Brewhouse Xtras

How fitting that the Indiana Pacers are taking on New Orleans tonight in Indianapolis on Fat Tuesday. Since we can't all travel to New Orleans to take part in bead throwing and amazing southern cuisine, Scotty's is offering you a way to get a little taste without the road trip.  Today all Scotty's Brewhouse locations will be whipping up some Jambalaya to get in the Mardi Gras spirit, Scotty's Burger Joint and Scotty's Lakehouse will be offering a Creole Burger and Thr3e Wise Men a Creole Pizza. Did we mention we have beads that have no requirements other than walking into one of our locations with a smile on your face? Oh and that all Kids Eat Free at Scotty's Brewhouse and Scotty's Burger Joint locations today?

Can't make it out today? Don't worry, starting tomorrow and then every Friday after that till Easter Sunday, Scotty's Brewhouse locations will be preparing some of your favorite fish dishes to keep you on track.

IT TAKES A VILLAGE… (a Super Bowl Village)

As a restaurant owner, I feel like everything we represent and embody, is mirrored in what our great city showcased on a worldwide Super Bowl stage…  preparation, excellence, service & hospitality and exceeding expectations.  I often say as a restaurant owner, we are a business made of humans that are prone to make mistakes (try serving Thanksgiving Dinner to your friends and family 365 days a year and never burn the stuffing).  But, for 10 days, this city and my restaurant hit a proverbial grand slam in all areas, and I am more proud to be a Hoosier today than I ever have been.

 I love traveling all over the country and talking to people.  It is always funny to me, after talking with someone for awhile, when the question of "where are you from" comes up.  In my most Yorktownian twang, I utter, "Indiana."  The person I'm talking to inevitably has an expression that I have read a thousand times over - the circuits in their brain are saying, "what the Hell, I thought they all wore overalls and said 'ya'll' in that state."  Now, granted, most people from each coast rarely knows where our state is located (but, to be truthful, I can never find Rhode Island or New Mexico on a map either), usually is just "flying over" our state and mostly knows us for a 2.5 mile race track, cornfields and Reggie Miller giving Spike Lee a "choke sign."  I don't really care if that remains to be the common misperception - because what we just did AS A CITY was EXCEED EXPECTATIONS and left people saying, "wow, those are nice people that really know how to throw a party and make a concerted effort to make other people smile and happy…" that's Indiana Hoosier Hospitality at its core.

Some of the interviews I had over the week, I was questioned with, "Is this weather hurting your business?"

My truthful answer was always an astounding, "It is 55 degrees and sunny in early February in Indianapolis.  We have 200,000 visitors from all over the world getting to experience 3 years of hard work and detailed preparation with outside events and activities.  The Super Bowl is 10 days.  My business lease in downtown Indianapolis is for 10 YEARS.  So, when you ask me, 'is this weather hurting my business,' how could I complain about doing 3 weeks' worth of sales all in 1 week and be greedy enough to say, 'but, I expected and wanted more.'  Couldn't we all agree that the long term payoff of potential convention, visitors and future event business will amplify for years to come in our great city?"

I think this small opinion piece from the Indianapolis Star said it very well: Click here to read  

They often say in sports, the quarterback of a team usually gets more praise than he deserves when things go well and takes more of the blame when things go wrong…  even though it is a team sport, the leader accepts these responsibilities.  Sometimes I feel that same way, mostly from the praise side of things.  And, I can't say it enough, that the "game" of restaurant is like the sport of football…  we succeed together as a team, because of each other, not just because of one person whose name is on a lit up neon sign on the building.

We planned 10 days of events, activities, 1,000 scheduled employee shifts, tent and outdoor liquor permitting, marketing and so much more over an 8 month period to prepare for the Super Bowl week.  The important word in that sentence was "WE."  From my Managing Partner, Dave Hornak whom was at the restaurant for over 100 hours, to my VP of Operations, Tyler Thompson, whom was integral in working with all facets of scheduling and planning, almost every person on my Executive Team from COO to Director of Digital Media to Director of Kitchen Operations and Catering putting together a $5,000 order for the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon crew on Super Bowl Sunday…  almost every person in my company had a hand in activities going on in every city, in every department, in every way.

