The Herald Business Journal


YOUR COUNTY.	YOUR BUSINESS JOURNAL.

Published August 2001

Pig’s success a glimpse
of what could be

By John Wolcott
Herald Business Journal Editor

For many years, struggling downtown Everett business owners thought they’d see flying pigs before the retail core recovered its former vitality.

That thought may have been closer to the truth than they realized.

Four years ago, Joel Starr; his wife, Kerri; and business partner Joe Johnson chose Everett over several other locations to open The Flying Pig Brewery Co. in the heart of downtown. Since then, the brew pub has become a downtown Everett attraction that is making its own contribution to revitalization.

“It wasn’t always that way. When we first opened, we’d watch people walk by without even stopping in,” Starr recalls. “Now, we have around 10,000 people a month in and out of our business. We’re a pub, a community gathering place. People are here for fun and they love it. Hopefully, we make them all comfortable.”

Early in his 26-year career in the hospitality industry, Starr learned how to make people comfortable with the right surroundings and consistently good food.

He managed a Wendy’s restaurant while still in his teens and learned a lot about cooking. As he built his career working in dining chains that included Denny’s, Sizzler, Ruby River Steakhouse and Red Robin, his performance earned him a role in training restaurant crews and managers, giving them the right tools for achieving higher standards, better service and faster growth.

When it was time to start his own venture, Everett’s downtown opportunities appealed to him. But the man who captured Starr’s attention was Everett developer Art Skotdal.

“I was very impressed with him. He was extremely professional and supportive. He wasn’t selling me a blue-sky picture of Everett. And his own money was very much where his mouth was. One main reason I’m here is because of the Skotdal family. He saw how I could fit into the downtown picture as a retail tenant,” Starr said.

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