NAVIGATING THE NICHE

ON THE RECORD WITH KERRY GOODSIR FROM JOE’S ON JOLLY

BY MARY GAJDA

Finding a niche in a market that is needed has always been a gift that Joe Goodsir had.

You may recognize Goodsir as an owner at Rick’s American Cafe’, The Riviera Cafe, Harrison Roadhouse, Roadhouse Pub, Beggar’s Banquet and The Nuthouse. Yet he always wanted to open his own high-end restaurant where patrons could enjoy a little jazz with after-dinner drinks like in the big cities. That’s when Joe and Kerry Goodsir brought Capital Prime Steak & Seafood to life.

“I worked alongside doing the design and decor from the interiors to the plates and glassware,” Kerry Goodsir said. “I also oversaw all aspects of the marketing, advertising and in-house promotions. … We wrote the menu and worked with our culinarytrained executive chef to make the food come to life and become the well-loved fine-dining establishment it is today.”

Recently, the two brought another niche to life with Joe’s on Jolly, a neighborhood gathering place with high-end pub food and sports on the big screens.

“We wanted Joe’s on Jolly to be along the lines of the ‘Cheers’ mentality, where people can come and meet with the community and connect with people they know,” Kerry said.

Joe’s on Jolly brings a unique blend of vintage and industrial to its design — along with a sizeable bar; upper dining with booths; community tables; and roll-up garage doors that open to a front patio with tables, TVs, soft seating and a separate game room with even more seating.

Kerry takes pride in the back patio, known as “Joe’s Backyard,” which opens to an outside bar and includes a firepit and a grass turf area to play large-scale yard games or host a band.

The restaurant’s three culinary-trained sous chefs have completed the Goodsirs’ vision with an enticing variety of menu items from waygu beef burgers to Neapolitan pizza, rice bowls, salads and everything in between.

Though they have built up staff, Joe’s on Jolly is still hiring. The couple knows staff retention is key and strive to build a familylike unit.

“We truly care about our employees and stand behind and support them by giving them everything they need to do their job, which ultimately leads them to be successful and Joe’s on Jolly to be a well-run restaurant,” Kerry said.

That includes the Michigan State University students who work there.

“This has been a devastating time for the community, as well as our employees,” Kerry said. “The night of the mass shooting, many employees that lived on campus were at work and were unable to return home. Joe and I actually offered if anyone needed a place to stay that night that they could come stay at our home. … Many employees had a very difficult time immediately following the incident. … Our management comforted and supported our employees the best they were able through conversations and lots of hugs. Though no one will ever forget the unthinkable acts that happened on Feb. 13, we stand alongside the MSU community and the families affected.”

In the end, Joe and Kerry Goodsir’s wish for the community is that “everyone can live in peace with mutual respect for one another, while enjoying fun times meeting old and new friends in our establishment.”

When and why did you start Burgdorf’s Winery?

We opened in the spring of 2005. I was in my late 40s and Dave in his early 50s, and we saw that retirement was just around the corner. We both like to stay active, so we took Dave’s hobby and turned it into a small business.

How did your backgrounds play into the formation of the business?

Dave worked for the USDA as a plant materials specialist and grew up on a small farm in west-central Illinois. I was a fermentation microbiologist at Michigan Biotechnology Institute for about 15 years in East Lansing. We decided, with our experience and background, that a winery would be a good match.

You basically started the operation in your garage. How has it grown over the years?

We did start the business in our threecar garage, just the two of us as a home business. We very quickly found that we needed more room and the ability to hire help, so we applied for a special use through the township. The process took a couple years, but we managed to get the approval to expand in 2008. We now have a nice facility to produce the wine and still use the threecar garage as our tasting room.

You take pride in being a locally sourced winery. Why is that important to you?