Hosts Drew Dargen and Scott Moehlenbrock sit down with Bryce Thompson, Owner of CORD Construction Services, to discuss his experiences developing his own projects including The Patriarch Craft Beer House & Lawn, Social Capital, and 1884.

Show Notes

UrbanDirt Podcast | 1: Building Community Through Beer w/ Bryce Thompson

Connectwith Bryce Thompson via the links below!

BryceThompson: Email/ Instagram / LinkedIn

CORDConstruction Services: Website / LinkedIn

ThePatriarch Craft Beer House & Lawn: Website/ Instagram / Facebook / Twitter

Social Capital: Website/ Instagram / Facebook / Twitter

SHOW NOTES

[00:00] Introduction

[02:21] The best birthday gift Bryce has ever received

[03:13] Bryce and Scott discuss their experience as home brewers

[04:02] Gail at The Brew Shop OKC

[06:30] Bryce describes his signature brew, a pale ale named NotWasting Time, and his custom golf course distribution setup

[08:23] The discussion shifts to the impact home brewing has hadon craft beer culture, specifically in the Oklahoma market

[09:51] Scott explains the unique environment created by Oklahoma’sold-school liquor laws, which surprisingly resulted in ideal market conditions forhome brewers to build their brands

[10:58] A few of our favorite Oklahoma-based breweries arementioned, including Prairie ArtisanAles, Roughtail Brewing, Coop Ale Works, Stone Cloud Brewing, Frenzy Brewing

[12:08] Bryce talks about growing up a small-town preacher’s kid,moving around a bit, and landing back in Fort Gibson, OK after his sophomoreyear in high school

[12:57] Bryce tells a surprisingly adorable story about JuniorProm

[14:23] Bryce’s first day on a construction site

[16:14] The moment Bryce comes to the realization thatconstruction is what he’s meant to do

[16:50 ConstructionScience becomes Bryce’s new major at The University ofOklahoma

[17:20] The unorthodox class scheduling strategy that results inmore hours on construction sites than in the classroom

[17:50] Bryce wins his first attempt at bidding a constructionproject – and somehow convinces his new client to front the money for materials

[19:03] The value of hands-on experience in the constructionindustry

[20:40] Bryce gets a job offer he can’t refuse during his junioryear, which includes a unique signing bonus

[21:59] The unsuccessful attempt to drop out of college in orderto get a jumpstart on his career

[23:06] Transitioning from a role at a large-scale constructioncompany doing $300MIL per year to becoming the fifth employee in a family-ownedbusiness doing $5MIL per year

[24:00] Tripling the size of the company within a single year atthe age of 26

[24:25] Drew articulates the value of the head start Bryce hasunwittingly created for himself; Bryce’s unique advantages begin to emerge

[26:00 Bryce’s family is growing, and he and his wife decide theyneed to get back to Oklahoma

[26:17] The unexpected strategy Bryce deploys to get out of Texas,which includes a regular 200-mile commute

[26:41] “Every business in the world has one thing in common –it’s people.” Bryce goes all in on “just meeting people.”

[27:20] The value of relationship building begins to emerge.

[28:25] “Spending more time on the business side of construction,not the construction side of business.”

[29:03] Geeking out on company culture, vision, and strategicplanning

[29:15] Despite opening and growing the company’s Oklahomaoperation, Bryce still hasn’t even considered striking out on his own

[30:50] What happens when Bryce’s vision for his ideal companyculture begins to diverge from that of his employer

[32:00] An amazing offer is bestowed upon Bryce, but he turns itdown

[33:05] Bryce launches another operation – again, for someone else

[33:39] Finding peace, taking the leap into ownership

[34:54] The conversation shifts to the story of The Patriarch Craft Beer House &Lawn

[35:22] Scott gives perspective on simplifying the definition ofreal estate development

[36:44] Bryce’s future business partner walks into a church group gathering(and Bryce’s life) with a growler of home-brewed porter

[37:18] Rainey Street inAustin, TX

[37:48] Oak Street DraftHouse in Denton, TX

[38:36] A bullshit text message leads to a meeting at Jersey Mike’s

[39:14] 9 East EdwardsStreet – “This. Is. Perfect.”

[39:27] Drew provides context on the market in downtown Edmond, OK

[41:55] “Walking through open doors,” one of Bryce’s foundationalprinciples

[42:39] Bryce describes the property and why it was the perfectfit for their vision

[42:55] The pursuit of a “disarming” atmosphere. “I can’t go buildthat feeling anywhere. You have to buy old.”

