Believe it or not, Alex Sadeghi, Jimmy Kessinger, Mark Byard, Greg Phelps, and Jerry Yerich opened the doors of the much talked about Village Pub one whole year ago, and they will be celebrating their one-year anniversary on October 9; however, they will be hosting events all week long to celebrate…
Believe it or not, Alex Sadeghi, Jimmy Kessinger, Mark Byard, Greg Phelps, and Jerry Yerich opened the doors of the much talked about Village Pub one whole year ago, and they will be celebrating their one-year anniversary on October 9; however, they will be hosting events all week long to celebrate.
The first event is their Employee Turnabout which will be held on Monday, October 7 at 8:30 p.m. This will be a charity event benefiting the Village Pub VIPs Smart Ride Team and the theme of the event is “Circus, Circus…Under a Big Top”. There will also be a Chinese auction with fabulous items donated by various businesses throughout the community.
On Tuesday, October 8, they will be doing prize raffles and they will also be spinning their prize wheel, giving out Village Pub T-shirts, coffee mugs, polo shirts, drink cups, beer koozies, ball caps, and more. Tuesday will also be their Valet’s Customer Appreciation Day with complimentary valet from 5-8 p.m.
On Wednesday and Thursday night they welcome back Amy Armstrong and Freddy Allen from Chicago as their headline entertainment for the week. Show times are Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Thursday at 9 p.m. For those of you who have not heard them, I did for the first time on the RSVP Caribbean cruise this year and now I understand why everybody raves about them. Trust me, you will have fun! For more info go to AmyFreddy.com
On Friday at 4 p.m. they will be rededicating their Wilton Manors History Wall to the memory of the late Diane Cline, who was instrumental in its creation. Diane was a champion of Wilton Manors and a resident of the city for several decades. She has fondly been called “The First Lady of Wilton Manors.”
On Friday and Saturday they will be doing more giveaways from the prize wheel and on Sunday they will close out the week with $1,500 worth of gift cards available from the prize wheel with a top prize of a $250 Village Pub gift card. Customers who have spun “Grand Prize” on the wheel throughout the week will be invited back on Sunday to spin for the gift cards and other prizes.
It was a pleasure to sit down with the owners for a mini-interview just before their exciting first anniversary.
What made you open Village Pub?
In Alex’s first visit to United States he was fortunate to meet Jerry Yerich and subsequently George Kessinger. It was his desire to reside in the United States and establishing a business venture was necessary to accomplish this goal. George Kessinger was instrumental as a consultant in the development of what Village Pub is today. Alex and Jerry then met James Kessinger, Greg Phelps and Mark Byard and from there the seed that would become Village Pub Wilton Manors was planted, growing beyond all expectations. It’s hard to give a specific reason for why we chose to open Village Pub other than our desire to move up in the bar business and provide the community with a fresh new location to call home. All of us are very passionate about the hospitality industry and as you know, many of us have been serving the community for many years. An opportunity arose to begin a new venture, we took it, and thanks to the support of our wonderful customers and staff, it has proven to be a move that we have not regretted for a single moment.
Were you not nervous that there were too many bars in WM already?
Well, there was a little concern over this, but we really felt like we had something to offer that people would embrace. Most of the Village Pub Family have been serving the Wilton Manors community for many years and have great followings, so we were fairly sure that we would at least be able to be successful assuming we assembled the correct team. We certainly believe we have done just that, and the show of support has been nothing short of humbling.
Did you expect the enormous success that Village Pub has become?
The immediate success of the Pub was a surprise, but welcomed. We intend to continue to provide an atmosphere that will be attractive to all.
What does the Village Pub have in store for the community in the future?
We have no plans to sit on our laurels! Once a business becomes comfortable, that’s when it begins to fail….we will continue to look for new ways to improve Village Pub and keep it fresh and inviting for years to come. Our tag line, “Familiar Faces…Fresh Ideas,” is one that we intend to hold onto! Our staff is the best in the business and we look forward to continued success in providing our customers with excellence in entertainment.
Remember, Village Pub will be celebrating their first anniversary from Monday, October 7 through Sunday, October 13 with different events or performances daily. For more information visit them at VillagePubWM.com.
