ENTREPRENEURSHIP: MADE IN BIS-MAN

By Cathryn Sprynczynatyk

Entrepreneurship is thriving on the prairie. From events like 1 Million Cups to Mandan’s Business Pitch Challenge, everything points to fertile entrepreneurial soil in Bismarck-Mandan.

This year’s Entrepreneur Issue focuses on products made in Bismarck-Mandan. Whether you are looking for Space Aliens BBQ sauce at the grocery store or Laughing Sun beer at the liquor store, you will find unique products created right in our community.

Space Aliens

Founders: Mort Bank, Dave Glaser, Brad Bender

Founded: 1997

Employees: 150 among five businesses

Product: BBQ sauces and spices

How would you describe your business in 30 words or less?

We’re a fun place for families to go to with award-winning food.

Mort Bank has been in the restaurant business since he was 15-years-old. When Bank started working at McDonald’s in 1962, hamburgers cost $0.15. Fries cost $0.10. There were no drive-thrus, no Big Macs, no breakfasts. There were no female employees. Unless you were the wife or daughter of the owner, women weren’t allowed to work at McDonald’s. Young men had to look clean cut with a crew cut or short hair. Bank started working at McDonald’s for $0.90 per hour.

When Bank wanted to open a business after college, he had a sense that McDonald’s franchises were a good business model.

“I liked what I saw when I worked there,” Bank said. “McDonald’s had high standards and a very limited menu. Obviously, it became very successful.”

Bank opened his first two McDonald’s franchises in Minot and Nebraska in 1970. He opened his first Bismarck location in 1971.

“I’m glad it was Bismarck that we moved to,” Bank said. “I love Bismarck.”

Bank said he has always been fascinated by themed restaurants like Planet Hollywood or Hard Rock Café. He decorated his McDonald’s franchises with themes like sports memorabilia, western cowboys, and the McRock-n-Roll Cafe on Main Avenue in Bismarck.

Bank was a McDonald’s franchisee for more than 25 years. By the time he sold his restaurants back to McDonald’s in 1995, he had seven franchises across North Dakota.

“If I was going to leave McDonald’s and open my own restaurant, I wanted to do something different,” Bank said.

The first thing he did was trademark the Space Aliens name. When Bank sold his McDonald’s franchises, he brought a few key employees with him. Dave Glaser had been a supervisor. Brad Bender was a general manager. They eventually became partners in the business. Bank’s first choice for a location was to be in proximity to Kirkwood Mall, but he couldn’t find 1.5 acres needed for the building and parking. He found a parcel of land at the intersection of State Street and Century Avenue, but in the mid-1990s that was “the end of town.”

“The city said, ‘We project that corner to be the busiest intersection in town within 15 years,’” Bank said.

Bank got a patent on a French fry holder with two dipping sauces. The menu would be based on Bank’s original recipes.

In the mid-1990s, Bank entered a barbecue cook-off in Kansas City. He entered the ribs and chicken contests, competing against chefs from Texas, Kansas City, Georgia, and the Carolinas — all places famous for their BBQ.

“They said, ‘This guy doesn’t have a chance. Do they even have barbecue in North Dakota?’” Bank said.

Even Bank admits North Dakota doesn’t have a strong barbecue cuisine. That didn’t stop Bank from winning Best Ribs in America. And best BBQ chicken.

Space Aliens opened in January 1997.

“The weather was terrible,” Bank said. “We had wall-towall customers for three to four months. Dave and I lost 35 pounds... There was a lot to be done. It turned out wonderful.”

Bank said 85 percent of new, original-concept restaurants go out of business within the first few years.

“That scared me,” Bank said. “Are people going to think I’m crazy or are people going to love it? People loved it.”

After surviving the first few years, Bank said one reason that restaurants fail is that the owners don’t reinvest their money into the restaurant.

“They don’t change their menu; they don’t change their décor,” Bank said. “We have added onto our building, made our bar bigger, made our game room bigger. Other restaurants get old and tired. You can tell they haven’t put in new booths, new décor. They start looking tired, and then they’re gone.”

