Pub Crawling – Decatur Style
By Jennifer Sekosky

As home to companies such as Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Tate & Lyle, and Caterpillar, Inc., Decatur hosts hefty numbers of visitors daily.

And what better way to show off our city than to bring these guests downtown, where they can enjoy a range of unique, locally owned establishments all within walking distance of each other?

Such was the thinking last fall when Mark Metivier, director of sales, Specialty Food Ingredients Division at ADM, started planning his annual sales meeting.

Attended by 26 regional sales representatives from throughout the United States and Canada, these same individuals would return to Decatur throughout the year to entertain individual clients.

“A lot of our visitors arrive in Decatur, come out to ADM, stay at a hotel (in the Forsyth area), and that’s all they see,” says Metivier. “We usually have one dinner where you talk to the people on each side of you, and that’s it.”

This time, Metivier decided to kick it up a notch and make his annual meeting an event to remember. Together with Katheryne Stoll, ADM technical sales representative, he planned a Taste of Downtown Decatur, featuring progressive appetizers. Following a sales meeting at the ADM Global Training Center, 247. E. North St., the group toured six downtown establishments for food, drink, and networking. Because all of the downtown restaurants were within walking distance, transportation from one to the next wasn’t an issue.

“We thought it would be good for the sales people to know more about the town where their company is headquartered,” says Stoll.

“We also wanted to host a fun, team-building event, where they could network with each other and have a good time,” adds Metivier.

As they planned the event, Stoll and Metivier considered timing and accommodations. The two set a budget — $100 toward appetizers for the group at each spot — and next ironed out the details.

“We asked (restaurant owners) for suggestions of specialty foods to feature, and also suggested menu items we liked,” says Stoll.

The group started at Robbie’s at 4:30 p.m., and next moved on to the Lincoln Square Lounge, Porter’s on Merchant, Bizou, Katz, and Doherty’s Pub & Pins, spending about an hour in each place. Three appetizer selections were served at Robbie’s, the Lincoln, Porter’s, and Bizou, and Katz presented mini cheesecakes. Doherty’s, which was celebrating its grand opening week, proved the perfect spot to watch the World Series game.

Stoll distributed a program for the evening — a useful reference that included a map, list of restaurants and featured appetizers, and background about each restaurant.

“We highlighted some (familiar) restaurants, but we also introduced the group to some new places, in hopes they’ll try something different next time they’re here,” says Stoll.

“Katheryne did a great job of setting the expectations at each restaurant,” Metivier says. “One person said she had never met some of the people we were with, so this was a (good way to interact with) new people. The set-up was conducive to lots of talking. “Several people came away with a new appreciation of Decatur,” he adds. “People from big cities, like Los Angeles, said they had a great time here.”

The biggest challenge for the next training meeting will be topping this event. “Maybe I’ll do an Amazing Race Decatur,” Metivier says with a smile.

Katherine Smith, general manager of DCC Marketing Group, organized a somewhat similar event to celebrate her husband’s 30th birthday. Told only that he was going on a pub crawl with five friends, Chris Smith and pals were picked up at the Smith home by Walker’s Limousine Service on an early Saturday afternoon.

Brian Mangan, one of Chris’s buddies, had riddles and clues for each location, and Chris had to solve the riddle or complete a challenge in order to figure out their next stop. He also had to collect mementoes along the way – such as an olive from his martini at Katz, or a cue chalk from The Winery — to prove he had made each stop.

Katherine coordinated the five-hour tour with the driver in advance, and the group visited Bennigans, The Winery, The Lincoln, and The Wharf, among other stops. The crawl culminated with appetizers and entertainment at The Red Couch, where about 50 friends and family members waited to surprise Chris.

“It was fun to have a chauffeur so the group could travel together and not have to worry about driving,” Mangan says. “I recently recommended doing a crawl to another friend, because it’s fun to be able to bounce around from place to place.”Whether the agenda is business or purely social, a crawl is fun to plan and execute — particularly with Decatur’s range of excellent restaurants and bars.

Contributor Jennifer Sekosky, who’s enjoyed a few spur-of-the-moment pub crawls herself, may try pre-planning next time.