Thank you to my employees that drove from other cities and locations to help us.

Thank you Super Bowl Planning Committee and City of Indianapolis Police Department and officials for taking care of all the details that often go unnoticed and just expected.  

Thank you Pepsi & Budweiser (Zink Distributing) for your partnerships, support and incredible tickets to the game.

THANK YOU GUESTS AND THE LOYAL PATRONS OF SCOTTY'S BREWHOUSE, for none of which the rest of this story is possible or important without you.

Thank you Today Show, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Esquire Magazine, Indianapolis Star, Fox 59, CBS, NBC, ABC and all other media sources that shined the light on, not only our city; but, my restaurant.  We have many years to become an institution like St. Elmo's in this city and I have nothing but love and respect for Craig Huse - just to start to get recognition in the same breath as a restaurant like this is humbling.  I told Chef Neal Brown at Libertine during the week of activities, "sometimes I feel guilty for all our exposure when there are chefs like you and Greg Hardesty and Black Market and all the others that are the culinary geniuses in this city making a real educational and creative impact on our communities."

"It takes a village to raise a child," they say.  I have felt this way from my childhood, through college, my early days of running my restaurant by myself and, more than ever, now.  It has taken swim coaches, neighborhood parents, local banks, incredible parents, great friends, co-workers that believed in this dream and a state that lifts me up and supports what we do.

I posted this comment on our Facebook page and I must say it again:  You know what I enjoy the most about all the media attention we received over the past few weeks?  Making all of you and my state proud of me and this company.  It takes a village to raise a small town country boy from Yorktown, Indiana and 2 fantastic parents...

I think it just took a Super Bowl Village to raise our entire state and city of Indianapolis to a new level of greatness and Hoosier Hospitality.

Thank you Indianapolis!

Scotty Wise

Over the last couple weeks we have received over 60 inspiring stories of children who deserve professional training from some of the best. It was hard to narrow it down to just 8 with a plethora of such wonderful children. The following kids will be attending the SuperProCampIII sponsored by Scotty's Brewhouse with Dwight Freeney and Garth Brooks on February 3^rd. 

Football Camp

Adam Myers - nominated by his aunt April Thompson

Adam is a 13 year old boy who started to have an affinity for football in the past year. He has spent most of his time recently helping out his mother as she recoveres from radiation treatments. His aunt April believes that he has had to grow up a little faster than most kids and therefore needs a reward for taking on such responsibilities.

Tyler Stanfield - nominated by his mother Riannon Stanfield

Tyler is an 11 year old boy who is a die-hard Colts fan, funny, intelligent, loving, kind and lastly a cancer survivor. Over the past 4 years Tyler has been battling Melanoma, and even through his battle he has come out a hero. Recently Riannon had a health scare of her own and his son stepped up and took care of her giving her words of encouragement and helping her through the hard time stating that he was doing it "because you took good care of me."

Eli Stewart - nominated by his mother Maureen Stewart

Eli is a 9 year old boy who has loved football sice he was given a football at age 2 by his physical therapist. Eli was born with a Diaphragmatic Hernia and needed to have physical therapy at a young age. Ever since that ball was placed in Eli's hand he has dreamed of playing with the best of the best.

Trent Houterloot - nominated by his father Tim Houterloot

Trent is an 11 year old boy whom has been passed up on school and travel teams for football and basketball. Through the disappointment, Trent has kept pushing on and believing that one day he will be able to make the cut. Being a sports fanatic Trent is unwilling to believe that he is not fast enough or tall enough to do what he loves. 

