Mike Beder doesn't spend his cash in the bars—that's where he makes his cash
Story by Ben Fischer
Photos by Ryan Blackwell
By December of 2000, Mike Beder was beginning to get used to things going his way.
His resume at Kent State was a laundry list of accomplishments in public service and student politics: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Portage County, the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and two terms as an undergraduate student senator -- including one as executive director. And, finally, in what the self-described “poor student” considers a minor miracle, he graduated in just four years.
So when his bid to buy the old Bellies Deli on North Water Street fell through a week before Christmas, he was heartbroken. He suddenly faced a roadblock in front of his plan to open a new Kent bar. On top of that, Beder, a Democratic-leaning independent, had just heard the disappointing news that Al Gore had conceded the contested presidential election to George W. Bush.
“Guess what? You and Al Gore have something in common,” his friend and mentor, Denny Symes, said when he broke the news. “You both got screwed today.”
Unlike Gore, though, Beder bounced back. In hindsight, the day even turned out to be a blessing because the eventual buyer of Bellies, Star of the West Milling Co., was more than happy to rent him the space anyway. The rental agreement gave him the flexibility he never would have had as an owner of the building.
More than three years and a new location later, Glory Days is thriving as Kent’s newest “in” bar at 132 S. Water St. downtown. While Beder declines to give a sales figure for his new location, he says he’s doing enough business to cover the monthly payments on his start-up debt, pay his employees and keep himself happy.
The bar has racked up several media awards in its short existence, from Playboy magazine’s “College Bar of the Month” in 2001 and Scene magazine’s “Best College bar” award in September 2003.
But just as Beder’s done since he arrived as a freshman in 1996, he’s not satisfied with life being good. He’s working hard to make it even better.
“I like Kent a lot,” he says while sitting at a booth in his bar, unshaven and relaxed on a gray Sunday afternoon. “A bar can stay popular for a very long time if it’s run well. It can’t be a fly-by-night operation, though. A lot of places are popular for a little while, but the challenge is keeping it fresh.”
Symes, a Macedonia entrepreneur who used to own the Robin Hood, says Beder had success in his blood from the beginning, when he first came to him for a bartending job.
“Eighty percent of these places fail, you know,” Symes says. “Except if they had an attitude like Mike’s. You pretty much knew he’d be in the other 20 percent. Honestly, he’s in the top 5 percent right now, as far as doing what he’s doing well.”
Willing to talk shop on the issues of the moment for the community, and event ready to reminisce a little, the 26-year-old is never far from thoughts of his business and plans to expand it.
His first priority: growing form a college bar to a place the whole community comes when it’s time to unwind.
“There’s still work to be done,” Beder says. “We’re trying to get business people in here with things like after-hours events for the Chamber of Commerce. College kids don’t come in here until 11 at night.”
That stable, mature atmosphere was a risk at first, Symes says. Beder could have made a quick buck with an 18-and-over “club” atmosphere, but he refused to abandon his vision of a 21-and-over, low-key gathering place.
“Because it’s 21 and over, it’s stable,” Symes says. “It’s not going to be trendy. The Screwy Louie’s will come and go, the Robin Hoods will come and go. He was willing to take a hit in the beginning, but he’ll be there for the long term because of it.”
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