The Star, June 9, 2005

By Blair Shriver, The Star
June 9, 2005

LAGUNA HILLS, CA (Thursday, June 09, 2005) - Port St. Joe native Troy Taylor has been in the business of franchising all of his adult life. Now, he's combined his love of sports and his business know-how into a successful restaurant franchise - Indigo Joe's Sports Pub and Restaurant.

An establishment nearly 10 years in the making, with their flagship restaurant in Encinitas, Ca., Taylor and his partners have developed 18 restaurants in nine states. At the end of this year, Taylor says his company, Neighborhood Sports Pub Concepts, Inc., will have a total of 22 restaurants across the country.

As the company continues on the road of success, Taylor has turned his sights back to his home state of Florida. Indigo Joe's, with its warm oak interior, signature blue accents, and comfortable seating, could easily be mistaken for any number of national chains. With a view of at least 10 to 15 televisions from any seat in the restaurant, an enclosed game room and an assortment of college sports memorabilia plastered on nearly every inch of wall space, this family-friendly sports pub is as they say, "not your average joe."

Attention has been given to every detail of Indigo Joe's. A state-of-the-art entertainment wall with a large screen television, multiple high definition televisions and several smaller screens not only separates the bar from the dining area, it satisfies the sports bar concept - viewing capabilities from every angle.

After serving in the military for four years, Taylor was a franchisee for two national companies. The Internet boom of 1990s took Taylor to California where he owned a franchise development business that took him all across the world. During his world travels, Taylor often frequented sports bars. Typically dingy and dank places dominated by mostly male sports fans, Taylor successfully pinpointed facets of the sports bar concept on which he could improve and relayed them back to his partner in California.

He tells a story of being in Australia and calling one of his partners, Chuck Darrow, owner/operator of Player's Sports Bar and Grill. "I studied the strengths and weaknesses of each place I went," Taylor said. He spent eight years perfecting his model for Indigo Joe's Sports Pub and Restaurant. Even the name of the establishment was strategically planned. By calling it a sports pub and restaurant instead of a bar and grill, Taylor feels the family traveling in search of a place to eat dinner will be more attracted to Indigo Joe's.

"We're a strong family restaurant that specializes in sports," he said. Taylor considers himself fortunate to have stumbled upon a niche that he says 90 percent of sports bars fail to do - focus on the family. His carefully planned marketing concept combined with the owner/operator model, Taylor said he had "dummy-proofed" his plan. "Americans will never stop eating burgers, wings and steaks," Taylor said, comparing his current success to his venture in Internet franchise development.

As his plan to grow 15 units per year in the future proceeds, Taylor said he will be focusing his franchising efforts on the Jacksonville, Pensacola and Panama City markets.