Maverik Mollenkopf - nominated by his mother Angie Mollenkopf

Maverik is an 8 year old boy who dreams of playing pro football and states often "mom if I play football then I will have lots of money to feed the kids who are starving". He even totes around a spiral bound notebook where he draws out plays and team logos and then quizzes family members.

Cheerleading Camp

Sarah Fendel - nominated by her mother Jennifer Fendel

Sarah is a 9 year old girl who is the youngest of 4 kids. She has spent most of her life being a spectator to her brother and sisters activities and never really having her own place. Recently she began a cheerleading program and has really excelled. Her mom Jennifer really would like to give her a little more push and give her the chance to be trained by some of the best coaches.

Alex West - nominated by her after school advisor Jennifer Hammons

Alex is a 5th grade girl who was nominated by her after school program advisor Jennifer Hammons. Jennifer says that Alex exhibits leadership qualities and is always taking control of whatever group she is in, encouraging them to work together towards a common goal. She has a good personality, fun-loving, spunky and has a good head on her shoulders.

Courtland Cottle - nominated by her mother Danelle Cottle

Courtland is a 12 year old girl who for the past 3 years has given up her Christmas gifts in order to give to others. She not only uses her Christmas money to purchase those less fortunate gifts she also took a stand when a family friends baby came down with liver cancer. Courtland organized a blood drive and over 72 people came to donate blood. When Courtland was interviewed by RTV6 she said "I don't know what the big deal is. It is just the right thing to do."

Congratulations to all our winners. Don't forget about us when you become a professional athlete. 

 -The Brewhouse Family

Every year the staff votes on four managers of the year. Each person nominated has done something to stand out within their role and go above and beyond their job expectations. 

"We like presenting these awards to show appreciation for our hard working team that have gone above and beyond the "normal" call of duty.  In this business, however, there really is not a "normal."  Restaurants operate 7 days a week, usually 18+ hours per day.  Every manager in this company must pull their weight in ways that other "9 to 5" type businesses would never understand.  For that, I'm thankful for each and every manager…  the old adage, "only as strong as your weakest link" applies to us in every way.  But, for these awards and recognition for a year of exceptional achievement, voted on by peers, is most valuable in that sense…  the people around us, that work with us, day in and day out have spoken and voted these 4 people as our most exceptional for 2011.  Thank you Rachel, Nick, Giovanni and James." - Scott Wise President and CEO

 And the winners are. . . drum roll please. . .

Executive Member of the Year: Rachel Redwine Nelson 

Rachel Redwine Nelson has been with Scotty's for 12 years.  She is the Director of Training.  Hundreds of our employees have gone through her training on a weekly basis and she spends countless hours pouring over every detail to keep our training program top notch.  Her hard work and dedication won her the title of Executive of the Year.  We are all thankful to have her on this team.

"I am truly grateful and honored to receive the Executive of the Year award.  I am so blessed and feel very fortunate to have the ability to work with such an amazing group of people on a daily basis." - Rachel Redwine Nelson

General Manager of the Year: Nick Kline

Nick Kline, very new to the title of GM, has taken the Muncie store to new levels of success in a short period of time.  He is truly a GM who cares about his staff, his store, and this company.    He has been with this company for 8 years and moved up slowly through the ranks.  He has grown up with Scotty's and matured into a very successful GM.  We value the hard work and efforts he has put into the changes made in the Muncie location and for that effort he has been named GM of the year. 

"

Back of House Manager of the Year: Giovanni Vega

Giovanni Vega, KM of the West Lafayette location and 4 year employee, is one of those rising stars in our company.  There is no doubt in anyone's mind who meets Gio, that he will continue to exceed expectations!  For this reason, he was voted BOH manager of the year.

