Paul Szmal: And I'd like to welcome in a special guest at this time, and that would be Stan, who happens to be the owner and operator of White Springs Tavern.
Stan White: Yeah, thanks for having me.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, appreciate you coming in this morning, man. So what was your background prior to buying the White Springs Tavern? What did you do prior to that?
Stan White: I've had a contracting business for 23 years.
Paul Szmal: So what makes a contractor want to buy a bar and restaurant?
Stan White: I've kind of always wanted to have a bar. I've always wanted to do it. So the opportunity came up to buy what is now White Springs Tavern, because you've renamed it.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, it was the Inland Reef before.
Stan White: Yeah, people, and it was the Inland Reef for a long time, wasn't it?
Paul Szmal: I believe 33 years.
Stan White: Yeah. He ran that.
Paul Szmal: Yeah. So you went ahead and made the purchase.
Stan White: Yep.
Paul Szmal: And that was, what, about a year ago?
Stan White: A little over a year ago.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, a little over a year ago. It's hard to believe. It's been years gone by really fast.
I've got to imagine that maybe one of the advantages of being a contractor is that any physical work on the building, you get to do yourself.
Stan White: Yes, yes. Well, it's not enjoyable all the time, but at least I can get it done.
Paul Szmal: Right, right. I know you've been working on a couple of projects of late, right?
Stan White: Yeah, we've just been doing maintenance and upgrades and coolers and stuff. Make sure the beer's nice and cold for you when you come in.
Paul Szmal: There you go. That's an important thing.
Stan White: Yes, it is. We've also done a lot of upgrade in the kitchen. In case some of you haven't been down there yet, we have wings. We have a fryer now. We have wings. And we have a deep fried burger. I don't know, it might be the only one.
Paul Szmal: OK, hold the phone. Deep fried burger. We have a deep fried burger, and it's actually delicious. So is this like in breading, or just take the burger and throw it in the deep fryer and cook it that way?
Stan White: Yep. We pre-cooked the burger, because obviously you don't want to put it in raw. So we pre-cooked the burger, and then we deep fry it. And it's juicy, and it's a little crispy on the outside.
Paul Szmal: OK, you sold me on that. I've got to come try one of those.
The other one is the crispy chicken sandwich. That's a big hit. People love that.
Stan White: Yeah, you had me a deep fried burger right there, so I'm just saying.
Paul Szmal: It's one of those things you've got to try. Yeah, well, you know, it's great that you have the standard menu items that most people would expect at a tavern. But then you have that curveball. You have that something that's a little bit different, that's a little bit unique for people to try.
Stan White: Yeah, and our wings, we've had a really huge crowd that love our wings. Our wings are great. A lot of people say they're the best in town. I'm not quoting that. I'm just saying that they have claimed that.
Paul Szmal: Well, hey, word of mouth, word gets around a lot.
So tell me a little bit more about what's on the menu.
Stan White: Well, one of the things that we have is we have a lot of choices. We have over 10 lunches, under $10.
Paul Szmal: Nice.
Stan White: Yes, we have sandwiches, hot or cold. We have the pulled pork sandwich, which is delicious.
Paul Szmal: That's another good one. You know, fries, tater tots, onion rings, pretzel logs. We've got all the stuff that's good, but probably not good for you.
Stan White: Well, yeah, the whole idea of it is you're going to a tavern. You want that tavern-style food to go along with it. You know what I mean?
Paul Szmal: Absolutely, and that's where we kind of base the menu. I like to say we're a bar that serves food. We're not a restaurant.
Stan White: Ah, there you go. That makes complete sense.
Paul Szmal: Any live entertainment, anything like that?
Stan White: Yeah, we do a lot of live entertainment more, not so much in the summer. But this winter, I've got plans for quite a bit of live entertainment. This Labor Day, we're having a cookout. We're going to grill burgers and dogs, and we're going to have a really fun day this Labor Day. Monday, if you stop on down, it'll be a good time.
Paul Szmal: That sounds like a plan.
What's the long-term goal?
Stan White: The long-term goal is to get more people in the door. Get more people to come and like the place and call it their regular stop.
Paul Szmal: Did you do any kind of redesign to the interior or anything when you got it?
Stan White: We completely stripped everything off and kind of changed everything, fresh coat of paint, redid the bar, all new bar stools, new tables. We've really redone it quite a bit.
Paul Szmal: And where did the name White Springs Tavern come from?
Stan White: Well, White Springs Construction. That's my contracting business.
Paul Szmal: Oh, well, there you go. Keeping the brand alive.
Stan White: Yeah, in the White Springs area. You know, everybody knows that in Geneva. It's in the White Springs area, so we figured that would tie in really well.
Paul Szmal: Awesome.
Now, what hours are you open?
Stan White: We're open from 11 till at least 10. On the weekends, we're usually open till at least 11. So 11 to 11. If we're busy, we stay open. So it just depends on the crowd.
Paul Szmal: Right. And again, 10 lunches under $10 that are available, and that's available Monday through Friday?
Stan White: Seven days a week.
Paul Szmal: Oh, seven days a week. We're open seven days a week.
Stan White: Yeah, absolutely.
Paul Szmal: Okay. Go try one of the deep fried burgers. Have yourself a nice cold brew, and check out White Springs Tavern. Thank you for having me.
Stan White: Yeah. Much appreciated, Stan. Thank you for being here, man.
Paul Szmal: It is 757 on FLX Morning.
