Deployment closes new restaurant

By: Joe Hadsall, Nixa News-Enterprise

11/16/2005

Our soldiers sacrifice many things to serve our country.

An Ozarks man sacrificed a new restaurant so he could help fight the war on
terror.

"People think serving in the Army is easy during peacetime," 2nd Lieutenant Joel
Maxwell, Springfield, said. "We don’t get paid for what we do, though. We get
paid for what we are prepared to do."

Maxwell and his wife Amy opened The Lazy Susan in Nixa in September. The couple
decided to close the restaurant Nov. 6, however, after learning that Maxwell’s
Army reserve division, the adjutant general corps, was called for duty.

The closure takes a high-visibility restaurant away from the newly-built Village
Marketplace, managed by CRW Properties. It also leaves 44 employees without a
job.

But they didn’t close because the restaurant didn’t work, Maxwell said.

"I really feel like we could have made it," Maxwell said. "Our sales were pretty
strong, but we had some overruns coming. With me getting mobilized, there wasn’t
much choice."

Starting Something New

The Lazy Susan was a different sort of all you can eat restaurant. One customer
called it a mix of "Lambert’s (and) the Mudhouse minus the throwed rolls and
parking problems."

The Maxwells were inspired by a visit to a "meat-and-threes" restaurant in
Tennessee. Every table was adorned with a lazy susan.

But the Maxwells thought they could do better.

"On the way home, we discussed the concept," Amy said. "We tossed around ideas
and brainstormed possible names."

The Maxwells opened the restaurant using a $50,000 worker’s compensation
settlement Joel received from his job as a deputy with the Greene County
Sheriff’s Department. Amy said that he had always wanted to open a restaurant;
after his leg was broken in pursuit of a stalker in 2000, the settlement gave
him seed money to start.

"Joel spent countless hours doing research and putting together an extensive
business plan," Amy said. "Each night after Joel would get off work we would
drive our children around town looking for a good location. We spent months
looking for the right place."

They found it in the Village Marketplace, a new strip mall along U.S. 160.

They cleaned up the buffet process by serving food from the kitchen directly to
the table. They cleaned up the dining room by designing a trendy, subdued look
with curved walls separating the space into several "rooms." And every table had
a brushed aluminum, spinnin’ lazy susan. Even the opening sign got in on the
action: Instead of saying "Open," a green and yellow neon sign said "Spin’n."

Their menu was different, too. Diners ordered as individuals but ate as groups.
Choosing from four entrees, including roast beef, meat loaf and fried chicken,
diners were served servings of their choice (placed on the lazy susans, of
course), which could be shared among everyone at the table.

The concept worked. The restaurant brought customers in regularly.

Every restaurant faces challenges, however, and The Lazy Susan was no different.
After a few months, Joel said he needed to cut some costs.

Joel thought it would be no problem. He could step in and work the store as its
manager, enabling to keep costs controllable. No problem, right?

Wrong. He got called to duty.

From Serving Dinner to Serving His Country

The layperson, with no exposure to the military, might not understand how a new
business owner with 44 employees could close a restaurant to serve. But Joel and
Amy keep brave faces. Joel is a 13-year veteran of the reserves and has eight
years of experience in law enforcement. He is not surprised about the call to
duty.

"My whole purpose for joining the reserves out of high school was for this,"
Maxwell said. "The restaurant is something I wanted to do for my family, but it
still took second place to this."

Joel is in his first month of officer training. He left for training in South
Carolina on Oct. 30. He anticipates a tour of duty for 18 months-four in
training, two in a mobilization station and a year in Iraq, most likely,
although it could be Afghanistan or another Middle East country.

Amy waits for him and prays for him at home. She keeps a blog where she writes
her feelings down

Amy said the word "sacrifice" never entered into her mind. She said that Joel is
a soldier at heart who has been called to protect and serve.

"’Responsibility,’ maybe; ‘integrity’ for sure; but never ’sacrifice,’" Amy
said. "He signed a paper saying he would serve his country if called upon. I
signed a paper saying I would be his wife no matter what.

"We’ve both made commitments. And we will keep them no matter how difficult that
might seem."

Joel said the restaurant’s value will cover outstanding debts comfortably.

The situation is difficult for both, however. Amy is now in charge of all the
restaurant’s details, that Joel used to handle. She is responsible for paying
the restaurant’s outstanding bills and was the person who shut the power off to
the restaurant.

"I tried to shield her from the stressful things as much as I could when I was
there," Joel said. "Now, I can’t shield her from anything. This has been a lot
harder on her than it has on me, but she has been supportive."

Amy said as difficult as opening the restaurant was, closing it was even more
difficult. It was no longer about providing for her family. It was about
providing for the restaurant’s employees.

"When I locked the doors for the last time, I wasn’t just concerned about how
I’d pay my bills or feed my kids," Amy said. "My heart was heavy because I
didn’t know how my employees would pay their bills or feed their kids. I wanted
better for them."

Both lean on their faith in God for support. Amy said her support network has
been amazing as she tries to close a restaurant, sell a house and keep a family
running. But her faith helps her do the hard things and gives her peace.

"I could be a mess right now, and honestly, I’m not," Amy said. "Yes, I’ve
cried. Yes, I’ve been angry. My heart aches. But, I have such hope, such peace."

Someone will come along and fill the space left by the Lazy Susan. The Maxwells
may even open another restaurant one day.

For now, the large sign stands as a testament to what one family will do, so
that a soldier can serve.

Nixa News-Enterprise