"Wow this is amazing I really don't know what to say but thank you very much.  We have a lot of great managers so it surprises me that I was chosen, wow.  Thank you." - Gio Vega

Front of House Manager of the Year: James Hickey

Front of House Manager of the Year: James Hickey, new to the company this year, is the AGM of the Muncie location.  The combination of him and Nick Kline has been a powerhouse.  Nick Kline recently joked that he felt unneeded with the way that James could handle everything while Nick was out with his wife having a baby.  We couldn't have said it better and for that reason, James wins the title of FOH manager of the year!

During the holidays, people's willingness to give is tremendous but soon fizzles out after the season. Scotty's likes to keep the spirit of giving alive past the holidays.

Through the month of January all Scotty's locations will be collecting canned food for their local food banks. This collection came out of a plea from the Muncie Mission back in October when it was reported that they were running dangerously low on food.

"Our pantry and back-up pantry are extremely low of non-perishable food items.  Today, we had to stop giving non-perishable food away to families in need because our supplies are dangerously low, as well, today the kitchen director went to the cooler to get potatoes to make mashed potatoes for lunch, he reported later that we are out of potatoes," said Ray Raines, Executive Director, Muncie Mission. 

It's not just the Muncie Mission that is experiencing this strain on donated goods. "Everywhere you look --in the news, on television --people are running out of food. Agencies don't have enough food to give to the people that need them," said the Muncie Star Press in an October edition. 

For every 3 cans donated the donator will receive a FREE VIP Card. The Scotty's VIP card can be used at any location statewide and is used to accrue points to later turn in for prizes such as gift cards or trips to Vegas.

Want an example of what kind of foods food banks are looking for? Things like peanut butter, canned meats, boxed macaroni & cheese, instant oatmeal, canned chili, canned soups, canned fruit and powdered milk. 

Where will the food go?

Scotty's Brewhouse Muncie: Muncie Mission

Scotty's Brewhouse West Lafayette: Food Finders Food Bank

Scotty's Brewhouse Bloomington: Hoosier Hills Food Bank

Scotty's Brewhouse Downtown Indianapolis: Gleaners Food Bank

Scotty's Brewhouse Northside Indianapolis: Gleaners Food Bank

Scotty's Lakehouse: Gleaners Food Bank

Thr3e Wise Men Brewing Co.: Gleaners Food Bank

Scotty's Burger Joint: Gleaners Food Bank

"How long do you enjoy the win before you start thinking about the next game, Coach?"  I've heard this before and I've often thought about it as how it applies to my life, my career and ultimately how it affects my number one asset and most important piece to this company's success…  my team.  "I'm sorry, I didn't hear the question, I was too busy thinking of how we could have ran one of our plays better, what was the question?"  Exactly.

I've been asked to speak at a lot of events.  And, like so often happens in life, we often tell everyone EXCEPT the ones we truly love and appreciate, how much we love and appreciate them.  But, we are always telling others and not the people that truly deserve to hear it.

My people mean everything to me and our entire company's success.  I often profess, "I am an idiot."  Truly.  I am.  But, what makes me smart?  The people around me.  I have a team that elevates me and this entire company that works so incredibly well as one cohesive unit.

See, what I noticed early on in my career is that I wasn't the best cook, the best bartender, the best server, the best anything, really.  What I was good at is coming up with an idea and a goal and then having the ability to motivate a group of people to all believe in that one goal and do everything they could to make it happen.

I am a blessed man.  It took me awhile to get my life in order and figure things out.  Many things in life happen for a reason.  You go through life's ups and downs to teach you something.  But, for all my mistakes and errors, it has made me a better human today.  I love my wife, my kids and my extended family of employees.  I can now recognize and appreciate all these things and all of these people, because of my personal and professional successes AND failures…  and it is important for me to tell all of you, thank you for your years of hard work, commitment, loyalty and believing in me to lead this company to success.  It is because of all of you that WE as a TEAM are successful.

