Blending business acumen with a passion for beer and spirits

The Barrel owner Ingrid Bush sheds light on building a successful business

Story by Dawn Wilson

On a windy, late fall afternoon, Mike, the bar manager at The Barrel, places a cinnamon stick on the handle of a red mug and pours a hot beverage into the cup. Steam drifts off the golden liquid of hot whisky with a hint of honey and lemon. A hot toddy, one of the winter specials at The Barrel, is the ideal drink for warming up after a day on the trails in the notorious winds of Estes Valley.

Two patrons sit at the bar inside The Barrel, chatting with Mike about their morning adventures. In a quiet corner along one of the iconic Bavarian beer garden benches, owner Ingrid Bush shares her insight into how she arrived at this point on her path to business ownership. Bush admits that the path included bumps along the way that caused her to pause and evaluate the right business direction.

In September, Bush received the $5,000 Ready, Set, Grow Grant from two other successful businesswomen in Estes Park, Harriett Woodard of Bank of Colorado and Julie Abel, realtor and owner with Signature Home Team. The goal of the grant is to empower women of Estes Valley to succeed in their business endeavors, and Bush recognized the value of the money to heighten the presence of her bar.

“I heard about the grant from the Chamber newsletter and a Chamber member,” said Bush. “Because of where we’re located, I now have two new neighbors. So, we are getting new signage because our signage is very dark, even though we have a light on it. You really can’t see the sign so I’m going to get a new sign from Kent Smith.”

Bush’s plan involves installing two new signs on the building, which includes an outside container bar and an indoor Bavarian-style beer garden and hall. One of the signs will replace the sign over the main entrance on Moraine Avenue. The second sign will be added to the north facing wall to bring attention to the business from that direction.

The construction for The Loop the last two years and a move in 2018 to their current location at 251 Moraine Avenue also impacted the bottom line of the business.

Bush talked about lessons learned as a result of the challenges put in front of her the last few years.

“Going through the move from downtown to this location, it taught me how much stronger a person I am,” said Bush. “There are a lot of hoops of fire that I had to go flying through and put out on a daily basis. Working with this construction person and that contractor, and getting everybody on the same page, it all taught me how much more I can actually do than I had previously thought.”

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