Regarding Niobrara, Chapter 3

On Sunday, June 15, 2008 Eddie called me from the top of the hill in Niobrara State Park.

Niobrara has very sketchy cell phone coverage. Basically you can get a sporadic signal from the west end of the Two Rivers building, a little better signal at the Mormon memorial down by the Niobrara River crossing with Highway 12 and an even better signal on the top of the hill inside the state park. I always preferred this location because you could enjoy a gorgeous view while turning in circles attempting to be heard over the wind and static.

"The Two Rivers is for sale."

"You're kidding."

"No, I'm not. Pat is ready to sell it."

Silence for a few moments while we both thought the exact same thing.

You know how sometimes you allow yourself the luxury of pondering your fantasy life escape? "I'll buy a bar in the Caribbean and leave all this crap behind." "I've always wanted to run a bed & breakfast in Provence." "I think I'll buy a boat and sail around the Mediterranean."

Well, we would lie in bed, in the dark, and talk about buying The Two Rivers in Niobrara, NE. What can I say? Some of us dream big.

Me: "How much does he want for it?"
Eddie: "We didn't get that far. I was afraid to ask."
Me: "Well, find out and let's talk about it when you get home."
Eddie: "Really?"
Me: "Really."

The truth is that I would never love Niobrara as much as Eddie did but I loved Eddie so much that I would go absolutely anywhere with him. Even to a remote corner of Nebraska. Besides, the idea of owning the coolest building in a town of nondescript architecture and serving up red beer and great cheeseburgers to the locals while hosting TeamStrange events on occasion really appealed to me.

After Eddie got home, we laid it all out and actually gave it some good thought. We were too old to jump in without considering all angles. We both knew that this was risky but totally doable. Our biggest fear? Did we have what it takes to be totally committed to this business for no less than five years? Day in, day out, long hours, hard, physical labor, dealing with employees, vendors, drunks and local politics.

We had to try. If we didn't then it would always haunt us. So we made a plan. A good plan, but with a few things that would be totally out of our control.

Like trying to sell a condo in Atlanta at the exact moment that the real estate market decided to tank.

Unfortunately, it turned out that wasn't our biggest problem.

So the wheels began to turn on our great adventure. We hired a local attorney and made the offer. The first red flag? A seller who didn't think he needed to read the contract. In fact, Pat's apparent lack of interest in the details of the sale should have been a humongous red flag.

The next red flag? The mixed signals I was getting from my employer. You see, Eddie had one item in the plan that he was not willing to budge on. I had to keep my job. My employment outside of The Two Rivers was to be our safety net. I was a bit bummed because I loved the idea of truly shucking it all and working side by side with my soul mate but I knew he was right. We needed the security of that paycheck, health insurance, etc. especially if this whole thing blew up in our faces.

I went to my boss and his boss and explained what we wanted to do. Would it be possible for me to transfer to one of our mid-west offices? We had offices in Lincoln, NE and Harlan, IA. Both the same distance from Niobrara. I wasn't asking to be totally remote. I would spend four days in the office, the fifth day working from home. What I didn't count on was that others inside the company would have an opinion about where I was located. This didn't come to light until much later.

The bosses were receptive and supportive. Now all we had to do was sell the condo. I would stay in Atlanta until that was done. While we waited Eddie would live in one of the extra rooms at The Two Rivers.

We knew this arrangement would be difficult on many levels. It put the complete burden of running the business on Eddie. We were used to a long distance relationship but this would be different.

Oh well, if it was easy - anyone could do it. So we pushed forward. If we could get through the first year, we'd be fine. I never doubted for one minute that Eddie would be great at running this type of business and I never doubted for one minute that financially, this would be a good investment. On both counts, I was correct.

And so, on September 5, 2008 we became the new owners of The Two Rivers Saloon, Steakhouse & Hotel in Niobrara, NE, population 406 and Eddie accepted our first dollar from our first customer - Arlene.

And the very next day, all hell broke loose.