My goal is to try and continue to "break the mold" of what other companies do or say.  Sure, companies grow, more rules and systems are put in place for a reason and sometimes a brand can get "watered down."  When the CEO can't visit as often, shake hands with customers and staff, sometimes it loses a little of that magic.  But, why can't we replace the magic another way?  Can a GM/Partner or server/bartender use some of their own "magic" to keep the brand alive?  I think it can.  Can the internet, email, Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites make the world smaller, enabling the CEO to connect to guests and keep the brand alive, just in a newer, less face-to-face way?  I think it can.

So, as we embark into 2012 and look into our future of growth and success for our company, I think it is important to not be that coach that is looking so hungrily at our next victory, without taking time to appreciate our previous successes.  We had a busy 2011 with Thr3e Wise Men Brewing Co. opening in Broad Ripple last January and Scotty's Burger Joint opening this past October.  (2 restaurant in one year!)  We've survived a recession and had growth while many restaurants have been shutting their doors.

 We opened in 1996.  That seems like yesterday to me.  It feels like I was behind the bar, serving, cooking, going home at night and doing the accounting (living at my parents house) and was the only employee.  16 years later in the blink of an eye…  hundreds of miles of distance between restaurants, 8 locations and 1,000 employees, I want to thank each of the following people that have celebrated a certain anniversary with me over this past year, starting from September, 1996 until now.  

Happy new year and cheers to many more years of successes, loyalty and personal growth…

Scotty

2011 Employee Anniversaries 

One Year

Asheley Alexander, Jamie Cavanaugh, Drew Curry, Monica Deck, Betsy Federico, Kylee Hubble, Marianne Hurley, Tiffany Leffel, John Lewandowski, Sarah Mark, Stephanie Marsell, Nick Nicholas, Ali Prieboy, Geoff Rambow, Jenna Schmatz, Adrian White, Mike Brazitis, Megan Ripley, Craig Walker, Marissa Balog, Sarah Berling, Melissa Corbin, Carly Gilliatte, David Perez, Jessy Riekhof, Sarah Leaf & Ramon Ochoa, Brent Gerlich, Max Harvey, Joe Jackson, Drew Burton, Michael Eberle, Laura Buttery, Jen Davis, Julia Angle, Nathan Donaldson, Elizabeth Liebler, Adam Maginot, Fred Britton, Ashley Matuska, , Jessica Calkin, Dave Hornak, Shelby Johnson, Andrea Watts, Ashley Reed, Julien Jordan, Robb Eads, Danny Forst, Veronica Garcia, Jason Goens, Eve Grelle, Leah Keough, Ali Fifer, William Sacks, Vicky Tsoumbakopoulos, Juan Jose, Adiel Harrison, Ashley Barth, Bruce McClain, Ali Prieboy, Derek Richard, Jacob Shively, Matt Sigman, Charles Vinson, Jami Mack,  Rigoberto Sanchez,  Blakeleigh King, Roberto Flores, Holly Herron, Omar Castrellon, Adrian Carrillo, Francisco Castro, Joni Cook, Abagail Musselman, Gerargo Cruz, Kelly Fields, Gerald Bonds, Tyler Schmid, , Erikah Delaney, Elizabeth Doster, Tiffany Sanders, Michele Schmatz, Lauren Sexton, Marta Vitolins,  Melissa Morris, John Choate, Amy Taylor, Marlene Toscano, Evan Butler, Brittany Jacobs, Chris Plumb, Sam Valencic, Josh Robinson,  Chloe Davis, Leah Mills, Larissa Smith, Collin Taylor, John Hastings, Holly Beckman, Josh Brown, Jillyann Burns, Kara Jarvis, Gabriel Martinez, Mitchell Misicko, Leslie Steigmeyer, Brian Winnie, Miguel Cruz, Abby McIntosh,  Ryan Sparks,  Mariel Gabel, Stephanie Kushnir, Chris Skow, Katelin Davis,  Heather Crehan, Jordan Kaelin, Edrico Shannon, Carly Szabo, Ben Dewes,  Ethan Balog, Kylie Shafer, Alexandra Spangler, Jessica Williams, Abigail Alexander, Bridget Langan,  Oscar Licona, Jonathon Dalton, Gabino Jose, Brent Luber, Alan Simons, Keely Thomlinson, Olivia Johnson, James Jones Jr., Heather Purtee, Chelsea Seifert, Danielle Conn, Brandon Brown, Kelsey Hay, Danyal Butcher, Lukas Huff, Gracie Marks, Jonathan Oakley, Megan Rondinella, Amanda Smith, Raul Xique 

