Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association Newsletter
(April 3, 2016 - April 9, 2016)
 Click Here
for the
As I See It...


 "Chains of Habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken."
                                       - Warren Buffett 
 
This was the quote at the top of an e-newsletter I got this week and thought it was very timely after looking at the agenda for the upcoming annual conference. 

 Some of this year's conference topics include:

Don't forget your change!

Is your house in order?


Are you promoting or just spending advertising dollars?

...and many other industry topics.

Many of these topics can help provide you with new thoughts and processes so the chain doesn't get too heavy to break.

As managers we, and our staff, often get stuck a rut and go to "because that's how we've always done it" mindset because it's easy, not always the best, but the easiest.  

I've been trying really hard not to automatically go to that mindset...believe me it is hard.

Changing habits and the changing the way we approach things is difficult, but can be full of great rewards.

If you aren't signed up for the conference April 16-19 in Alexandria, it's not too late.

Click Here

I encourage everyone to come to the conference this year with an open mind and be ready to learn about ways to made positive change in your stores, your communities and in your personal life.
 
Bridgitte Konrad
City of North Branch
Nancy Drumsta is a Super Hero!!

Earlier this week, Delano Wine and Spirits manager Nancy Drumsta (pictured on the left) donated a kidney to her friend Julie (pictured on the right) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

According to Nancy, "Julie was put on the kidney transplant list about a year ago; as she has a kidney disease and knew that one day she would need a kidney donation.

I started testing in November and was accepted in March.

Julie and I have been friends since childhood.

We grew up next door to each other in the small town of Munising Michigan and have remained close friends throughout adulthood."

The surgery went well and she texted, "Just walked a lap around my floor and did a few stairs. All going well."

If her recovery continues to go well, she plans to be at the conference.

Nancy, you are a Super Hero!!!

AutoFRY For Sale

The following is from 50 Lakes Bar & Bottle Shop manager Toni Buchite:

We have an auto fry for sale.

Our food sales have more than doubled in the last five years and we have purchased a double auto fry. 

Too early to run numbers, but if we can put out the food we did with a small auto fry and 2 pizza ovens we are going to do great with the ability to more than double our frying ability.

Click Here to Contact Toni
Vergas Position Opening
Jobs

The City of Vergas is currently accepting applications for the position ofOff- Sale Liquor Store Manager.
 
This individual oversees and administers the day-to-day operations of the off-sale municipal liquor store.
 
Duties to include, but not limited to: Supervising staff, purchasing and inventory control, pricing, budgeting, marketing, promotions and customer relations.
 
Starting date on or about May 1, 2016.
 
Minimum qualifications: 3 to 5 years management experience with Municipal Liquor Store or similar operations including retail sales experience; valid MN driver's license; proficiency with office equipment and computerized cashiering system.
 
Must be able to work days, weekends and holidays.
 
Salary DOQ.
 
Application forms available at

Vergas City Office
111 Main Street
Vergas, Minnesota 56587
(218) 342-2091 
www.cityofvergas.com
 
Resume, cover letter and completed application due Thursday, April 14, 2016, 4:00 PM Central.
 
Submit to:
 
City of Vergas
PO Box 32
Vergas, MN 56572-0032
 
Fax: 218-342-2068
 
 
Equal Opportunity Employer
Bars Branch Out with Hands-On Plant Nite Events

The latest issue of The Municipal Liquor Store magazine shows the success of the Traveling Art Pub promotion.

Click Here to See Magazine
 
Here is a StarTribune article about a new interactive promotion finding success in bars:

After a day spent caring for animals, you'd think that the last thing that co-workers from the Banfield Pet Hospital in St. Louis Park would want to do is tend to little live things.

But a small group of veterinarians and vet techs found that activity to be a great stress buster - doing it over cocktails and shared plates of nachos.

On a recent Tuesday, they attended Plant Nite at a downtown Minneapolis bar, working side by side to build their own terrariums to take home.

