Help save your local pub

Dear Friends of Limericks Public House,
       
When I opened Limericks way back in 2011, I had a vision of a neighborhood pub with a Celtic twist, one in which everyone would feel at home and genuinely welcome. There were, and are, many bars in Wausau that cater to a younger customer base, but I wanted to create a place in which everyone, of any age, would come to believe that this was "their pub", their home away from home, their refuge in a stressful world where they could escape for a couple of pints and where they'd always be treated with respect.


This approach worked and, as our loyal customer base grew year over year, we reinvested in the pub. In 2018 we went way, way out on a limb and remodeled the pub to include a kitchen, so that we could provide delicious, home cooked pub grub to our thirsty customers. This was a huge financial risk for us but, month after month, our food business was growing.


Then came March 17th, 2020...


For an Irish bar, St. Patrick's Day is the biggest night of the year.  This year, the State of Wisconsin shut us down at 5:00 pm that day and, a couple of days later, closed all bars statewide. This was just devastating and, like every small business, we struggled to come up with innovative ways to keep at least some revenue coming in. Our take-out/curbside food business actually grew during the months of the shutdown, a remarkable trend for which we're immensely grateful.  When the shutdown formally ended, we were excited and hopeful about resuming normal operations and, once again, providing a happy  venue for all of the people who had become more than just customers, who had become real friends.


Unfortunately, our hopes have not been realized. Business levels for all restaurants and bars remain way off, just a small fraction of what they had been before the virus hit.  Many of what had been our regular customers are still reluctant to socialize outside of their homes, and the limitations of customer capacity negatively impacts our ability to recoup the losses we incurred during the months we were shut down.


We are at a very critical point now, one that will determine the future of our business.



Frankly, we need some help.


We have launched a Go Fund Me campaign designed to provide the financial resources we need to get us through these very difficult times. We already owe so much to you, our friends, that it's really hard for me to ask you for even more help, particularly since I know how so many of you are also struggling to make ends meet.

Since opening the pub I have learned many lessons and have become quite adept at managing the variable costs of running a successful pub.  The biggest challenge we face today is covering the fixed costs such as rent.   That is why the timing of this fundraising campaign is so critical.

I have many ideas about new ways of making your experience at Limericks more enjoyable.  For example, I will be looking at expanding the frequency and diversity of live entertainment.  Other ideas under consideration include:

*  Sponsoring sporting events
*  Adding more baseball nights at the Woodchuck games
*  Modifications to trivia nights where we would focus on a single topic such as sports, movies, TV shows
*  Reintroducing vintage game nights

I feel a genuine debt to the community for the support we have received and will be starting a new program called Limericks Gives Back.  This will involve providing a venue for local charitable events supporting such worthy causes as food banks, shelters, and veteran services.  Of course, we must weather the current conditions to see this become a reality.

We humbly ask you to support our GFM effort to whatever degree your circumstances allow. We want to remain YOUR local pub, and every penny you invest in us really will help us continue to be the place you've come to value so highly.


Respectfully yours,
Cory