Two Years

Guillermina Gerardo, Elena Jose, Emily Kirk, Sam Dixon, Kelsey Baker, Ariel Sarrano, Joseph "Kurt" Carman, Nedra Stuart, Kylee Matheney, Steven Mattingly, Caitlin Kleinsmith, Amanda Smith, Paige Hummel, Daniel Burton, Adrian Thornton, Chelsea Atkinson, Hilary Eisenmenger, Justin Mayes, Rich Cardile, Joel Swift, Jared Owen, Sarah Wallis, Lindsay Aigner, Kodi Melson, Corey Morse, Hannah Hutton, Gabriel Reece, Giedeon Reece, Danielle Jackson, Maggie Gentry, Amanda Goelz, Jason Klenke, Donald (Donny) Torres, Linda Sherfick, Kelsee Hankins, Brad Mahoney, Manda Ostoich, Morgan Albregts, Carly Desrocher, Ben Gehlhausen, Ricardo Lewis, Jess Stephens, Katie Fischer, Andrew Nieken, Elsi Bernabe', James Koontz, Jacqueline Laura, Jamie Moreno, Allison Kay, Dennis Russu, Greg Wise, Coretta Harbold, Taylor Brookey, Deizie Buor, Kevin (McCabe) Wagner, Anna Shepherd, Shaina Allman, Bryce Lemna, Julio Ortiz, Jordan Meyer, Elizabeth Pineda Cruz, Mark Woldahl

Three Years

William (wyatt) Vukobratovich, Katlin Alexander, Robert "tyler" Callon, Derick Hull, Katie Pipp, Stanley Patton, Rachel Smith, Nickolas Furto, Brittani King, Giovanni Vega, Matthew Thomas, Stephanie Lane,  Alex Kraft, Nic Corrie, Emily Sledge, Antwan Vinson, Meg Blunk, Ashley Dunn, Scott Kelch, Arec Simeri, Brie Byrd, Adiel Harrison, Ryan Wade, Brian Zajac, Jessika Knight, John Peresie, Ashley Christopher, Tyler Keller, Ryan Butner, Chris Meadows, Toran Fiene, Kylie Groover, Richard Heston, Brandon Gaffney, Juan Jose, Brandon Wilburn, Robert Baker, Stephanie Dillon, Richard Johnson, Genoveva Jose, Portia McGinty, Heather Seybold 

Four Years

Scott Lewandowski, Brooke Johnson, Colin Oakes,  Ezra Fohl, Nathaniel Turner, Shawn Tuck, Brandon Smith, Joe Davis, Holli Warren, Grady Bass, Lauren Fiedler, Kim Lewandowski, John Cavanaugh

Five Years

Erika Spence-Polera, Kyle Hodgen, Steven Love, Nate Lake, Sarah Martin, Elmer Fernandez, Dan Hillman, Aaron Mitchell, Crystal Ward, Angie Vosmeier, Kevin Cairns, Nancy Honan, Michelle Cox

Six Years

Mark Sontag, Jason Schmatz, Matt Enghauser, Nevin Martin, Phil Woodsmall, Courtney Slauter

Seven Years

Matt Sharp, Nick Kline, Craig Adkins

Eight Years

Sky Kingrey, Heather Diehl, Ryan Kellerman, Aaron Kretzchmar, Mark Pendleton, Jason Podell, Meredith Sowers

Ten Years

Josh Bussberg, Tim Jenyk Jr., 

Eleven Years

Luke Duncan, Rachel Redwine-Nelson

Fifteen Years

Tyler Thompson, Eric Schamp

As the New Year quickly approaches you may be scrambling to figure out what to do New Years Eve, no fear Scotty's is here. 

