Shaun and Heather Musil didn't even know they had won the award until Barb Wasinger, 111th District state representative from Hays, texted the Hays couple that their store had been honored by the Kansas Small Business Development Center as "an excellent example of small businesses that have learned to adapt and succeed in challenging times."
The Paisley Pear Wine Bar, Bistro and Market, 1100 Main, has been declared one of eight SBDC "Existing Businesses of the Year."
"It's been a long three years," Shaun Musil said. "Fun, but a long three years with a lot of learning. This is very rewarding."
The Musils purchased The Paisley Pear, an existing business in downtown Hays from Jocelyn Brungardt, in July 2017 and added the wine bar two months later.
They took advantage of the local SBDC's no-cost consulting services and minimal-cost workshops.
"I asked what do I need to do to start a business, and of course, had to get together a business plan."
The Musils also worked with Commerce Bank in Hays to acquire their small business loan.
"They kind of did the rest for us," Musil explained, "for which we're very thankful.
"Starting a new business, there's a lot of stressful nights on figuring out how you're going to get everything done."
Several downtown Hays business owners have offered their expertise to the Musils.
"I can't thank them enough for all they did. They could have looked at me as competition — or they could have wanted me to be successful, which I feel like they did."
Shaun and Heather already had full-time careers before they decided to take the plunge — after lots of discussion — and become small business owners.
Heather is an educator. She currently works as an instructor in the FHSU Department of Teacher Education and previously taught at Hays Middle School.
Shaun was working for Coca-Cola in Victoria and said that's where he gets his "business sense."
"I wasn't a disgruntled employee. I'd done the corporate world for 22 years and everything I have is from that."
But he missed the customer service side of the job.
"I'm one of those crazy people that loves serving the public, in many different ways."
Musil is also currently the mayor of Hays.
Heather told Shaun she would support his dream to own a business.
"We just dove right in and worked every day and night and figured it out," Heather said with a smile. "It's still a learning curve but our children have granted us a little grace, so we appreciate that."
The entire Musil family is often together at the Paisley Pear.
Their sons, Brandon, 17 and Corey, 14, work nights in the kitchen when it gets busy. Heather also gets called in occasionally. Eight-year-old Meghan helps promote the family business and has her own hangout in the store basement.
"We hope our business shows them how to work hard," say their parents.
They currently have about a dozen employees, all part-time. The majority are Fort Hays State University students.
Customer service is their highest priority, according to Shaun.
"Most of our employees had no prior experience working in a bar or restaurant. We're a little bit different from other places. We really [interact] with our customers," Shaun said.
The couple has made several changes to the business over the past three years.
When they bought it, the Paisley Pear was an upscale kitchen and design store with a small cafe in the back.
They expanded the bistro lunch menu and created seating for 64 people, with a party area in the formal back room.
"We've had baby showers, bridal showers, a surprise wedding," said Heather, and another wedding is planned.
There are regular meetings of some groups including a monthly book club and an afternoon bridge club. Other times feature poetry readings and trivia nights.
Saturday mornings, the self-named "Paisley Pear Ladies," whose ages range from 4 to 98, gather to visit and check in with each other. They've even bought matching shirts featuring the Paisley Pear logo.
Breakfast might be coffee and cheesecake, waffles or quiche.
"On the Saturdays they don't come, we worry," Heather said, "and so now they call Shaun if they're going to be out of town or something."
"I feel like they're extended family," added Shaun.
Live music by local musicians was started on the weekends and draws a crowd. It's become so popular that musicians are now contacting them and asking to play in the small venue at the front of the store.
Food delivery orders are available. Shaun personally delivers most of the lunch requests. Hays2Go will deliver anytime the Pear is open.
Because the kitchen is so small, dinner is sometimes provided by other Hays businesses on special occasions. Smokin' Co. BBQ catered a sold-out Valentine's Day event last month. Gella's Diner + Lb. Brewing Company, just around the corner, has also catered meals.
