College of Engineering Magazine- Fall 2001

Brewing Up a Business

Kevin Finn ('84) Finds Success Running a Brew Pub

by Taylor McNeil

That old saw - do what you love, the money will follow - has always been slightly suspect, but in Kevin Finn's case, it's turned out true. Admittedly, a flair for home beer brewing might not qualify as a love, but that avocation led to a successful and growing business for Finn ('84), co-founder of three brew pubs in greater Philadelphia and Delaware.

Finn's affinity for restaurant work started after graduation, when he spent a couple of years as a self-proclaimed ski bum in New Hampshire and Vermont, making money by waiting tables. And when he returned home to Wilmington, Delaware, to work for his father's Outdoor Advertising Company ("growing up, our Sunday drives were out to look at billboards," he laughs), Finn still worked some nights in restaurants for the cash and the sociability.

Somewhere along the way, he started home brewing - his girlfriend (and now wife) gave him a kit to keep him busy while they were living in different cities. Finn and a pal, Mark Edelson, would spend Sundays watching football and homebrewing, with Finn designing the beers, his friend tinkering with the equipment. Soon they were making more beer than they could consume, bringing it to parties and Jaycee events, and entering home brew competitions, which they started winning.

With that success the thought came to make this hobby a business. The choice, as they saw it, was to open either a brew pub restaurant or a microbrewery. Quicker return on investment, lower capital costs, and a desire to return to the restaurant business, this time as boss, led Finn to start working toward a brew pub in 1991 with Edelson.

Five years of planning, adding an experienced restaurant partner, raising capital, scouting locations, and putting in a lot of sweat equity culminated in the November 1996 opening of the Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant in Newark, Delaware. It was successful from the start, Finn reports. "People want to go to a new restaurant," he says. "And as a restaurateur, it's my job to get them to come back and tell their friends, and to create a really positive buzz." It must have worked; two years later they added a second location in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and a third in mid-2000 in Media, Pennsylvania.

Finn, who as administrative operating manager deals with strategic planning, finance, and marketing, tries to work as floor manager in one of the restaurants each week. "I usually end up working at the door," the perfect spot to gauge his customers. "One reason why brew pubs have been so successful is that they can walk the line between being a restaurant and a bar," Finn says. "I see that when I'm at the door - we are a restaurant early in the evening, with families and older folks coming in, and have the whole bar dynamic late in the evening."

Finn and his partners have clearly found a niche, and they have bigger plans still. "Our strategic goal is to become the brewery restaurant brand in the Philadelphia area. We feel we can accomplish that by opening about eight restaurants in the greater Philadelphia market." And all this from home brewing beer on Sundays before settling down in front of the tube. Maybe that old saw really is true.


Brewing Up a Business Kevin Finn ('84) Finds Success Running a Brew Pub by Taylor McNeil That old saw - do what you love, the money will follow - has always been slightly suspect, but in Kevin Finn's case, it's turned out true. Admittedly, a flair for home beer brewing might not qualify as a love, but that avocation led to a successful and growing business for Finn ('84), co-founder of three brew pubs in greater Philadelphia and Delaware. Finn's affinity for restaurant work started after graduation, when he spent a couple of years as a self-proclaimed ski bum in New Hampshire and Vermont, making money by waiting tables. And when he returned home to Wilmington, Delaware, to work for his father's Outdoor Advertising Company ("growing up, our Sunday drives were out to look at billboards," he laughs), Finn still worked some nights in restaurants for the cash and the sociability. Somewhere along the way, he started home brewing - his girlfriend (and now wife) gave him a kit to keep him busy while they were living in different cities. Finn and a pal, Mark Edelson, would spend Sundays watching football and homebrewing, with Finn designing the beers, his friend tinkering with the equipment. Soon they were making more beer than they could consume, bringing it to parties and Jaycee events, and entering home brew competitions, which they started winning. With that success the thought came to make this hobby a business. The choice, as they saw it, was to open either a brew pub restaurant or a microbrewery. Quicker return on investment, lower capital costs, and a desire to return to the restaurant business, this time as boss, led Finn to start working toward a brew pub in 1991 with Edelson. Five years of planning, adding an experienced restaurant partner, raising capital, scouting locations, and putting in a lot of sweat equity culminated in the November 1996 opening of the Iron Hill Brewery and Restaurant in Newark, Delaware. It was successful from the start, Finn reports. "People want to go to a new restaurant," he says. "And as a restaurateur, it's my job to get them to come back and tell their friends, and to create a really positive buzz." It must have worked; two years later they added a second location in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and a third in mid-2000 in Media, Pennsylvania. Finn, who as administrative operating manager deals with strategic planning, finance, and marketing, tries to work as floor manager in one of the restaurants each week. "I usually end up working at the door," the perfect spot to gauge his customers. "One reason why brew pubs have been so successful is that they can walk the line between being a restaurant and a bar," Finn says. "I see that when I'm at the door - we are a restaurant early in the evening, with families and older folks coming in, and have the whole bar dynamic late in the evening." Finn and his partners have clearly found a niche, and they have bigger plans still. "Our strategic goal is to become the brewery restaurant brand in the Philadelphia area. We feel we can accomplish that by opening about eight restaurants in the greater Philadelphia market." And all this from home brewing beer on Sundays before settling down in front of the tube. Maybe that old saw really is true.
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