Meet Casey Potter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Casey Potter and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Casey, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My husband Jim and I have worked in corporate America for decades between us. Jim is in the car industry, and I was in the semiconductor industry. Jim is a director, and I was an area manager managing several supervisors who managed several engineers. We both put up with the day-to-day stress that comes with working for a corporation, I got feed-up with the many restrictions being put on me and my team. I put myself through college working in the restaurant and bar industry and Jim and I love to go out and try new places. I knew about the TSCM plant being constructed as I was in that industry and I know how many people and growth comes with a plant that size. I asked Jim if we should buy our own bar in that area and he agreed.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
After I graduated high school, I went into engineering at DeVry for my associate degree in Electronics and Bachelors in Technical Management. When I was attending classes during the day, at night I was serving and bartending. My first job as an engineer I installed and maintained semiconductor equipment at various customer sites. I always knew I wanted to be in upper management or even a CEO one day and to help with this I pursued and received my master’s in project management also my PMP and CSSB certificates which helped my career. However, because my company retained their employees so well, I knew I wasn’t going to go any further. I decided to break free and buy Azool Bar and Grill so I could be my own CEO. My husband after graduating college went into the car industry and is still in that industry today as a Director of Service. With our combined experience in management, projects and financing we knew we could run our own business no matter what industry. A lot of people were very skeptical about us being able to succeed since we were not fully inundated into the bar and restaurant industry, my husband with no experience and my last experience years ago, but we knew what we wanted and how to get what we want by using our experience, working with subject matter experts and plain hard work. One of the biggest things we know to do to succeed is treat our employees the best that we can. We try to give them all the tools they need to be successful in their positions, support them when appropriate, and always listen to their ideas to help make the place their own. Financing, equipment breaking down and other tough situations that arise daily are always a challenge, as a team we all work together to get it done.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
For the first night, of course, take them to our bar! We would go to eat our great food and drinks, listen to one of our awesome live bands, play darts, pool and pinball.
One night we love to hang out at Desert Ridge. There is a great Italian place called Marino’s and after dinner go play video games at Dave and Busters.
We would take one night to hang out at home, cook dinner and stay in, relax and reconnect.
Medieval Times is also a great place to eat, drink and watch fun medieval theatrics.
Top Golf and Bowlero are always fun for friendly competition among friends.
For our last night of hanging out we would go to dinner at a nice steak house, there are so many in our area and one of favorites is The Keg.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Our biggest supporters were our parents, Bill and Judy Cole and Sharon and Gary Potter. They have been there for us since the idea and continue to support us today. They were especially supportive as I was giving up my engineering and management career of over 15 years.

Most importantly, we want to recognize our staff who stayed with us from the beginning. When we bought Azool they used their extensive experience in the industry and helped establish our own identity: Chef Izzy Moreno, Bartenders Erin Price and Leann Berglund. Their ideas and support are the reason why we are where we are today.

Website: www.azoolgrill.comazoolsgrill

Instagram: azoolsgrill

Facebook: Azool Grill

Image Credits
Photos taken by Leann Berglund