Today we’d like to introduce you to Riccardo Hayes. Them and their team share their story with us below:
The Hayes family opened Bear Hall in April of 2022. Previously living in St. Louis and Houston. The Hayes’s were wanting to move. With family living in Crockett they took a gamble and decided that Texas would be a good opportunity. With Covid going on, getting out of the big city and moving to a small town seemed like a good idea.
While visiting Crockett as a possibility they saw a building for sale in downtown Crockett. With the help of their brother-in-law, the building was purchased. The building is now Bear Hall, with live music and a food trailer that has a changing menu. Bear Hall is becoming a destination for musicians and has helped revitalize downtown. Bear Hall boosts 2 stages, the one inside is geared for bands, and the one outside is for duos and soloists.
The food trailer patio is filled with plants, a fountain, and a wonderful place to sit and unwind with friends and family. The sky and breezes are amazing. Bear Hall inside has a 42 ft bar, a dance floor, pool room. The space has an old-world feel with 25ft beamed original ceilings and original skylights, but with some modern lighting and additional build-outs, the space has become quite comfortable.
Riccardo being a builder is quite handy and has done most of the work himself. They were also able to salvage windows and doors from the old Crockett high school before it was demolished and have incorporated most into the design. Bear Hall is getting quite a loyal following, with customers and musicians alike coming from all different parts of the state.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Well, first it took weeks just to clean the place and de-weed the patios. The building had set empty for a long time so there were all kinds of vines, growing here and there. dirt everywhere and lots of spider webs. Also since there were gaps under the doors animals took refuge so that needed to be dealt with.
Getting a liquor license during covid was not easy it took about 4 months to finally come through. Getting some of the equipment in the food trailer took some help from friends and family, partly because of the size of space and equipment like a 9 ft hood over the grill and griddle.
We have been in the food industry but never the bar and music business so that has been a learning curve, but we are certainly getting a handle on that, nothing like jumping into the fire. Fortunately, we have a lot of support from the Crockett community as well as the guidance of the City of Crockett for permits, regulations, and other items needed to be able to open and run a successful business
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Riccardo is a visionary, being in construction and being a master artist. He and Marco have built and designed most of the additions at Bear Hall. They have painted murals and signs. Including working in food establishments in the past they come with years of experience.
Jessica has worked in liquor and beer sales and has a penchant for cooking, which comes across in the menu. We are most proud of being able to pull all our talents together to be able to have a place for families, and friends to come and enjoy. Our menu is different, one of our missions was not to fry anything.
With Jessica and Marco’s expertise, they have come up with items that you don’t see everywhere, The veggies when in season are sourced from local farmers. Some of the items are Italian subs with Italian mortadella with pistachio’, Volpi salami from the Italian area of St. Louis, Brie toast with avocados, a hamburger with a fried egg and homemade honey mustard., flatbread pizzas, and seasonal desserts.
Do you have any advice for those just starting?
I would say do your research. Make sure you know exactly what is required in opening a food service, or bar establishment. We certainly have had to deal with a few issues head-on, but we were able to work through them. Probably some of the biggest hurdles were getting things to move quicker and being in the throngs of Covid, didn’t help one bit. Now that some of the bigger obstacles are out of the way all that seems like a distant memory.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @Bearhallcrockett
- Facebook: @Bear Hall Crockett
