Burnside — Alcohol was one of the main reasons Reno’s Roadhouse returned to Pulaski County. It’s also a source of turbulence for the restaurant, one of countless numbers battling to stay afloat in a rocky economy.

“I’m just a regular person working and trying to do it well,” said Eric Fitzer, president and CEO of Reno’s Roadhouse, which sits along a suddenly densely-populated stretch of south U.S. 27 in Burnside.

Long and lanky, Fitzer sits at one of the tables in his simple Tex-Mex restaurant as he offers his thoughts on the state of a business community that grew up in Burnside as a result of the 2004 referendum allowing the sale of alcohol by the drink.

“It would be nice to operate a business without the extra stress to muddy the waters,” said “What if the major challenge (to your restaurant) is the environment you’re in? It makes it hard to run a business with certain factors going on.”

That’s a thinly-veiled reference to Reno’s status as vanguard of the burgeoning movement toward a less “dry” Pulaski County, and the opposition it receives from certain corners of the community. Once upon a time, Reno’s Roadhouse was an ordinary peanuts-on-the-floor joint along busy U.S. 27 in Somerset, as unremarkable in its absence of drink sales as any other establishment in Pulaski County. It disappeared from the landscape a decade ago, and the franchise with roots in West Virginia and eastern Kentucky was eventually bought by Fitzer’s family in 1999.

After Burnside residents voted in 2004 by a margin of 219-128 to allow sales of alcoholic beverages by the glass, the Reno’s braintrust saw an opportunity. They would be part of this experiment — a lone “moist” corner of Pulaski County — that was as controversial as it was commercially promising.

So far, results are mixed. Picasso’s Bistro was first to let the taps flow, but has since given way to The River House. Las Penas took up shop in the old Seven Gables building, but didn’t cut it. Lakeside Pizza & Pub has changed ownership. Six restaurants are still serving hungry — and thirsty — customers on a regular basis: Reno’s, Lakeside Pizza & Pub, The River House, El Taxco, the annexed Harbor Restaurant at Lee’s Ford Marina, and the recently opened El Azul Grande. Still, Fitzer says, business could be better.

“The restaurants around here currently aren’t exactly breaking the bank,” said Fitzer. “We’re not doing Lexington numbers here, and nobody in town is bringing in $3-5 million per year. If there were a bunch of restaurants doing that, more would come into town.”

In 2007, another vote was held that reaffirmed the public’s stance in favor of drink sales by an even greater tally. Despite the numbers, Fitzer says he believes the petition that called for that option election, compiled by the county’s anti-alcohol interest parties, made people wonder if there was something awry with Burnside’s beer-sellers — an attitude that’s been bad for business.

“If so many people are in favor (of drink sales), why in the heck aren’t things going better down here?” asked Fitzer. “Something’s driving this. We’ve got (Reno’s) restaurants in other towns that are not suffering like the restaurants here — not just in Burnside, but in Somerset.”

Reno’s Rocky Road

Fitzer prides himself on his success. He’s been part of the restaurant industry since he was 15 years old, working his way from fast-food to casual dining and eventually becoming the owner of his own restaurant chain. Confidence is palpable when he speaks of his experience in this field.

He’s even more proud of his new home. Fitzer moved Reno’s headquarters from Prestonsburg, Ky., to Pulaski County after visiting the community and falling in love with it. He speaks of a desire to put down roots here, to raise his family and send his children to high school locally. He’s donated more than a little money to various causes and churches, and recently began offering his time to the Burnside Tourism Commission as a volunteer.

That’s why it bothers Fitzer so much, he admits, when those who don’t wish to see alcohol in Pulaski County make business personal.

“I feel a little abused sometimes — maybe it’s just me,” he said. “It hurts me when people won’t come into this restaurant because we serve alcohol.”

Fitzer believes in the goodness of Pulaski County citizens — he even bears no ill will toward those opposed to his bar sales. “They’re just trying to do what they think is right and I don’t fault them for that,” he said. “I understand their qualms and concerns and what they’re trying to defend. I just ask that they remember, I’m trying to protect my family and employees.”

