Today we’d like to introduce you to Kent Kopp.
Hi Kent, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Pike and Pint Grill was conceived when I had dinner with a friend of mine from a local bank in Alexandria. At the time, I was the General Manager of Doolittles Woodfire Grill in Alexandria, MN. After 12 years in that position, I was interested in moving on to a new challenge and my friend asked me if I had ever looked into opening my own restaurant. That led to more conversations into how to orchestrate a business start up and examining our current market to see what type of restaurant could succeed in our area.
My wife, Rita, and I spent 9 months planning it all out and in February of 2015, we signed a lease on a building and started the process to launch Pike and Pint Grill. On April 6th of that year, we opened our doors. Like most business start ups, we had experienced our own share of bumps in the road, often adjusting the concept repeatedly to find the “sweet spot” in our marketplace until we found our own success.
In the spring of 2021 we further remodeled the inside of the building and began construction on a new, large, impact patio. We opened the new 100 seat patio in June of 2021. It features an outdoor bar, waterfall wall, fireplace and two firepits. The remodel and new patio lead to an incredible reception from the public and we doubled our sales. In the summer of 2023 we were awarded the BIAD award (Business and Industrial Appreciation Day) by our local chamber of commerce and economic development commission) due to the scale of the project and jobs created.
We continue to operate as a gathering spot for our community to break bread together and enjoy our beautiful community.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Like most independent restaurants, it took us a while to find just the right concept that fit the wants of our community. It took a few years to make the business profitable and there were many sleepless nights. The Covid pandemic also created many struggles as we were forced to pivot many times to keep our business viable, while still taking care of our great staff. There were many days during that period where we were unsure if we could keep going. However, our community really stepped up to support local restaurants and we were able to emerge from the pandemic even stronger.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Pike and Pint Grill?
We are an independent restaurant that often is mistaken as a chain restaurant. Our building and atmosphere is beautiful, polished and is well received by a broad spectrum of guests. We specialize in hand crafted food made from scratch and our menu features chef driven entrees that marry local midwest favorites with asian fusion and other cuisines from around the world. Our biggest compliment from our guests is our consistency. Guests know they can count on us to provide a great dining experience every time they visit. We are deeply immersed in our community, working with our local high school and community college as well as participating in our local chamber of commerce and tourism boards.
Our branding message is “Handcrafted Food Made with Passion Always” and we live that every day. We source as much as we can locally including locally raised Elk and Bison, local wines, beers and spirits, and other food items that are available on a seasonal basis.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I began my career in the restaurant business 4o+ years ago when I worked in my parents’ restaurant in Stark, MN. I have worked at a variety of successful independent and chain restaurants that has allowed Pike and Pint to feature the strengths of both types of concepts. I spent 15 years working in kitchens as a cook, supervisor and chef before moving out front to the dining room. This has helped me to have a broad range of experiences to draw from when tackling issues in our business as they arrive.
Pricing:
- $15-$30 entrees
- $15-$20 appetizers
- affordable cocktails, beer and wine.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.pikeandpint.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pikeandpintgrill/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100053974732399
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/54401774/admin/dashboard/
