06/12/2026
One year ago today — June 12th — I said yes to this bar.
At the time, I didn’t have it all planned out, and honestly, I was a little scared. People had been telling me for years, “You should buy a bar. You’d be so good at it.” But hearing that and actually doing it are two very different things.
I grew up in Johnston and graduated from the same school district, but for a long time, I kept my distance from this area. There were places I avoided, people I didn’t want to run into, and memories I wasn’t ready to face.
So coming back around here — and especially buying a bar here — was not easy for me. For a while, I felt like an outsider in a place that was technically home.
Turns out, I was wrong.
This town has welcomed me in ways I didn’t expect. The people, the stories, the support, the laughs, the hard days, the busy nights, the quiet moments — all of it has reminded me why I said yes.
For those who don’t know, I graduated from Maplewood in 1996. I turned 18 on June 18th, and still had my senior year of high school left. A few weeks after my birthday, after an argument, I moved out. My dad told me I wouldn’t graduate if I left.
And if you know me, you know exactly what that did.
Don’t tell me I can’t do something.
I graduated. I kept going. And honestly, I’ve been that way my whole life.
Buying this bar has been one of the hardest, scariest, most exhausting things I’ve ever done. People joke that when you own a bar, you’re married to it — or that it’s like having a baby — and they’re not wrong. It takes everything some days.
But it has also given me purpose.
I grew up in bar parking lots, and I made myself a promise: as long as I own this place, no child will ever feel unwanted here. No kid will be treated badly here. Families will be welcomed. Kids will feel like they are part of it. People will feel like they belong.
Because that matters to me.
The Local isn’t just a bar to me. It’s a place where locals, families, bikers, boaters, fishermen, friends, and strangers can walk in and feel like they’re part of something.
One year ago, I said yes.
And one year later, I’m tired, emotional, grateful, still learning, still stubborn, still standing, and still proving that when someone says I can’t — I absolutely can.
Thank you to everyone who has supported me, welcomed me, challenged me, helped me, showed up, shared a post, brought a friend, ordered food, had a drink, listened to music, laughed on the patio, or simply believed in The Local.
Here’s to year one.
And here’s to everything still to come. ❤️