"I'm not artistic - I'm a scientist, but it's good for me to use the right side of my brain," said veterinarian Angela Edenloff, 38, who sipped a Moscow mule as she placed a precise pattern of colored pebbles into a snifter-shaped bowl.

You've probably heard about - or perhaps attended - an evening of dabbing at canvases in a bar's backroom, creating a painted landscape or still life by following an on-site artist's coaching.

Several local companies haul brushes and easels into restaurants for the popular activity, which typically costs between $35 and $50 - drinks and appetizers not included.

Plant Nite, an offshoot of the Boston-based Paint Nite, has pivoted from pigments on palettes to dirt in planters.

The first Plant Nites began in January, with evenings devoted to terrarium-building scheduled at several local bistros.

Co-workers Kari Miklya and Amy Strohacker created terrariums at a micro gardening class held at Mason's restaurant in downtown Minneapolis.

"There's a large group of people who don't want to paint; it makes them feel nervous, a little vulnerable," said Ashley Erickson, the Plant Nite licensee in the Twin Cities.

"Everyone can do this project. People are behind their desks or their screens, communicating by e-mail.

At the end of the day, they want to get their hands on a physical object."

Click Here for the Rest of the Article
Solving an Old Guy's Problems
Elderly Couple

After being married for 50 years, I took a careful look at my wife one day and said, "Fifty years ago we had a cheap house, a junk car, slept on a sofa bed and watched a 10-inch black and white TV, but I got to sleep with a hot 23-year-old girl every night.

Now, I have a $500,000 home, a $45,000 car, a nice big bed and a large screen TV, but I'm sleeping with a 69-year-old woman.

It seems to me that you're not holding up your side of things."

My wife is a very reasonable woman.

She told me to go out and find a hot 23-year-old girl and she would make sure that I would once again be living in a cheap house, driving a junk car, sleeping on a sofa bed and watching a 10-inch black and white TV.

Aren't older women great?

They really know how to solve an old guy's problems.
Future Dates to Remember


2016 MMBA Annual Conference

April 16 - 19, 2016
Arrowwood Resort

Legislative Session
End


May 23, 2106
Ask A Director

Gary Buysse
Rogers
763-428-0163

Cathy Pletta
Kasson
507-634-7618
  
Bill Ludwig
Paynesville
320-250-3325
  
Candice Woods
Hutchinson 
320-587-2762
  
John Jacobi
Isanti
763-444-5063

Michael Friesen
Hawley
218-483-4747

Steve Grausam
Edina
952-903-5732

Tom Agnes
Brooklyn Center
763-549-3710
Brenda Visnovec
Lakeville 
952-985-4901
 
Bridgitte Konrad
North Branch
651-674-8113

 Karissa Kurth
Buffalo Lake
320-833-2321
 
Paul Kaspszak
MMBA
763-572-0222
1-866-938-3925
Click Here For Newsletter Archives 
Minnesota SMART

The SMART campaign: Supporting Minnesota's Alcohol Regulations and Traditions, is a renewed public education and grassroots advocacy effort in support of Minnesota's current alcohol regulations and three-tier system.

 

We believe Minnesota's current alcohol regulations are smart, balanced, and supported by many citizens and our local small businesses.    

    

They work well for Minnesota!

 

The SMART campaign functions to help you engage in advocacy efforts with state legislators and others in support of Minnesota's current alcohol regulations, and to oppose issues-such as Sunday alcohol sales.

We want to make it easy and effective for you to engage.

 

Take action and send an email to your state legislators today through the new SMART campaign website.   

 

We have sample letters and legislator contact information put together that is ready to go.   

 

  Click Here for the Website
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 Contact Bob Leslie at:
 
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Contact Gary Buysse at:

763-428-0164

Remember to Say Thank You
In this deceptively simple 3-minute talk, Dr. Laura Trice muses on the power of the magic words "thank you" - to deepen a friendship, to repair a bond, to make sure another person knows what they mean to you.

 Try it.


Don't expect anything original from an echo


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