106 – Dave Sandlin of House of Commons Bourbon Library

Leo and Sheri welcome Dave Sandlin of House of Commons Bourbon Library.

Dave grew up in East Tennessee near Pigeon Forge in the Smoky Mountains.
He attended college in Southeastern Kentucky, majoring in elementary education.
After earning his degree, he worked as a substitute teacher while trying to get hired as a full-time teacher. At the time, there were no openings, so, with his wife and the start of a family, he began working at a luxury resort in East Tennessee called Blackberry Farm.
He enjoyed the hospitality industry and worked with a mentor there who had been head of training for Ruby Tuesdays worldwide.
He fell in love with food, beverage, and upscale hospitality.
After a few years, a friend from college asked him to move to Frankfort to help him start a church in June 2021.
He worked at Florida Tile in Lawrenceburg for a few months when he was introduced to Ben Harden, who was renovating the building at 245 West Main.
Ben offered for Dave to own the bar he was renovating on the ground floor below the AirBnB’s he had on the second floor.
Dave had never owned a business before but was convinced that Frankfort needed an upscale dedicated bourbon bar representing the bourbon industry in Kentucky.
So even though they moved here to start a church, he and his wife were now owners of a bar.
He hired great team members early on with bartending skills and cocktail background while he brought the bourbon knowledge and the hospitality skills.
The House of Commons was built as the only vintage bar in Frankfort.
The pride themselves on being a bourbon bar but they do make cocktails but with the goal to honor the spirit and those who created the spirit.
They are a Kentucky spirits bar that only serves Kentucky gin, Kentucky vodka, Kentucky whisky. They want those dollars for distillation to go back into the state to support our regional economy.
If someone goes to a distillery and does a tasting, they are only tasting the bourbons distilled there. At HOC, they have the opportunity to taste things that they woudn’t have the opportunity to taste at the distillery. Plus they have vintage at HOC.
They recently had an event with Freddie Johnson and will have more of these types of events in the future.
When customers come in, they will build a flight of bourbons based on what the customer tells them they like and their price point. It’s customized to the customer’s palate.
They pride themselves on providing an experience. They don’t have TVs in their business and don’t use QR codes, so people aren’t on their phones but talking to the staff or each other. They want people to connect.
They also offer seasonal drinks.
As a new business owner, he knew how to be a manager and how to lead a team. But, going from being a manager to an owner-operator is a shift that requires a lot more paperwork. Also, as an owner, he has to take care of other issues that may pop up like a team member is out sick and a replacement is needed.
Starting a business required him to work seven days a week for the first ten weeks. Then he went to six days a week but has hired and trained a good team that he continues to support and coach so now he can work four days a week.
People come in from other states and ask him to build something like this in their states.
Marketing is done by word of mouth. They use social media for communication, not for advertising per se.
His suggestion for someone wanting to start their own business is to be genuine and honest. Under promise and over-deliver. Don’t cheapen yourself – for example, they don’t have a happy hour. They aren’t just offering drinks; they are offering ean xperience.