Goodrich-Dave Cushman took a chance 40 years ago.
Forgoing a secure skilled trade career with then Flint-based Buick for a small village pub along M-15 with one pool table, no kitchen and Blatz Beer on tap.
‘It was the right thing to do,? said Cushman, owner of the Bullring Sports Grille, 8234 S. State Road. ‘Looking back over the years, I never really went to work. True, it’s been a lot of hours, but they’re your hours.?
Last month, the Bullring and the Cushman family celebrated 40 years of business in the village. Over the past four decades the Cushmans grew the business’adding a kitchen and pick-up window and expanding the dining area. Plenty of big televisions now hang from the walls. The menu grew from the traditional hamburgers and fries to a simple yet well established Mexican wet burrito that remains the signature dish of the family.
‘The burrito’s been the same since 1979,? laughed Cushman. ‘We make it with our own spices’our customers just love the consistency, they know what they are getting. It’s really about, ‘Food ‘n Fun? for everyone, like our sign over the bar says.?
The efforts of the Cushmans were not without struggles over the years.
‘When General Motors left town in the late 1990s it really hit us hard,? he said. ‘The trickle down in the local economy made it pretty tough for a long time. Also, the impact of the government in Lansing and the changes in laws hurt, too. No smoking in public areas kept a lot of people home. Still, we pushed on’our family is a team that makes this place run. It’s like a three-legged bar stool. It takes customers, employees and business’lose one of them and it falls over and you’re out.?
The community support is key, added Cushman.
‘You really have to take care of the customer,? he added. ‘They make this place go. We host parties, hire students and sponsor teams’what we give we get back in great support.?