it clear that they will support them as much as they can.
?We made this a smoke-free restaurant, which I think has hurt us. Another thing that has hurt us is that the foot traffic downtown has really decreased,? said Barb. Take advantage of the final month that the Vansteenises will own the Black Bear. Stop in and visit and check out the sales in the gift shop.