Patty Adamic, owner of Mike’s on Main in Hendersonville, North Carolina, had plans to leave the restaurant industry. Now, she owns the building where her beloved local business resides. Thanks to Patty for sharing her Meet the Dreamer story!
From an Exit Plan to a Permanent Home
When Patty Adamic first visited WNC on vacation in 1992, she fell in love with the region. She moved with her twin sons to Hendersonville the next year, getting a job at Hannah Flanagan’s restaurant – across the street from Mike’s on Main. When her mother passed away in 2003, she decided it was time to exit the food service industry. “I put my notice in, I left Hannah’s, and I went to work down the street at JRD’s Classics and Collectibles.”
She then received a Freaky Friday-worthy offer: Ms. Kathy, the then owner of Days Gone By (now Mike’s on Main) and mother of JRD, asked Patty if she would switch places with her for two weeks during the winter holidays. Ms. Kathy wanted to see how her son’s business was doing and knew the restaurant would be in good hands with Patty’s experience. Reluctantly, she agreed – but only for two weeks.
At the end of this switch, Ms. Kathy said she wanted to leave the restaurant industry, too. She and Mr. Bill decided to put the building on the market, asking Patty if she would consider staying on until it sold. She knew having a restaurant manager in place would make the sale more enticing. Patty stayed.
The building sold within three months to the now-namesake Mike and his parents. Ms. Kathy told Mike he’d be smart to keep Patty on as general manager. With a generous pay offer, Patty decided, once again, to stay. “I’d be silly to leave at this point,” she said. “At that time, it was a day job. And I was a single mom with two boys.” It’s fitting that a restaurant named Mike’s on Main – a purposeful acronym for MOM’s – became Patty’s work home.
Then, Mike became ill, and, in 2007, his father sold the building to Burt, a gentleman from New York. Once again, the seller recommended the buyer keep Patty on to run the restaurant. The buyer agreed, telling Patty to get a bank account, payroll account, and gave her authority – she could make all hiring decisions.
“I thought I was going to be a general manager again, to be honest,” Patty shared. “I just paid myself like I was being paid from Mike. Everything was just like it was.” At tax time she realized the gift she’d been given: “I went to hand in my tax information at the end of the year, and he said, ‘No, honey, this is your business. You need to file your own taxes.’”
She set up her LLC for the second year, and was able to keep the business going through the 2008 recession, COVID-19, and now Hurricane Helene. Her landlord kept rent low, offered forgiveness during times of stress, and showed a benevolence and trust rarely seen in landlord-tenant relationships. “I can’t say enough nice things,” Patty shared. “Burt lived to be ninety-five.”
An Unmissable Opportunity
When Burt, the owner passed away in 2023, his executor and family friend took Patty out to dinner. “Never in a million years did I think she was going to offer me the opportunity to buy the building,” shared Patty. Her industry exit now seemed a distant memory.
Knowing what a big decision this would be, Patty mulled it over for close to a year. She even went to a bank – knowing she had $100,000 in savings and $200,000 from another investor – to figure out what a $1.25 million loan would cost.
It was during that time that she went to an event with Jamie Carpenter of Downtown Hendersonville. Because of the Downtown Hendersonville Opportunity Fund partnership, Mountain BizWorks attended the event. Patty ended up asking Jamie if she thought Mountain BizWorks might give her a loan. She gave an enthusiastic yes. And though Mountain BizWorks’ loans are typically in the $1,000 – $500,000 range, partner organizations can come in to help when – like in Patty’s case – more loan capital is needed. “It was the easiest million dollars I ever got,” laughed Patty. “Mountain BizWorks was able to offer a loan on my hard work, credit, and the experience I built up over 17 years as a single woman in business. They made what felt like an impossible venture a reality. And they did it seamlessly for me.”
Though Patty closed on the building last year, she says it’s still surreal. While not much has changed in her day-to-day life, she’s now both owner and tenant. She shared, “One of the things that kept coming up for me is [if I buy the building] I can do whatever I want inside these walls.” No longer does she have to worry about a new owner coming in and potentially closing her restaurant. “The possibilities are endless when you’re both the tenant and the landlord.”
A True Family Business
Patty started at Mike’s on Main as a single mom of twin boys, and now the restaurant is a family business through and through. Her son Robert worked at the restaurant when it was Ms. Kathy’s Days Gone By. “It was his first job,” Patty said with pride. “He actually trained me on how to make milkshakes and brownie delights.” Though he left Hendersonville in 2009, he’s now back – post Helene. “I asked him if he could come and help bring me up to speed – he’s a techie.”
Robert’s return just adds to the family environment of Mike’s. “There are five of us here now ,” Patty said. “ My son Michael has been here with me for 17 years and is one of our chefs and food and beverage manager. My daughter-in-law and my ex-husband also work at Mike’s.”.
That may not be the last of the family’s involvement either. Patty said her granddaughter is already getting the hang of things. “She’s only four, but she already knows how to use the POS system and wants to make the schedule,” Patty laughed. “I said, ‘As soon as you learn to write your numbers, honey, you’re scheduling.’”
With Patty’s loan through Mountain BizWorks, she also has 15 hours of free classes to use. She’s planning to assess what they need and send her son or daughter-in-law to learn what will be helpful for them long term.
Advice for Other Business Owners
As for what she shares with fellow entrepreneurs, Patty believes having a yearly budget/business plan, building relationships, helping others, giving back to the community and advertising are important components of building any business. “There are always new people visiting and moving in, and there are new restaurants always opening, and people will start going somewhere,” she said. “And then you get sort of lost in the shuffle sometimes. You’ve got to stay in their eyes with print and social media and in their ears with radio and word of mouth.”
Every fall, she looks at her prior year and sees what she needs to change, if anything. “It’s important to keep your advertising out there and keep it fresh,” she said. “I see what I think is working. And sometimes I’ll change it up altogether. She approaches her advertising philosophy much like her business, with experience, assessment and an openness to new things. “I’m going to try it differently,” she said. “See what happens and what works.”
Now, 21 years later, Patty’s business employs 26 and continues to live up to her mission statement: “To make as many people happy each day as we can.” “And if you should ever need funding or have the opportunity to buy the building your business is in,” Patty shared, “I highly recommend that you reach out to Mountain BizWorks and their phenomenal team.”
Learn more about Mike’s on Main at mikesonmain.com, or visit them at 303 North Main Street, Hendersonville, North Carolina.
