Many people do not know the story behind J and J’s Sandbar. J and J’s Sandbar is a family-owned restaurant in Cassville, WI. Jesse and Jenny Potter bought the bar from Monte Scholl in 2013, and have been building it up to what it has become today. Owning a business takes a lot out of the people running it, but also their families, along with having to know what you are doing.
Growing up, Jesse helped his parents run businesses of their own. He started cooking at the young age of 11, but it is something that he enjoyed even in his early years. Mike and Karen Potter, Jesse's parents, owned seven businesses, which ranged from bars to restaurants, to their final business, a gas station, which they sold in 2012. After high school, Jesse discontinued cooking for his parents and started adventuring into what else he was interested in. Through high school and after high school he worked on the Udelhofen farm, then he continued to explore his interests in truck driving, but after having kids he decided he wanted to stay closer to home so he decided to work for Epic Construction. After Epic he went to the township, but then went to John Deere. In early 2013, Jesse was going to be laid off from John Deere, and his fiance Jenny wanted to be done with being a CNA.
In March of 2013, Jesse and Jenny signed the papers to The Sandbar. After three months of renovations, which included taking out the bowling alleys, fixing many problems, and making the new bar tops, Jesse and Jenny opened J and J’s Sandbar in May 2013. When asked why Jesse wanted to own a business, after working in them his whole childhood, he said “I always wanted to own my own place, but also be my own boss.” When Jesse was growing up, Mike and Karen always rented their buildings, but they lost a lot of profit because of the rent they were paying, so Jesse did not want to make the same mistakes.
Jesse and Jenny put over 80 hours in a week just to be able to make their dream successful. When starting a business, many people underestimate the time and effort that it takes. With a business, you take the risk of missing your loved ones' birthdays, graduation/graduation parties, holidays, and many other milestones. With Jesse having children of his own, he has missed many of these, but holidays are one of the main days that he can make a killing in this business. In the restaurant industry, you have to make sacrifices in order to make your business successful. Jesse said, “Some of the major things I have learned in running a business is that you have to be willing to give all your time to the business.”
Running a business is far more difficult than just working for an employer. Jesse said, “Running a business takes far more responsibilities and you don't just get to come home from work and forget about it.” Owning a business can change someone's life drastically, and it certainly is not a job for the weak.