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November 18, 2024
HOWARD – Eric Boehm, owner of Boehmer’s Bar in Howard, said it’s not that often a business lasts 25 years.
Boehm said it’s even less common for a bar/restaurant to last that long.
“It’s humbling – most bars/restaurants don’t even come close to 25 years,” he said.
According to 2024 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20.4% of businesses fail in their first year after opening, 49.4% fail in their first five years and 65.3% fail in their first 10 years.
Furthermore, in regards to bars/restaurants, the bureau states that about 60% of them fail within their first year and 80% fail within five years.
“When you look at those numbers, it’s pretty crazy (we’ve made it 25 years),” Boehm said.
Boehm, 47, said off the top of his head, he can think of about 20 places that have “come and gone.”
“We started naming places on Velp Avenue alone from Military (Avenue) to Shoots (3375 Side St., Suamico), and I think there have been 20 bars in the last 25 years that haven’t lasted,” he said.
Boehm said he thinks Boehmer’s (2318 Velp Ave.) has stayed in business for a quarter-century as a result of hard work and “a lot of late nights and weekends.”
“When I started, I was young and naïve and just worked hard and figured it out,” he said. “You have your ups and downs, but for the most part, things have been good. I won’t sugarcoat it – many people probably don’t want to sacrifice as many weekends and late nights to make things work as I (have) – especially during the leaner years.”
Boehm said running Boehmer’s also allowed him to stay home with his daughter when she was younger.
“It also allowed me to coach,” he said. “I’m currently a Bay Port High School assistant football coach. I’ve spent a lot of time at Boehmer’s over the years, but it’s also allowed me to do other things I love.”
Though Boehmer’s physical space hasn’t changed much, Boehm said the establishment’s back patio has been updated.
“We have a newer (wooden) fence, and it used to have a little bit of gravel and a walkway – no concrete so we added a concrete patio,” he said. “We made the corner of the patio into a wet bar, and there is space for our 36-team bags (cornhole) league on Tuesday nights in the summer when it’s a bit slower.”
Boehm said an overhang was added to the back concrete patio to help protect the wet bar and outdoor TVs.
“You’re in a high-traffic area off Velp Avenue (near the intersection of Glendale Avenue), and you come back to the fenced-in area and it’s fairly quiet,” he said.
In addition, Boehm said Boehmer’s has dart boards, pool tables and a few arcade-style games patrons can play.
“We also have DJs and an occasional band (playing at the bar) as well,” he said.
Like many in the industry, Boehm said the COVID-19 pandemic was a trying time.
“Of all days, we were shut down on St. Patrick’s Day (March 17, 2020),” he said. “That’s a top-10 busiest day of the year where the place is packed. Everyone and their brother was going to show up, but then suddenly, we were closed for three months. None of us knew what to expect. I was lucky that after we opened up, the bars were rocking. People had been pent up for so long, they just wanted to get out.”
A young start
Boehm, a 1996 Bay Port High School graduate, said he joined the Marine Corps reserve and was out of the area for about a year for boot camp combat training and schooling.
He said he also spent a semester at Northern Illinois University but eventually made his way back to the Green Bay area.
“My uncle owned one of the Jubilee (grocery stores), so I managed that for him,” he said. “I was thinking of going back to school, but then the opportunity came up with the bar. I opened Oct. 5 (1999) and turned 22 Nov. 4 – the rest is history.”
Boehm said the original location of Boehmer’s is where the Avenue Bar (1745 Velp) is currently located.
“I leased that building from (Gene Melchoir), who also owned this building (where Boehmer’s currently sits),” he said. “His daughter and son tried their hands at running the bar and asked if I’d be interested in moving to this location. That was June of 2007, and I eventually bought the building outright from Gene.”
In the meantime, Boehm said he had also opened a place in 2001 on Broadway called The Camelot and ran that with his parents from 2001-07.
“And as if I didn’t have enough to do, I took over B2 (Bar & Grill) about three and a half years ago (in Howard),” he said. “That used to be Murphy’s Village Pub. I think the timing was right – my daughter was off to college and it was the right time to run two bars at once. It’s been a lot of work, but it’s also been good. I rent that space from Russ Murphy.”
Boehm said business at B2 “is very steady.”
“Boehmer’s is a bigger bar, so the weekends are very busy, but the weeknights are a little less busy,” he said. “Every day at B2 is busy and consistent.”
A busy day
As the owner of both Boehmer’s and B2, Boehm said he has to balance his time between both places.
“I still love to cook, so often you’ll find me in the kitchen preparing food,” he said. “I clean every day, and sometimes I’ll bartend.”
Boehm said a typical day for him starts at 9:30 at B2 – “I clean, do tills, order and get it ready to open for 11. Then I’ll make my way to Boehmer’s and do the same stuff before, hopefully, being done by 3 p.m. and head to Bay Port to coach.”
Boehm said oftentimes, his day isn’t done until after he gets done with practice, and some days even beyond that.
“Sometimes I’ll come back and bartend, and other times I get to go home,” he laughed. “I used to coach track and field as well, but that got to be too much with having two or three meets a week. At least with football, it’s only one game per week.”
Boehm said in the early days of B2, it was hard to get employees.
“There’s an apartment above the bar – which is now rented out – but there were many nights where I slept up there, showered in the morning and was back at it,” he said. “I was often there until closing time at 3 a.m. There were many 14-, 15- or 16-hour days.”
Boehmer’s is open from 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday-Thursday, from 2 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Friday, from 11 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Saturday and from noon to 2:30 a.m. Sunday.
B2’s hours are from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and from 11 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Friday/Saturday.
The establishment is closed on Monday.
For more on both establishments, check out their Facebook pages.