Thr3e Wise Men Brewing Co. will be ringing in the New Year with a new beer, King Solomon's Imperial Stout, tapping starts at 10pm. King Solomon's Imperial Stout is a very dark beer that has a malty hoppy flavor with additions of Ghyslain chocolate, crystal and dark malts and local honey. 

Scotty's Brewhouse on 96^th St. will be bringing in the New Year with a champagne toast at Midnight. Bring some of your closest friends, reserve a private dining area and bring in the New Year in style!

Scotty's Burger Joint in Columbus, Indiana will be spending its first New Years Eve open to the public with a champagne toast at Midnight.

Want to reserve a private party space? Call 1-866-598-BEER or e-mail us at party@scottysbrewhouse.com

 Start your year off with Kids EAT FREE on Sunday January 1st at Scotty's Burger Joint and all Scotty's Brewhouse Locations. 

 Monday January 2^nd kick off the bowl games with all you can eat wings at all Scotty's Brewhouse locations! Having a party of your own? Let us do the cooking! Call us at 1-866-598-BEER or e-mail us at catering@scottysbrewhouse.com

With less than two weeks left until Christmas, we are all scrambling around searching for the perfect gifts for our loved ones, planning holiday dinners and fun events to do with our family and friends. However, what if your holiday plans were setting up a Christmas tree inside your child's hospital room and just praying that one day they would be able to have a traditional Christmas?

At Scotty's Brewhouse, we pray for this too. We may not be able to provide them with the cure they need, however, we hope they wake up with that sparkle in their eye, knowing that Santa made a special trip just for them. From mid November until December 9, 2011 all Scotty's restaurants, including Thr3e Wise Men Brewing Co, Scotty's Lakehouse, Scotty's Burger Joint and Scotty's Brewhouse locations collected new, unwrapped toys for the children staying at Riley Hospital for Children. Our goal is to reassure these children that there is hope and to keep on fighting.

"We started making our trip to Riley about 5 years ago. I wanted to actually deliver toys to children that could use a smile or hug or Buzz Lightyear to cheer up a pretty awful time to be laid up in a hospital bed for a child," said Scott Wise, a Pots & Pans Production CEO.

We want to thank every single customer for their donation to these amazing children. Come Christmas morning, when you are opening gifts with your family, just know that at that same time a child is smiling because of the gift that you gave. "Our guests are the ones that deserve a lot of credit, as they are the ones that donate all the toys the month leading up to us delivering.  I wish I could share the smiles from the children AND the parents, grandparents and others in the room with all our guests that donate.  If you would have heard the 3 year old girls yell, 'Baaaaaaaarbie' yesterday, you too would have had a tear run down your cheek and you'd understand why I now do this twice a year (we also collect toys for a Christmas in July promotion, so we can deliver again and help more children smile)," said Wise.

This year's collection was one of the biggest. "Many of our collected toys (probably over 50 toys) get to be stored in a 'special closet' at Riley so that the smiles can continue months after we leave.  Nurses don't have to enter rooms with just IV's and needles; but, can soften their entrance with a Star Wars toy, Dora The Explorer or other toy that makes their stay a little more bearable," said Wise. 

We also had our own Brewhouse baby admitted to Riley recently which made this year really hit home with the team. "One of our own management team members had a daughter get admitted just weeks ago with 5 tumors on her brain.  Like most things in our lives that we take for granted, this really hits home when one of your own goes through an experience like this.  Thanks to Crystal Ward, Director of Employee & Guest Relations, she set up a 'Helping House Fund' for our team to donate to out of their weekly paychecks that we use for situations like this," said Wise.
 

