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closeInvesting in making a business sustainable
Philanthropist finds investing in local restaurant is a way in helping people directly
Chris Albert
Peter DeCaterina wants his Puyallup restaurant, DeCaterina’s Market Grill and Bar, to be a dining destination for years to come.
“I’d like to see DeCaterina’s become one of the main stays of the downtown area,” he said.
But that’s easier said than done. There are a lot of demands involved with running a small business and just keeping his head above water can be a challenge.
That’s where Bryon Gunnerson from Sequim and his Lamb Investments comes in. He recently gave the restaurant a line of credit that would put half the profits back into Lamb Investments. By giving a loan to the restaurant Gunnerson is able to help a local business grow and make money for charities that Lamb Investments funds.
Gunnerson was very successful in the telecommunications industry, which allowed him to focus on his own philanthropy. He uses his Lamb Investments to make money for charitable causes like the Boys and Girls Club and Boy Scouts of America.
To raise money for those organizations he would sell stock and bonds though Lamb Investment.
Then one day, he had an epiphany. The money he was investing wasn’t helping enough people. He was making money for different charities, but wanted a way to expand that.
“One day I woke up and said this is crazy,” Gunnerson said. “It’s not getting to anybody that makes sense.”
And DeCaterina was someone it made sense to get it to. His local restaurant was struggling and the opportunity from Gunnerson was something he felt could really help his business thrive.
So DeCaterina submitted a business plan to Gunnerson looking for help. For a beginning restaurant in can be difficult to secure a loan from a traditional bank, especially in the current economy, Gunnerson said. Through Lamb Investments the line of credit is much more like a partnership, with a yearly review of the arrangement and the business expertise that made Gunnerson a success in telecommunications available to DeCaterina.
“This is the thing I’d rather be in that buying and selling stocks to keep the charity going,” Gunnerson said. “It touches more people more directly.”
The profits from Lamb Investments are used to fund different charities that Gunnerson has reached out to.
Although he’d like to see a return on his investment, Gunnerson said, part of his return is also the jobs a thriving business provides.
“For me, people having good jobs is much more important,” he said.
One of his business ventures includes an organic farm in Sequim. It doesn’t really make any money, he said, but it provides jobs.
“Two families are making their house payments because they’re working on my farm,” Gunnerson said.
But he does expect a return at the downtown restaurant, he said.
“I don’t enter into these things lightly,” he said.
There is an extensive background check he goes into.
“Plus I’ve got to like you,” Gunnerson said.
When looking at DeCaterina’s he found it to be in a great location, with a great menu and a product that was top notch. The marketing was lacking and a clear identity was also missing, he said, but those can be improved. Actually, when DeCaterina put in a street side patio it was a move in the right direction of creating an identity separate from the Pavilion.
“This is a great little business that I think has a future,” Gunnerson said.
It is the kind of place he loves to go to; one of those hole-in-the-walls places that is unique and a bit of a hidden secret.
DeCaterina would like that secret to get out a bit more and so would Gunnerson.
And it looks to be going that way.
With restaurant being located on the civic campus, there is a lot of activity throughout the summer. The Farmers’ Market and the concert in the park series brings people in and when the new city hall is complete there will be 200 city employees right across the street from DeCaterina’s.
All of those are good signs that a the restaurant will be thriving for years to come, providing jobs and helping fund charities throughout the area, Gunnerson said.
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Decaterina’s market grill and bar Decaterina’s is located at 328 South Meridian in Puyallup.
> Web site: www.decaterinas.com
> Phone: 253-848-1553
> Hours: from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday - Saturday and from from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays.