Tim Moxey
On November 11th, Brian Westlye, owner of two local Washington D.C. restaurants and bars will help kick off the first annual Boots on the Ground’ Veterans Day Barcrawl. Along with other military veterans turned small business owners Westlye will raise money for veteran’s charities in the Washington D.C. area.
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Prior to his life as the owner of Rebellion and The Commodore Public House and Kitchen, Westlye followed in his father’s footsteps and served his country. As a member of the United States Navy, Westyle served his country, and learned some tools that he continues to employ as a small business owner. As part of Rare’s ongoing Rare Goes Yellow series, we asked Brian some questions about life after the service, and owning a small business.
Rare: What compelled you to serve your country?
Brian Westyle: I grew up around the military with my father being a Master Chief in the U.S. Navy Reserves, so I always felt an attachment. The uniforms, the discipline, the pride. It was an awesome thing to have around you as a child. When I realized college wasn’t for me, I enlisted in the Navy.
R: Why did you start your business? What was the inspiration behind it?
BW: I opened Rebellion in 2014, but this was not was first foray into the bar business. In 2008 I owned a bar with a buddy for about a year. But just like marriage, it’s all about the relationship and the fit. That business didn’t last long, we sold it after nine months of ownership. It was a valuable (and expensive) lesson. Having your own place and being your own boss is difficult at times but can be extremely rewarding. After six years of laboring for other people, it was time to step out on my own again. The inspiration behind Rebellion was actually quite simple. I was a bit older, a lot more mature and simply wanted to open a place where I would want to go drink and spend time with family and friends. We combined a love for bourbon, great craft beer, cigars (rooftop) and history (The Whiskey Rebellion) and Rebellion was born.
R: What part of your time in service have you held on to the most?
BW: Definitely the discipline. I try to be very goal or ‘mission’ oriented. Set goals and deadlines and keep them. Along with that, operational readiness. In layman’s terms, stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.
R: What makes a veteran-owned business unique?
BW: I believe it’s the understanding of teamwork. From my experiences since getting out, Veterans are quite honestly better teammates. One man may be able to start a business, but it takes the team to stay afloat.
R: Are there specific things you learned from your time in service that you can apply to your business?
BW: There isn’t a person in the building better than me with a mop! In all seriousness, I have to go back to the discipline. I would venture to say that there aren’t many businesses out there than this one with more day-to-day distractions. Having the discipline to stick to what’s important has been very important and valuable to me.
R: What is your favorite part about being a business owner?
BW: The people. I really just enjoy providing both a great place to work, but also a great place for people to hang out and enjoy life. But I especially enjoy dealing with our staff. I’m a firm believer in the quote from Sir Richard Branson, “Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.”
R: What are the biggest challenges about owning your own business?
BW: Once again, it’s the people. This business is all about the people, both negatively and positively. Although this fact has changed for the better over recent years, there are still many people out there that don’t view the restaurant business as a “real” job. Because of that, many times you are dealing with part-timers or people who really don’t have anything invested in our business. They view it as their ‘now job’. That can make it hard to motivate people or keep them motivated. No industry has a higher turnover ratio and in a business where consistency is everything, it can really be a struggle at times.
