User:Kinu/Flying Saucer

The Flying Saucer Draught Emporium is a chain of bar-restaurants in the United States whose focus is craft beer. It was established in 1995.

History

Texas allowed brew pubs beginning in 1993, and the following year, Keith Schlabs and Aaron Ledyard took the idea to open such an establishment to Dallas restauranteur Shannon Wynne, the second son of Six Flags Over Texas founder Angus G. Wynne. Wynne already had the idea for a restaurant that served other breweries' offering, but needed a business partner such as Schlabs who had worked in the brew pub industry. Wynne had also decided on the title "Flying Saucer" and the decorative style that is now common to each restaurant in the chain, featuring plates mounted on the ceiling and walls. The first restaurant opened on June 5, 1995 in Sundance Square in Fort Worth, Texas, with Schlabs as general manager. Schlabs currently serves as the franchise's "beer guru."

The original Sundance Square location closed in 2012; the establishment was moved across the street to a larger space.

Business model

As the first general manager of the Fort Worth location, Schlabs extended the concept of the decorative plate and created the business model based on customer retention through the UFO Club, in which members are known as "beer knurds" ("knurd" being the word "drunk" written in reverse). Customers who purchase 200 different beers in the Flying Saucer network receive their own personalized plate on the wall of their home restaurant's Ring of Honor, with additional rewards for members who complete the task multiple times.

As a corporate entity rather than a franchise, each Flying Saucer holds parallel events throughout the week: Sundays feature specials from breweries local to the region, Mondays are pint night, Tuesdays feature a pub trivia contest, and Wednesdays feature "Brewery Night" in which a "keep-the-glass" option is available. The glasses offered vary: some are standard glasses featuring a brewery logo, while others are made specifically for the chain. Special events throughout the year include tributes to Elvis Presley and John Lennon, among others. During the 2008 election, Saucer patrons were given the option of "voting" by purchasing glasses featuring caricatures of Barack Obama and John McCain.

Locations

The chain currently has 15 locations, located predominantly in the southeastern and southern United States. Seven locations are in Texas: the Fort Worth location is among three in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, with the other two located in Addison and on the banks of Lake Ray Hubbard. The remaining Texas locations are in San Antonio, Austin, downtown Houston, and the Houston suburb of Sugar Land. Three locations are in Tennessee: in downtown Nashville, downtown Memphis, and in the Memphis suburb of Cordova. Other locations are in Kansas City's Power & Light District, Raleigh, Charlotte, Little Rock, and Columbia. A previous location in Arlington, close to Six Flags Over Texas, is closed.