"Thank you again, to all my team that helps organize this event.  Lauren Fiedler, Director of Marketing and Promotions, puts in many hours getting all the toys together from all our restaurants, categorizing by boy/girl/age and then loading up 3 cars full of bags for us to deliver.  Riley is always so accommodating as we come in the hospital.  And, 4 other people on my team volunteer to come with me and pass out the toys as well.  We even have to put on masks, gowns and gloves for some of the rooms; but, no child is ignored, no matter how sick or isolated they are. I also want to say thank you to our guests that also bought over 600 Red Wagons that we hung on our bar all month and donated $600 to the Riley Foundation.  We continue to collect and donate $1 for every cup of Red Wagon Hot Chocolate a guest orders at any of our restaurants.  Thank you for all your continued support of our community.  Happy Holidays from my personal family and Brewhouse family of over 1,000 employees!" said Wise.

Pictured: Tyler Thompson, Bruce McClain, Eric Schamp, Angie Vosmeier, Ryan Kellerman and Scott Wise.
"With the new expanded and remodeled wing of Riley Children's Hospital, we were able to visit 17 children ranging in age from 2 weeks old to 14 years old and every age in between.  Now, as a parent myself, I notice their reactions more than I used to and I'll tell you, the smiles come from the children; but, tears of joy come from many parents that have an echoing affect amongst all us elves delivering the toys," said Wise.

Heading to Downtown Indianapolis this weekend to cheer on your college team? Whether you are an IU, Butler, Purdue or Notre Dame fan you will want to check out the action happening at Scotty's Brewhouse! We will have a heated tent on our patio opening at 10am on Saturday, plenty of drink specials including 16oz Tall Boy Cans of Miller Lite & Coors Light for $4 along with $4.50 syringe shots and of course TV's to catch every second of the game! Purdue and Butler start off the action at 2pm on Saturday with IU and Notre Dame following at 4:30pm. If you are attending the game be sure to stop by for pre-game drinks or afterwards to celebrate your team's victory!

Scotty's Brewhouse Downtown is also the Official Purdue Alumni Headquarters, "The Purdue Alumni Association saw a great opportunity to partner with Scotty's from the very first day the downtown location opened. The fact that there is a Scotty's located in West Lafayette and our fan base is familiar with Scotty's was a big plus and the fact the Scotty's Downtown Indy location is the closest restaurant to Conseco made it the only choice for us. This will be our third year using Scotty's as our pre-game/post-game hangout for Purdue basketball in Indianapolis," said Chad Johnson, V.P. of Engagement & Alumni Outreach for Purdue Alumni.

The Purdue Alumni Association will be decorating the tent with Bolier garb along with bringing Purdue spirit to the downtown area, "we look forward to working with the staff at Scotty's to provide a location for our fans that feels like they have come back to campus. The fans, cheer leaders and the band make for a very festive event. The best part is seeing loyal Purdue Alumni and Friends enjoying the camaraderie of their Boilermaker family," said Johnson.

At Thr3e Wise Men Brewing Co. we like to keep our brew line-up fresh. In order to keep your taste buds happy and give you a variety of tasting options, we brew a new seasonal beer at least once a month. When the beer is ready to tap we throw a party for you to do some brew and food tasting. Keep an eye out for our tapping parties, which usually happen on Tuesdays. Next tapping happens December 13^th, come in from 6pm-7pm for a tasting of Mount Crumpit Christmas Ale, a strong complex rich malty wheat beer with notes of dark fruit, cinnamon, vanilla and spicy cloves which leaves you with a nice warm feeling when the weather outside is frightful. Looking for New Years plans? We're tapping King Solomon's Imperial Stout starting at 10pm New Years Eve, come on in to ring in the new year with us!

Want more beer information? Log on to: www.thr3ewisemen.com