Today we’d like to introduce you to Keath Krueger.
Keath, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I grew up in Conroe Texas where my grandfather, Keath Cashner, owned his own business. My Dad, Dick Krueger, worked for my grandfather, and I was able to grow up watching a family business and learning about entrepreneurship. When I graduated from college, I had an opportunity to move to Waco Texas, and start my first business, which was a medical supply company. That took me down a path of working for myself and starting businesses where I thought there might be a need.
Later on, I was able to move back to Conroe, where myself and a business partner and opened up Branding Iron Custom Goods. We started out doing custom screen printing and embroidery. After being open for several years, my business partner moved on. At that time, I had the opportunity to bring my mom, Debbie Krueger, on as partner. Then we moved the company to downtown Conroe. At that point, we added to the business with retail. We have a very unique retail store where we focus on locally sourced products that are geared towards men. Almost everything in the store is American Made. We now operate the retail, along with our wholesale printing and embroidery business. The combination of the two has been successful and they have worked well together.
We moved to downtown Conroe, because my wife, Alison Krueger, was already operating her business from downtown. She has Switch Hair Studio and had been based in downtown for many years. When we moved Branding Iron downtown it really sparked a fire for all things downtown. We have been a part of a group of several entrepreneurs that have been dedicated to revitalizing downtown.
A few years ago, I met Robert Sokulski who bought the building where we have our businesses. We got together and decided that downtown needed more bars and restaurants. At that time, we came up with what is now 202 Main. It is a one-of-a-kind restaurant and bar that combines gourmet comfort food, craft cocktails, and first-class entertainment. We have two bars with two different vibes and a large outdoor patio that really makes the space unique. Our general manager, Adam Isbell, works extremely hard to make 202 Main an experience unlike anything else.
We are continuing to build the brand of 202 Main and working with our downtown neighbors to make Conroe the place to be!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t think any entrepreneur would say it’s been a smooth road. The truth is that there are struggles every single day. It takes hard work and perseverance. When the struggles arise, you must do your best to deal with each one while keeping your perspective on the big picture.
As you know, we’re big fans of 202 Main. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
202 Main is a one-of-a-kind restaurant and bar. We are located in the heart of downtown Conroe. We offer a full menu of gourmet comfort food, and we have fine craft cocktails that rotate seasonally. We offer first-class entertainment; we have indoor and outdoor stages for music and entertainment. We have two bars, the main bar at 202, and the Hideaway Bar in our courtyard. The layout is very unique and it allows us to do a variety of events. We also will allow customers to rent the venue for private events. 202 Main is a destination unlike any other.
What are your plans for the future?
We are currently expanding our hours to be open for lunch. We are also working on adding to the overall customer experience with several new things in the works for our courtyard.
Contact Info:
- Email: 202mainconroe@gmail.com
- Website: www.202mainconroe.com
- Instagram: @202main
- Facebook: 202 Main
