One of the most unique reasons for buying a business can be credited to Courtney Novak, owner of Main Street Pub and Grill in Green Bay. She bought a bar to help out a friend.
That friend, Jevon Jaconi, a Green Bay attorney, died in January 2025 of cancer. Before receiving the diagnosis, he had purchased a bar on the east side of Green Bay and named it Allegedly. At the time, he was working full time as a lawyer and managing the bar. Concerned about what would happen to the bar, he talked to Novak.
“When my friend got ill, he and I started to talk about his plans and what he was going to do with the bar,” Novak said. “In a matter of months, we came to terms and I bought it.”
In the short time they had before the sale, Jaconi mentored Novak and told her what she needed in terms of creating an LLC, transferring the liquor license, scheduling inspections, opening bank accounts, ordering and maintaining inventory, selecting software and the like.
The one area she didn’t need assistance with was bookkeeping and finances. As an internal auditor with a master’s degree in business, she felt confident that she could make the bar a success.
“I have a business mindset and am well-versed in finances,” Novak said. “I had heard from other bar owners that was the biggest hurdle to success, because that was the area where they struggled.”
The purchase was finalized in November 2024 and Novak renamed it.
“The name Allegedly was related to Jevon’s career as an attorney,” Novak said. “By changing the name, we wanted to let our customers know that it was under new ownership. I tried some names on Facebook and came up with Main Street Pub and Grill.”
The name reflects the bar’s new emphasis on food. When she purchased the bar, it didn’t have a kitchen, and it was her first priority to add one. The new kitchen opened in January and there is an expansive pub menu available. As Novak gets more comfortable with the food menu, she says she is getting more creative.
“I am expanding options, adding seasonal items, making more craft burgers, offering fish all week, and doing a popup menu,” she said. “Now that we have the core down, I’m also looking at adding things like Philly cheese[steak] sandwiches.”
But even with an expanded menu, she understands the importance of keeping prices low to attract customers. By offering a good value, she hopes that more people will be enticed to come in and try the food.
Although she is working at her full-time job much of the time, Novak’s off hours are typically spent at the bar. For her, it is like having two jobs; both clocking in at about 40 hours per week.
Her help comes from the staff of four employees. A recent hire is a dedicated bar manager, a position she held. She hopes that the bar manager will offer a little breathing room in the midst of a very complicated schedule.
“I knew it would be a lot of work, and it is. With the kitchen finished and staff getting up to par, I am completing my initial goals. From this point, I am continuing to learn and pivot. I ask myself, ‘How can I provide good consistent service at a good price?’” she said.
To answer that question, her boyfriend and owner of Main Street Bourbon Room, Chris Boncher, is a sounding board and has years of experience in the industry to share. That helps with things that come up on a routine basis.
“I have thoughts and visions of what the business can be, but I am always open to other people’s ideas,” Novak said. “Every day is a different struggle in areas like sourcing product, marketing, event planning and trying to stay up to date with other events going on in the neighborhood so you don’t overlap.”
The other bars in the neighborhood include more than 30 that network with each other. In May, Turn it Up Tap promoted an East Side Dive Bar Tour. By purchasing a $5 book (proceeds went to the Wisconsin Humane Society), participants were given a book that had a page for each bar where they could visit, fill out the page and be registered to win prizes.
About 170 people signed in at Main Street Pub and Grill, but most likely would have a difficult time defining the term dive bar.
The Urban Dictionary defines it as a bar that is on almost every street corner in every city in America. Although it might not seem like anything special, it is a well-worn, unglamorous bar that often sells a cheap, simple selection of drinks to a regular clientele.
Novak adds her definition: “It has different meaning to everybody. It is your neighborhood bar where the bartender knows who you are and what you drink. It is warm and inviting – a place where you know your regular customers and they feel like family.”
What it isn’t is a dirty, unkempt bar. Main Street Pub and Grill, she says, is nice and inviting inside with a clientele that is demographically diverse. Some come for the drinks and food, and others are attracted by a busy events schedule that includes live music, karaoke, cribbage tournaments, dart leagues, free juke box days, happy hour specials, fun days and more.
“We are trying to have something for everybody and that brings in a good array of ages. This is a place where regulars can come and always find something interesting going on,” she said.
Novak does all of the event planning and also orders food and beverages, does the scheduling, is human resources director, buys supplies, handles the financials and cleans. Some of these duties may be delegated to the new bar manager.
“I’d like to take some of this off of my plate,” Novak said. “For me, it has been late nights and early mornings. Sometimes it feels like it would just be nice to stay home and spend some time with my puppies.”
But she doesn’t regret purchasing the bar. Her advice to someone looking to buy a bar would be to purchase one that is existing and make it what you want it to be. Building new, she believes, would be cost prohibitive unless the owner had a particular niche in mind that couldn’t be accomplished otherwise.
The changes made to Main Street Pub and Grill, though costly, were much lower than it would have been to build new. By remodeling and adding the kitchen, there has been a great deal of growth that she hopes to see continue. It wasn’t exactly part of her plans, but she is set on being a success.
“If I would have thought of being an entrepreneur, I would have thought I would own a CPA firm or something tied to my major,” Novak said. “Some days, as a bar owner, I think, ‘What am I doing here?’ But then I think about how I’m enjoying the business part of this and remind myself of my friendship with Jevon and that’s why I do it.”
Tina Dettman-Bielefeldt is co-owner of DB Commercial Real Estate in Green Bay and past district director for SCORE, Wisconsin.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Helping a friend sparks Courtney Novak’s second job as bar owner
Reporting by Tina Dettman-Bielefeldt, For Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Tina Dettman-Bielefeldt, For Green Bay Press-Gazette | USA TODAY Network
