When Jim and Kathy Gresham took over the Lock Stock & Barrel
in May 1978, they had three goals in mind. They wanted to serve
food and generate a daytime business, be a place younger patrons
would want to frequent at night and promote a clean, safe
environment for everyone.
Thirty years later, Jim Gresham takes pride in the fact those
goals have been met. But don't think he's going to pull up a
barstool and celebrate a job well done. There's still work to be
done.
"Like every small retailer, we value our base of regular
customers and continually try to reach new ones," Gresham said. "It
is a very competitive market and we must adapt to changes while
maintaining the LSB 'character' that has provided our
longevity."
Change is something the Greshams can relate to. Forget the fact
that Jim left a promising career in the banking industry to take
over the bar that had opened nine months earlier.
Why'd he do it? "It was something I always wanted to do," he
said. "From the time I was young, I wanted to have my own bar and
restaurant."
One of the first changes to the business was the addition of
food, served out a kitchen he described as being the size of a
walk-in closet. The business soon grew to include an adjacent
building, providing more space for a kitchen and for patrons to
enjoy live music, comedy shows and watching sports.
Other changes they've witnessed: the raising of the legal
drinking age to 21, the lowering of legal blood-alcohol content to
.08, a heavier tax and fee burden, the elimination of happy hour,
numerous neighborhood improvements and, beginning this month, a
smoking ban.
