Today we’d like to introduce you to Roman Maliszewski.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Roman. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’m from Chicago but went to college in NJ (Princeton), living in NYC during the summers. Upon graduation, I moved to SF and worked in digital marketing for 10 years before moving back to Chicago, where I continued to work for digital marketing companies. In 2014, I decided to take a year off to travel and make a big career change. On my travels, I decided to open a unique bar concept, where customers could sample and try anything they wanted. I researched the best companies in this space and decided to work for the best one (Innovative Tap Solutions – ITS). While working for ITS, I spoke with many bar owners and learned as much as possible for my future venture. After finding the right location in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood, I opened Tapster in March of 2017 with my business partner Sean Slevin. We have seen great success since then, and we are now opening our second location in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood in September 2018. I am working on my own to grow Tapster as a Franchise, and am currently speaking with potential franchisees in Milwaukee, Detroit, Atlanta, and New York.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Knock on wood, Tapster has been a relatively smooth road. It took us a full year to find the right location for our first Tapster, but it is performing great and we’re very proud. Some struggles along the way have been staffing, which is normal in any hospitality location, as well as some difficulty navigating the city permit and license system.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Tapster story. Tell us more about the business.
The three pillars of our business are education, empowerment, and the environment. We are constantly educating our customers and staff about which drinks we have on tap, as well as hosting brewer events here. Each of our taps has a digital screen above it which explains what is on tap and so you can learn anything you want about what you’re drinking. We empower our customers with the ability to not only pour their own drinks but to help others learn how to pour and how to use our system. The environment created by this education and empowerment is one of less stress than most bars. We are also extremely conscious of our waste and carbon footprint. We do not use bottles and cans here at Tapster. We are a self-pour tasting bar, but we are focused on a larger mission to help the communities we enter.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Luck has played a big role in my life. I have been an extremely lucky person, from growing up in a wealthy household to going to a great university, to working in great companies and then starting my own. Luck does not come to just anyone though – you have to be a hard worker and a good person for luck to come your way. I believe that being lucky is a result of a truly positive outlook on life.
Contact Info:
- Address: Tapster Wicker Park – 2027 W North Ave, Chicago, IL 60647
Tapster Lincoln Park – 1059 W Wrightwood Ave, Chicago, IL 60614 - Website: www.tapsterchicago.com
- Phone: 415-794-0275
- Email: roman@tapsterchicago.com
- Instagram: tapsterchicago
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TapsterChicago/
- Twitter: @tapsterchicago
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/tapster-chicago?osq=Tapster
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