[44:24] Getting cold feet and nearly convincing themselves thedeal was destined to fall apart

[45:38] “It got really real, really quick.”

[46:00] “Okay, I’m gonna need some money. I don’t have any.”

[46:35] Structuring the ownership of the property versusstructuring the ownership of the business

[50:20] How Bryce single handedly raised his half of the $500,000required to build out The Patriarch

[52:49] Why Bryce took on an investor who only had $1,500 incapital available

[54:40] “People invest in people and passion and vision more thananything.”

[57:26] The entitlement process. “I didn’t know you could justcall up a City Council Member and go havecoffee with them.”

[58:39] Drew discusses the nuances of dealing with localgovernment stakeholders

[1:01:15] The challenges in educating the public on what you’reactually trying to accomplish with your project. “How are you guys gonna handlethe red solo cups rolling down Broadway?” 

[1:02:12] Solving the often-overblown public concerns aboutparking– Bryce’s CustomParking Guide

[1:03:23] Begging a reporter NOT to write a story about theirproject

[1:06:10] Digging into the construction and rehab strategy

[1:08:10] Re-purposing 95-year-old solid slate chalkboards from McKinley Elementary

[1:10:49] Beer Education becomes a priority

[1:12:50] Drew’s brother Max describes his ordering strategy atThe Patriarch

[1:13:39] Bryce discusses the types of beer you can and CANNOTfind at The Patriarch

[1:14:23] Scott explains the unicorn-like Brewer’s Union in Oklahoma

[1:15:23] Frenzy Brewing goes from a launch at ThePatriarch to building out a 6,000 square foot brewery operation in the heart ofDowntown Edmond

[1:17:07] Budweiser, Coors, and other “American Staple Brands”aren’t actually even American-owned companies?

[1:17:40] The diabolical scheme that almost landed Bud Light onThe Patriach’s menu

[1:18:58] The Patriarch’s legacy as a key player in the revitalizationof Downtown Edmond

[1:19:11] Drew highlights projects that have materialized sinceThe Patriarch planted its flag, including Sunnyside Diner, Citizens Bank, Vault 405, Cafe Evoke, Ellis Island

[1:20:02] Lessons learned from The Patriarch Project

[1:20:55] Drew and Scott pitch Bryce on a business developmentidea

[1:21:36] Bryce feels compelled to take on another project in anattempt to leverage the knowledge he’s gained

[1:23:00] Community ThroughBeer Group is formed

[1:24:00] CTB Group goes big on their second concept, Social Capital

[1:24:31] Bryce’s sister describes the niche CTB Group has createdin “dating terms.”

[1:26:12] Scott breaks down “The Billion Dollar Corner” in OKC andthe 70 acre Scissortail Park, Grand Opening 9/27 with Kings of Leon Concert (free to public), Downtown ConventionCenter, Omni Hotel, Chesapeake Energy Arena, Thunder Alley, Boulevard Place, Fairfield Inn, Oklahoma City Streetcar, #billiondollarcornerokc

[1:30:07] Social Capital versus The Patriarch

[1:31:37] 120 craft beer taps at Social Capital

[1:32:20] Industry knowledge gained as a carhop at Sonic in high school

[1:32:57] The importance of tying Social Capital into ScissortailPark

[1:34:21] “Also, punchcards.”

[1:34:40] Edmond Railyard Project and Concept#3: 1884

[1:37:24] Rail Spur Project, Stephenson Park, Park 17

[1:38:14] The power of what Bryce has unknowingly pieced togetherby walking through open doors

[1:41:00] “Sometimes you’ve gotta jump into a hole knowing there’sonly one way out.”

[1:41:42] Stinkin’ Thinkin’

[1:42:20] “You’ve gotta jump and wait for the parachute to open;you don’t open it, and then jump.”

[1:42:52] “You have to fear regret more than you fear failure.”

[1:43:15] “What’s the worst that could happen?”

[1:44:34] Team as the most important factor in the success of ThePatriarch

[1:45:34] Bryce imparts wisdom on the younger version of himself

[1:47:22] Bryce shares the single purchase of less than $100 that has had thebiggest impact on his life

[1:48:20] Cory Morrow – “I’m too young tohave a point of view”

[1:48:56] Bryce makes a couple of book recommendations, including The Go-Giver by Bob Burg & John D. Mann and Start With Why by Simon Sinek

[1:50:45] In closing

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Urban Dirt Podcast is produced and hosted by Drew Dargen and ScottMoehlenbrock, with production support by Max Dargen.

Please visit us at www.urbandirtpodcast.com, email us at [email protected], or connect with us on Facebook and Instagram