Scott Wise, owner of Scotty's Brewhouse and a Ball State alumnus, lives by the philosophy that the character of a person is defined when their back is against the wall.
This helps in the day-to-day operations of his five restaurants across Indiana and led to him being named the 2009 Restaurateur of the Year by the Indiana Restaurant Association. He was awarded this honor on Sept. 22 at the group's 75th anniversary celebration, according to a press release distributed Monday.
"Winning this award was a big surprise for me," said Wise. "I was sitting in a room with the owner of St. Elmo and other people that I idolize, and they gave the award to me. It's humbling and I couldn't even talk, to look out at all the people I learn from to be honored was amazing."
Wise said he believes the Indiana Restaurant Association honored him partly because of their embrace of innovations. Instead of purchasing conventional advertising, he manages Twitter and Facebook accounts to reach out to potential customers.
They also noticed his restaurant's potential for growth.
"We're really a company on the cusp of making it in the big time," he said.
Wise hopes eventually to expand his chain to between 15 and 20 restaurants. He is looking to expand in South Bend, Chicago and Columbus, Ohio. However, because of the downturn in the economy, these plans have been placed on hold.
Jake Driver, manager of the Muncie location in the Village, said Wise's leadership helps set Scotty's Brewhouse apart from other restaurants.
"His style of running a restaurant is a little different," Driver said. "We pride ourselves on service as opposed to the food itself, though the food is so good."
Driver said that the waiters are more personable than they are at other restaurants.
"Our servers sit there and get to know the customers," he said. "He always gives 110 percent, and that's contagious."
While Wise is now enjoying his success, he said he learned the most from his failed venture in bringing fine dining to Muncie.
"We tried three years to make it work, but I learned more from those three years than I have in 13 years with Scotty's," Wise said. "It was the worst day of my life telling everyone we were closing. But I dusted myself off and tried again."
Wise said he couldn't have accomplished any of this successes without his parents, wife and 500 employees.
"It's kind of a weird award," he said. "I put in a lot of hard work and time, but it's not just one person."
Wise also credits much of his current success to his experiences as a student at Ball State.
"Everything I picked up goes into what I'm doing today," he said.
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
