“What we have here is a national treasure,” said Mark Waddington, real estate developer and owner of Performance Boat Center as well as Redhead Lakeside Grill at Lake of the Ozarks.
Waddington was one of three restaurant owners present for the first portion of last week’s Lake of the Ozarks Real Estate Symposium. He joined Mark and Brian Barrett, owners of Dog Days, Wobbly Boots, and Shorty Pants, to share information about the role of restaurants in the Lake’s future. He shared his belief in the Lake as a magnet for business and tourism at the 9th Annual Real Estate Symposium sponsored by RE/MAX Lake of the Ozarks.
RE/MAX Lake of the Ozarks Co-Owners Jeff Krantz and Jason Whittle invited the three men to share their stories about beginning and building restaurants at the lake. Waddington was first and quickly let realtors know he does not consider himself a “restaurant guy.” His background is in real estate and the tech industry; he currently hires others to manage the restaurant side of his business.
Waddington came to the lake after building and leasing data centers across the country, including some in his home state, Nebraska. He retired to do what he loves in a place where he saw a solid and bright future: Lake of the Ozarks.
Waddington wanted to sell boats, so his first move was to purchase the assets from a boat shop. Rebranded as Performance Boat Center, the business has increased its annual sales by 18 percent, from single digit millions, to double digits. He attributes the increase to three factors.
First, Waddington never intended to compete with local bow-rider or pontoon boat sellers. His true passion is performance boats with prices ranging from $150,000 to $1,000,000. They are a product with a national following, and thus, Performance Boat Center attracts people from across the nation. Many, he adds, come to Lake of the Ozarks intending to move their newly acquired boats to other waters, but after experiencing the Lake and its abundant entertainment venues, they keep their boats here.
Second, Waddington moved the boat shop he purchased from an off-the-water location to a waterfront one. He believes that move significantly increased the service department of Performance Boat Center.
The third factor: building Redhead Lakeside Grill and its salt-water pool. The restaurant draws people to the cove by highway and water. Once there, they learn about boats for sale. Similarly, those who come first to shop for boats enjoy the restaurant and its amenities, including nearby vacation rentals, as a complete shopping destination.
One other feature of the restaurant enhancing boat sales is the fact that the restaurant is open year-round. Boat sales extend beyond the 100-day season at Lake of the Ozarks; thus, the amenities that shoppers appreciate need to be available beyond those days.
Waddington also believes his waterfront business model challenges the competition, and the Barrett brothers agreed. They contend that both Performance Boat Center and Redhead have brought more boaters to that area of the lake, benefitting their restaurant, Shorty Pants, in particular. They also said they keep an eye on what Waddington does and “step up their game” accordingly.
The Barrett brothers’ business philosophy has always involved growth, too. They re-invest in their restaurants every year and follow trends in food tastes as well as décor. Their first business venture at Lake of the Ozarks was Dog Days, a waterfront restaurant with annual events that draw thousands.
In 2003, they added a year-round, off-the-water restaurant, Wobbly Boots, which has been extremely successful. In 2005, they bought a marina and soon learned that boat slips alone were not a sufficient return on their investment. They added the restaurant, Shorty Pants.
The Barretts are bullish on the Lake economy; adding two more businesses to their original one is proof of that. Furthermore, Brian Barrett contends that if interest rates stay low, the Lake will enjoy “tremendous growth.” Mark Barrett believes the waterfront businesses are a “huge draw,” promising “nothing but good things in the future.”
Waddington added the Lake’s commercial opportunities will spread further from the center into quieter areas and coves as other investors search for property and opportunity. The Lake is the central attraction, “a national treasure,” but restaurants reached by boat or car also draw people. Those people often trade weekend visits and two-week vacations for second homes or permanent residency, making “the future for the Lake very bright,” concluded Jeff Krantz.
