Marlon Engberg and Rick Steinmetz
—Muzzle Loader Cafe and Powder Horn Casino
We stopped at this establishment about 12:30 p.m. on a Monday. What was strikingly similar to our earlier stop at the Squire is that there was a group of four guys playing the Golden Tee Golf machine while they enjoyed their coffee and beers. This version of the machine has a 46-inch screen! It is clear: these new amusement devices draw and entertain patrons and hold them longer.
The owners here have also put in the Big Buck Hunter game.
The Powder Horn has been running tournaments in conjunction with a neighboring saloon, the Moose-breath.
"We had our own league," partner Rick Steinmetz says, "with 16 to 20 players. Then we started working with the Moosebreath. It's working very well. We had 24 players in our last league."
The tournaments run 10 weeks, they explain, and consist of a seeded entry format at $20 per player. It's double elimination with two divisions. A calcutta is incorporated. The top three play off in a championship round. Sounds like fun.
Steinmetz says the new amusement devices can bring in younger clientele, a generation raised on the modern versions of video gaming. But it can also draw older customers who grew up with pinball but understand the fundamentals and legacy of golf, bowling and hunting so readily adapt to the modern gear.
Amusement Services President Tim Carson, who vends the games at the Powder Horn, says the increased animation and complexity of video gambling machines has taught older players how to play the most modern amusement games.
But Carson stresses that businesses need to first examine, then decide on, what sort of high-speed broadband communications services to bring in to fully exploit the potential of the new generation of amusement devices, especially league and tournament play.
Steinmetz and partner Marlon Engberg bought the business about six years ago and have worked it hard. Engberg says he usually arrives at 5 or 5:30 a.m. to start his day. His work day typically runs 14 hours. He and Steinmetz are there seven days a week. But the hard work has paid off. The original facility was old, inefficient and too small. So they purchased additional ground behind it and, with their short but proven business history, arranged financing to build the facility they dreamed of.
The new plant was open and running before they tore down the original and cleared that ground for a nice, roomy parking lot. They just celebrated the first anniversary of the new structure.
Engberg said he hears from peers that times are tough in Billings. Yet he says frankly business at the Muzzle Loader and Powder Horn is up 30 percent over last year.
This duo is decidedly focused on the future. The are in the midst of constructing the first addition to the new facility, an outdoor area for customers to use when the weather is pleasant...or when it's not, since they will put a roof over it and provide radiant heat when it's cold. They know they need to be out ahead of that looming Oct. 1 smoking ban date.
But aside from facilities and entertainment, Steinmetz and Engberg veer back toward the fundamentals of a hospitality business: true hospitality.
"Owners set the tone," Engberg says, then staff picks that up and displays it for customers. "We're totally focused on the customer. Our staff aren't allowed to use cell phones on shift...and no boyfriends!" Engberg adds with a laugh. "If you're not focused on the customer, you're dead."
"You've got to take care of your regulars first," says Steinmetz. "But you've also got to be alert to new customers. Always greet them and show them your friendliness."
The Powder Horn is big on sports entertainment, too. During sports events they do complimentary food, maybe chili or brats, for bar patrons.
They run two NASCAR fantasy leagues. At week eight, they draw 100 names, then later draw those down to 25, then to 10, then to one who wins a trip to a NASCAR race at the end of the fantasy season. At each stage, winners are notified and told they need to be present in order to make the next round. Talk about building in your crowd.
The business doesn't bear the whole cost of the prize, either; they get help from the vendors who are in turn promoted by the Powder Horn - scratching each others' backs.
They heavily promote UM Grizzly football, they promote poker runs, conduct a big Super Bowl bash (they also contract for the NFL television package), they do an annual pig roast with live music - an event they say has gotten huge. They run a Mardi Gras promotion and Hawaii Nights.
On Thanksgiving they put on a feed for customers, especially since the restaurant closes early anyway that day.
They sponsor a bowling tournament and a golf tournament (actual, not virtual). They sponsor four pool league teams, softball teams and even men's and women's flag football teams.
But they also let sponsored teams know they expect patronage in return, and they have devised a system to track what those teams spend. If the ring-ups are good, they'll sponsor that team again; if poor, sorry, go find another sponsor.
They use a tried and true method of promoting all these events: word-of-mouth, though they do some print and broadcast.
"You've got to keep changing it up," Engberg says. "Get out of your rut. Do an event, even if it's stupid."
Steinmetz adds, "You've got to keep your name out there. Target your demographics. We make people feel like they are wanted."
"We're here seven days a week," says Engberg. "We want to meet the day's newbies. And people come in to see the owner. It makes a lot of difference if you're here."
Source: The Montana Tavern Times, May 2009, published monthly by Continental Communications, 125 W Granite, Suite 102, Butte MT. 59701