WACONIA, Minn. — A global pandemic is serious business. A Minnesota bar & grill owner is proving surviving one doesn’t have to be.
“This is just how I wanted to see my career go,” Greg James laughs from inside a blue shark costume.
Each night, the owner of Iron Tap in Waconia wears the shark costume, and others, to deliver curbside food in front of his restaurant.
“You have to make the most of any situation,” James says. “Everybody's sacrificing something and you have to make the most of it - and just, you know, try and smile.”
On any given night, James might be dressed as an astronaut, a dinosaur or Darth Vader.
His collection has grown as customers have dropped off more costumes just to see him wear them.
They’ve also responded with their pocketbooks.
By mid-afternoon, James’ bar top is lined from one end to the other with evening dinner orders. His daily specials routinely sell out by 2:00 p.m.
The costume antics haven't just helped James’ business survive, they've allowed him to keep on the payroll all his employees, with the exception of two high school part-timers.
“I was very worried in the beginning as to what we were going to do, but this has just been wonderful,” Andrea Avaloz, an Iron Tap manager, says.
To give customers a dine-in experience, James’ created a virtual restaurant video.
To keep his adjacent ice cream shop open, he removed a window air conditioner to offer walk-up window service.
“We’re doing okay and we’re going to survive, and in the beginning, you don’t know if that’s going to happen or not,” James says.
His customers say they come for the Iron Tap's food too, which several described as excellent.
Still, the costumes continually remind them how hard James is working to keep his business afloat.
"It makes people smile and laugh and it keeps people coming back," James Misuraca says from the cab of his pickup, a fresh food order in hand.
The owner of Iron Tap says he'll be ready to put the costumes away once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
"For the meantime, we wake up, we’re happy, we have fun, the staff makes money. That’s all I care about," Greg James says.
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