After being in the restaurant business for over 60 years, Bank estimates he has had approximately 40,000 employees. Most of them are in the age range of 15- to 25-years-old.

“It’s like having that many kids,” Bank said. “You get to know their problems. I still remember some of their names. When you’ve had 40,000 kids, that’s quite an experience.”

After making his money as a franchisee, Bank has created franchises of his Space Aliens restaurant. Bank jokes that franchisees are “the biggest whiners,” because they own their own restaurants. At the same time, Bank said some of the best ideas originate from franchisees, such as the Big Mac and the Egg McMuffin at McDonald’s.

Considering how many original restaurants fail within the first few years, Bank considers it an accomplishment that Space Aliens has been open more than 25 years.

“I wanted to create something fun and different unlike anything else in the world,” Bank said, “and I guess I did.”

Simple Sugar

Proprietors: Mark and Rebecca Binstock

Founded: 2018

Employees: 3

Product: Cotton candy spun from beet sugar with North Dakota berries or flavors

How would you describe your business in 30 words or less?

We spin cotton candy that is focused on local flavors without any additional preservatives, additives, or artificial dyes. It is produced in an allergen-friendly, licensed commercial kitchen.

Rebecca and Mark Binstock had no experience in cotton candy. Rebecca is a lawyer. Mark is an engineer. They had no experience in cotton candy, except that Rebecca loves it. A lot.

“We would never go to the zoo without buying cotton candy for Rebecca and the kids,” Mark said.

When the Binstocks’ 9-year-old daughter developed food allergies, it was a stressful time. The first time she tasted eggs as a baby, she broke out in hives within seconds, and her tongue swelled. Now, she has 15 diagnosed food allergies, which makes birthday treats hard. For their daughter’s 4th birthday party, she requested cotton candy instead of a cake.

After purchasing their own cotton candy machine, the Binstocks began experimenting with North Dakota ingredients. They spin cotton candy using American Crystal Sugar which is made from sugar beets in North Dakota and Minnesota. They focus on uniquely-North Dakota flavors that they can harvest themselves — juneberries, chokecherries, rhubarb, strawberries, raspberries, and honeyberries.

“A lot of our summer is spent finding fruit and harvesting it,” Rebecca said.

No, the Binstock kids don’t help spin the cotton candy. That would be far too messy. But they do spend their summers helping their parents pick berries and harvest local produce.

“It’s all about flavor for us,” Rebecca said. “Each fruit requires a different recipe. Water content in fruit is different. I have learned where to harvest the chokecherries and where not to. There is an art to it.”

The Binstocks started their business by operating under the North Dakota Cottage Foods Act. It allowed them to produce cotton candy from their home.

“We learned a lot about the Cottage Foods Act,” Mark said. “That allows small businesses to get into the business and start selling their product. Once we got in, we understood the limitations of the Cottage Foods Act.”

They couldn’t sell their cotton candy wholesale. Even though they are passionate about producing their product in an allergen-friendly environment, they couldn’t advertise that on their labeling.

“We spend a lot of time focusing on what goes into our cotton candy so that parents don’t have to think about it,” Mark said.

Even though the Binstocks had just built a brand-new home, they decided to build a different house across the street. The first thing they designed in the blueprints was a commercial kitchen. The Binstocks worked with the City of Bismarck Planning and Zoning Department for over six months to make sure their commercial kitchen would meet city codes, before they ever started construction on the home.

“Plan what you can,” Mark said. “There are some things we did that were very, very right. We knew we had to play by the rules. We had to find the rule book. Who regulates the space we wanted to sell product in? We had to make sure we weren’t going to build a kitchen that would fail inspection. Do your homework.”

At the same time, Rebecca said you can’t sit and plan forever. At some point, you must dive in.

“It can be really scary,” Rebecca said. “You’re worried and you’re terrified that you’re going to make mistakes. You have to accept that you will make mistakes. You’re going to fix it, and you have to move on. You just have to do it. If you have an idea and you think it has value, don’t sit back and be scared. I wish someone had told us a long time ago to just go with it. If it flops, you gain a ton of experience and you move on.”