Chapter 6
Disch’s Tavern
The next day, Peter called Paul and said there was a restaurant in Pembroke that was still open. Paul was directed to visit the restaurant. The location had been four different restaurants over its most recent history. For thirty-one years, it was called Bobby Hackett’s and it had been very successful. Paul was very familiar with the restaurant because Bobby Hackett’s son Michael had worked for Paul the last eight years. Peter set up a meeting with the owner. The owner was a successful night club operator in Boston, but had minimum food experience. Paul ended up sitting at a table in the restaurant, watching a night club owner and a car dealer negotiate the purchase of the business and the building. After about an hour of going back and forth, the two stood up, shook hands, and the deal was done. Peter went back to Connecticut and called Paul the next day. Paul had been talking to banks about financing.
Peter said, “We need a commitment This is going to happen quickly.”
Paul contacted the banks and they were hesitant. Paul had to make the telephone call he did not want to make. Paul called Peter and told him the news. There was silence on the telephone.
Peter said, “I will call you in a couple of days.” CLICK.
Peter called Paul the next day. He told Paul to get the keys to the restaurant and meet him there at noon the next day. Peter showed up with his banker from Connecticut. They were there for about thirty minutes. The financing was in place.
Life has no guarantees, but if you are honest and thoughtful, and you work hard, you are likely to get the breaks when you need them. (A little divine intervention does not hurt either.) Paul Disch and his family have had a long and challenging journey, but now they are in a special place, living their passions for family, work, and the people they call extended family – the people they work with and the guests they serve every day.
On Saturday night, October 16, 2015 Paul and Betty Disch served their last meal and their last inn guest in Brant Rock. On Monday October 25, 2015, Paul and Betty served their first meal at Disch’s Tavern with the same sixty-four people with whom they had closed the Brant Rock restaurant. Disch’s Tavern was off to a great start, but—as Paul often says—”you are only as good as your last meal.”