Business: Hizemans
Address: 218 S. Washington St., Naperville
Phone/website: 630-445-8378; www.hizemans.com
Owner: Will Cullen, 41, of Naperville
Years in business: 5
What does your business do? “Hizemans is a great sports bar. We live in town and there wasn’t really any spot for us to get together with like-minded fans, whether it’s Bears, Cubs, Sox or Bulls,” Cullen said. “There’s a lively vibe (here).”
What should people order? “The Hizeman’s Smashburger. We use a brisket blend burger, not your regular ground beef. You get eight ounces, four ounces in each patty. … I make a lot of burgers and I think this one is pretty darn good.”
How many draft beers do you offer? “There are 16 beers on tap. For the drink list and cocktails, we like to keep it fun. Nothing too fancy.”
What was it like starting out? “We signed the lease for this in March of 2020, just before COVID hit. We couldn’t get anyone to do any contracting so my wife Klaudia and I put all the wood up on the walls. We painted the walls. We did all the tile. … We rented a grinder, polished the floor. … When we walked in, there was a ceiling. I said, ‘Let’s pull that down and open it up.’ … Putting all those TVs up and getting them even is much harder than it looks. … We worked on this for a year.”
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Any memorable stories? “There was a square in the floor that needed work, probably 15 (feet) by 10 (feet). I did the math, bought like 30 bags (of cement). Got 30 more, filled it again. Finally it leveled off after 80 bags. We went into the basement a couple weeks later. There is a huge mound of concrete. There must have been a hole in the floor, so all the cement was going down. It’s like a giant anthill. It’s still down there. Four feet tall. I just left it there as a funny story.”
What else do you own in town? “Empire Burgers + Brew. Northcott Liquorette, a speakeasy above Empire. We’ve got The George coming. We have Fiamme, the pizza place up the street. It’s a dynamite spot.”
How did you become the next Rich Melman? “It’s never designed on purpose. Sometimes, spaces become available. I live in this town, I dine in this town. What does it need? What do you think people are going to like? … We hope people like the food. … Nothing better than smiling faces and the place is rocking.”
What’s your background? “I went to college at Miami of Ohio for finance and statistics. My dad owns Ballydoyle in Downers Grove. One summer after college I was working there and fell in love with hustle and bustle. That was 20 years ago and I haven’t worked a day since. You find something you love and people around you who also love it. It sounds cliché, but you never work a day in your life.”
How do you know how much to order each week? “We work off what’s called a par system. How many burgers do you go through in a week? We inventory every Monday. We do that with every item (on the menu). It works out pretty well. I like that part of it.”
When did you open? “In 2021, (the) beginning of the summer. That’s a slow time for sports bars.”
The Bears’ season opener is Sept. 8. Will it be rocking here? “It should be pretty good.”
What do you like best about your job? “I like making people happy. I love the staff, the customers. And I love making the food. I meet a lot of restaurant owners who don’t know how to make half of the stuff. I can make everything on the menu. I came up with the menu. I love making a perfect Hizemans Smashburger for somebody and the fries are crispy.”
What about competition? “The market is tight here. Try to provide as good a value as you can. People appreciate that. It’s a nice environment here. The staff is fantastic. The food is pretty solid. That results in repeat customers or new customers to check you out. Keep chugging along.”
What are your hours? “Pretty much 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Friday and Saturday, we’re open until 2 a.m. Sunday, open till 10 p.m.”
How many employees do you have? “Thirty to 35.”
What’s your advice for someone starting a business? “Stick to what you think is going to go good. If the ship’s going down, at least we did it the way I thought we should do it. Stick to a plan.”
Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun. If you know of a business you’d like to see profiled in Down to Business, contact him at [email protected].