Employees are pulled over frequently by law enforcement when leaving the restaurant because of a belief that they’ve been partaking of alcohol, suggested Fitzer, who denies that anyone on his staff touches a drop while on the clock. He’s equally annoyed by rumors of wild behavior on heavy traffic nights at the bar.

“We’re a casual dining restaurant, like an Applebee’s or anywhere else,” he said. “We don’t have people fighting in the parking lot. You’re just as likely to see an argument here as on the courthouse steps — or at a Burnside City Council meeting.”

Fitzer said drink sales comprise 10 to 12 percent of drink sales on the average across Reno’s eight restaurants in three different states. It’s higher here in Pulaski — 15 percent usually, sometimes creeping up toward 17 percent during the summertime tourist season. As much as $350,000 annually in revenue could have been lost had the referendum been turned back, said Fitzer — something he didn’t count on happening when he came to town.

But a lack of drink sales doesn’t necessary mean a lack of success — the Pikeville Reno’s is “dry,” and is as high as third overall among the chain’s top profit generators. Moreover, Fitzer pointed to Cracker Barrel, a local restaurant that likely wouldn’t put in a bar if Somerset went “moist,” as being one of the most successful in the area. He would know — Fitzer makes a point of dining everywhere he can and supporting the local restaurant community.

Reno’s did well at first — its opening in 2006 was the chain’s most successful ever. But only 70 percent of that initial business has been retained over time, and Fitzer isn’t sure he knows why.

“It could be (the economy), but we’ve got stores in seven other towns that aren’t suffering,” said Fitzer. “Maybe the economies in those towns aren’t seeing that impact. ... Maybe it’s a financial thing. I don’t know.”

Somerset’s Success

But would going “moist” help Somerset’s business community? Fitzer says yes — though that may come in the form of generating more sales from the customers that already exist rather than bringing an influx of new business.

“Somerset can absolutely benefit ... (but) alcohol won’t generate more customers in the market. The customers are already here in the market,” said Fitzer. “There may be people who choose not to drive to Richmond or Lexington (and stay here to eat).”

Competition is tough here, and new restaurants coming to town may harm those that already exist, Fitzer said. How many fresh food-industry faces would come to Somerset as the result of an alcohol vote may depend on forward thinking by restaurant owners as well. Fitzer noted, for instance, that the local Cracker Barrel is one of a very scant number that isn’t located adjacent to an interstate highway. Likewise, Red Lobster restaurants, he said, used to have a policy of not locating in towns without a major university.

“It’s a development philosophy,” said Fitzer. “(Restaurant companies) find the things that work well and stick with that.”

That doesn’t mean Somerset has nothing going for it in the way of luring big-name eateries. Tourism could be a big draw — ”Who wouldn’t want to have a lake?” observed Fitzer. Better yet, an explosion of restaurant growth — if it were to happen — could draw in other industrial opportunities.

“Big companies come to communities where there are things for their people to do,” said Fitzer. “Good people and opportunities make (a town) grow — a community that’s cohesive, that sees stability.”

That, however, would depend entirely on one crucial point — if a restaurant referendum for Somerset really would generate more businesses. It’s worked for Burnside, where an entire shopping center has sprung up in the wake of the original restaurant referendum, but Somerset’s market may be much more cutthroat. “Somerset may not have the amount of people (in the work force) needed,” said Fitzer.

Moreover, there’s still a unique prevailing problem for such businesses to overcome — the attitude of a faction of the community that wants to keep alcohol and its negative side effects out of town.

Showing up to polls is one thing, suggested Fitzer — showing up to the restaurants is another. Somerset’s best chance of seeing success in the event of its own option election — and Burnside’s best bet for keeping its restaurants afloat — is in the community coming together and putting its money where its votes are by frequenting its dining establishments. Showing restaurant owners who might be looking to make a new home that Pulaski Countians will go out to eat and drink in big numbers only stands to benefit business communities both north and south.

“I think people sometimes want things just to say they have them but don’t necessarily support them,” said Fitzer. “Support what you have here. ... What’s good for Somerset is good for Burnside, and vice versa.”