One of the most popular desserts — cheesecake — is made by Augustine's Bakery, also located in downtown Hays.
Other customer favorites are strawberry-rhubarb pie and pumpkin bars. "We have one gentleman who comes in around 2 o'clock specifically for pie, which he likes warmed up, and coffee."
The bar offers wine flights - four different kinds of wine. Shaun admits he previously knew nothing about wine.
The wine stock changes about every six months. "We do a lot of research and lots of wine tasting," Heather says.
Products from Kansas wineries sit alongside more exotic bottles from Germany, Italy, Argentina and other countries.
Whiskey, Shaun's preference, was added to the bar by customer request during Christmas. Whiskey flights are now available and Irish whiskeys will be featured during March.
"Our customers want to try different drinks while they're listening to good music."
The market side of the business offers for sale Kansas-made foods and other products, such as candles.
The back of the store, now being used for storage, has been rented to Hays Nutrition, which will move in mid-March from the Hadley Center to where the old bistro was.
Paisley Pear participates in many events offered by the Downtown Hays Development Corp., including art walks organized by the Hays Arts Council.
The store is closed Sunday and Monday for "family time," the Musils say. "That's a must."
Every year, eight regional Kansas SBDC offices nominate their existing, emerging, and exporting businesses of the year.
Fort Hays State University is home to one of those offices. It serves the counties of Barton, Cheyenne, Cloud, Decatur, Ellis, Ellsworth, Gove, Graham, Jewell, Lincoln, Logan, Mitchell, Norton, Osborne, Ottawa, Pawnee, Phillips, Rawlins, Republic, Rooks, Rush, Russell, Saline, Sheridan, Sherman, Smith, Thomas, Trego and Wallace.
The Kansas SBDC at FHSU is part of the national organization sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration, and works in partnership with Kansas Department of Commerce.
This year’s nominees were selected from more than 2,400 businesses that received advising services from the Kansas SBDC in 2019.
The winners, including the Musils and their three children, will be recognized at the annual E3 Small Business Awards ceremony at the state Capitol in Topeka today. Heather's mom and dad will join them on the trip.
Mayor Musil will miss tonight's Hays city commission work session.
Following is the complete list of SBDC business nominees:
EXISTING BUSINESSES OF THE YEAR
The Sweet Granada – Emporia; Kim Redeker
Paisley Pear Wine Bar, Bistro and Market – Hays; Shaun and Heather Musil
Blue Valley Physical Therapy – Overland Park; Ann Todd-Cooper and Ryan Klusman
Young Sign Company – Leavenworth; Ann and John Hoins
ADI, Inc. – Chanute; Merrill and Wendy Cunningham
Dodge City Brewing – Dodge City; Larry and Sheri Cook
Connie’s Mexico Café – Wichita; Carmen Renteria, Adele Jordan, and Carla Rosales-Banuelos
The Marie Antoinette Gluten Free Baking Co. – Wathena; Rani Navarro-Force and Shawn Force
EMERGING BUSINESSES OF THE YEAR
EMP Shield, LLC – Burlington; Timothy Carty
Mind Sculpt Games, LLC – Great Bend; Darcy Leech
LC BioPlastics, LLC – Prairie Village; Paul Black
Julie Bear Don’t Walk Acupuncture + Integrative Health – Lawrence; Julie Bear Don’t Walk
Smallville CrossFit – Fort Scott; Aaron and Lindsey Watts
The Red Rock Experience & Venue – Ulysses; Tammy Lane-Reese and Jessica Reese
Ember Technology, LLC – Wichita; Jonathan Sanchez and Tariq Azmi
Anneal Initiative, Inc. – Topeka; Amy Billinger, Jeremy Jackson, and Jennie Jackson
EXPORTING BUSINESSES OF THE YEAR
SkuTouch Solutions, LLC – Lenexa; Doug and Terry Obershaw
Progressive Products, Inc. – Pittsburg; Todd Allison