Author: Tom Wall, BSU student
Earlier this year, I had the honor and privilege of interviewing the owner of The Eagle Brook Saloon and my boss, Chuck Horne. Growing up Chuck always found himself working in restaurants and as the years went by he became very interested in finance. Chuck decided to pursue his newfound interest in finance at the University of Fairfield and after 5 years received a Master’s Degree. Following college Chuck knew he wanted to take his talents in finance into the restaurant industry. In 1981 Chuck founded The Eagle Brook Saloon which is located in Norfolk, Massachusetts. The goal and purpose of founding this restaurant was to provide patrons delicious food, handcrafted ales and an awesome environment.
The Eagle Brook has been extremely successful for nearly forty years but there have definitely been some challenges along the way. The restaurant faced a significant challenge during the early days, funding. While Chuck and his team were in good financial standing they still needed bank loans to get the restaurant off the ground. Chuck reached out to a local banker and delivered a pitch on how his restaurant would succeed. The banker was floored with how concise and detailed the business plan was and immediately administered a loan. Once the loan applied the restaurant took off and never looked back. A few other challenges the restaurant has faced over the years is finding suitable employees and obviously competition.
In 1981 Norfolk, Massachusetts was pretty much a ghost town, the opening of the Eagle Brook would change history. The Eagle Brook has gone on to offer local patrons excellent service along with late night entertainment for nearly forty years and is showing no signs of decline! When asked about the toughest part about owning a business Chuck replied with: “Competition, when I opened the Brook we were the only restaurant within 10 miles. Now in this day in age our area is overflowed with bars… I have seen many restaurants lose their identity while faced with adversity and competition, not us.” The Brook continues to be a fun environment with great daily deals. Despite all the local competition the restaurant remains busy and relevant.
In life and especially business, goals are essential towards future success. If Chuck Horne never set goals the Brook would no way still be standing. Two big goals Chuck sets were to satisfy his customers and employees. These goals continue to be very measurable. “In order to keep my business going I’m going to need employees and customers, right?” Chuck does everything in his power to satisfy both his customers and employees. To satisfy the customer Chuck consistently offers great prices and deals on food and beverages. Recently, Chuck bought and placed six new televisions in the restaurant. Over the years there have been some complaints of lack of televisions in the restaurant, so Chuck fixed it! Employees are offered great benefits at the Eagle Brook including flexible schedules and health care. The restaurant also owns Red Sox season tickets that are given to employees free of charge. Chuck and the Brook live by these two goals on a daily basis and the people continue to be satisfied. As Chuck enters his 60’s he has no plans of retiring, “Satisfying the local community keeps me going, I love my life and job.. Why change that?”
The Eagle Brook Saloon is an awesome historic restaurant that offers excellent service and entertainment to their patrons .Chuck is very grateful for social media. Eagle Brook is able to market and advertise their promotions to thousands of people at once. Between food, beverage and environment offered everyone should visit the Brook at least once. I can guarantee new patrons would come back!
Visit Eagle Brook Saloon at:
258 Dedham Street, Norfolk, MA
Contact them via:
Telephone: 508-384-7312
Website: meetyouatthebrook.com
Facebook: Eagle Brook Saloon
Instagram: @eaglebsaloon
