Today we’d like to introduce you to Dan Madsen.
Hi Dan, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
My wife Amy and I met in the restaurant industry over 25 years ago. While we had both moved on to full-time business hour jobs, I think we always knew we would end up owning a restaurant someday. Amy was born and raised in Waconia, so when the local bowling alley became bank-owned and slated for liquidation and demolition, we thought we would try to save it… and the rest is history. The building was built at the turn of the century, originally used as an automobile dealership and garage – which gave the name to our business: Garage Bar & Bowl. Our remodeling was extensive, we reduced the building to the studs and rafters which exposed beautiful Chaska brick and wood/train truss rafters. Keeping true to the original form, we converted the old wooded bowling lanes into restaurant tables and repurposed pieces of the century-old wood as our bar top.
As a concept, we built out our menu in the same manner as we built the Garage. We are proud to use locally sourced ingredients in our offerings. We run a scratch kitchen with all original recipes. What we do is fairly unique for a small but growing – city in the West Metro Area, but we are proud of what we do and are fortunate to have the support of the community behind us.
Another piece worth mentioning may be our affection for Bloody Marys. I have been mixing up Bloodies for decades, but really took an interest in the uniqueness and complexity of mixes while opening Chino Latino as a bartender in Uptown, Minneapolis. Our house recipe is original, and we have been rewarded for our efforts by being the three-time and defending Champion of the Twin Cities Bloody Mary Festival, held each year at the Union Depot in St. Paul. I would also mention that we set the World Record for the World’s Largest Bloody Mary Bar in October of 2020- yes, during the pandemic. That was a crazy time, and a crazy event to host in compliance with all of the regulations and safety precautions we took. That being said, we were able to set out a Bloody Mary Bar for our limited guest list that set a new world record of 219 unique and individual garnishes.
While owning a business in the hospitality industry has its ups and downs, we have certainly made the most of having fun and trying new things. It has, for certain, been a wild ride thus far… and a lot of fun as well.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Opening a restaurant is a challenge, period. For us, being located in a small town and having a 9,000-square-foot space added complexity to our start; with the complete remodel and permitting processes for our business causing a lot of sleepless nights. My wife and I did a lot of research on the front end, and we relied on our restaurant experience in getting up and going. Even with all of that as support, there were still so many things we just did not know or understand. Navigating hiring and training staff, working through the myriad distributors that call, developing and building out a successful menu with recipes; all of the taxes, fees, and everything else that was new was a bit overwhelming. Like everyone else that has been where we were, we simply did our best, maintained confidence in ourselves, and tried to learn from our mistakes. It can be very humbling at times, but the pride and sense of accomplishment when we have success more than makeup for the more difficult times.
The Pandemic was a different challenge, one that all of us faced together – yet in different ways. We had been open just over two years when we were shut down for the first time. Those were probably the darkest days since we had opened. Managing limited to no revenue, trying to take care of our staff and keep them going, and doing our best to position ourselves to hopefully re-open after the Pandemic ended was nearly too much to handle. Somehow, though, we did; and through the help of a very caring and supportive community, we re-opened and are moving forward.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My family loves to travel, research, learn and enjoy great food. Our menu is scratch-made with our recipes being unique and original. We love to travel and make sure to take time to cook with locals in their restaurants and learn how to make the meals we discover and love along the way. Our pizza dough is roughly based on a recipe we picked up in the Dominican Republic, of all places, at a small pie shop that was willing to share how they made their amazing pizza crust. We made some changes, of course, but are very happy with our dough and proofing process. Our pizza sauce has been developed over the past two decades from our home cooking.
The Garage Jerk Chicken sauce and wings are based upon our time with the guys at Scotchies in Montego Bay, Jamaica. While we don’t have the sweetwood they use for smoking there, we found a wood blend that works well enough. Our Cuban Sandwich was developed during the time I lived in Miami during my first year of Law School. Spending time at Versailles, or eating my way through Little Havana, was a great learning experience that translated to true-to-form flavors in those menu items. Nearly every item on the menu has a story, and we love continuing to explore and bring back more ideas and new flavors to share with our community.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I grew up as an interracial child in St. Paul, Minnesota. I can’t say that my childhood was much different than anyone else’s. I liked sports, hanging out with friends, and all of the typical things kids in that area would enjoy. I did play a fair amount of soccer, and – of course – I really liked to eat.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.garagebowl.com
- Instagram: @GarageBowl
- Facebook: @GarageBowl
