People don't get much more soft-spoken than Devin Hansen, and the proprietor of the Brew & View has a modesty that matches his voice.
"I'm just filling a void here," Hansen said on the occasion of his business' second anniversary, which he's celebrating this weekend with a three-day music and movie festival. (See sidebar.)
"Anybody could do it," he said of reaching the two-year milestone. "I don't attribute it to anything I've done."
Hansen undersells his contribution. He came in as novice - "I didn't know anything about the movie business when I started. ... I had never even run a projector" - and has learned the ins and outs of both film exhibition and his audience. He can repair the projector now, he said. And although choosing movies is still something of a crapshoot, he certainly has a better sense of it than he did starting out.
Of course, for a movie buff with an entrepreneurial spirit, a business such as Brew & View - at 1611 Second Avenue in the District of Rock Island - is a near-perfect confluence: Combing a movie theatre with a smoke-free bar differentiates the business from its multiplex competition, and the proprietor can show whatever he wants.
But the reality of business is far more complicated. There's a good reason that movie theatres keep growing in terms of the numbers of screens: The more movies a theatre can offer, the better the chance that what the public wants to see will be there. A greater number of movie screens also cuts overhead by reducing per-screen staff. With only one movie screen, it's imperative that Brew & View choose its movies carefully.
And the ever-shrinking window between a movie's theatrical release and its debut on video and DVD means that Hansen often needs to act quickly. He couldn't screen Control Room - the behind-the-scenes documentary about the Al Jazeera television network - until the week before its DVD release. And he dumped The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi from his film-festival lineup because it's due on home video on November 9.
In other words, don't give too much credence to Hansen's modesty. Considering the failure rate for small businesses - an estimated 30 percent of startups close within two years, and 45 percent of restaurants shut their doors within 24 months - Hansen must be doing quite a bit right.
"I feel very strong now," Hansen said of his business. "We're paying off our debt. That's all I can hope for."
Both customers and staff have high praise for Brew & View, particularly its combination of atmosphere, off-the-beaten-path movies, and conversation.
"I'm ferociously loyal to the place," said Les Bell, a local artist and a founding member of the Open Cities film society. Brew & View not only brings in movies that otherwise wouldn't come here, "you get to sit and watch them live with similarly interested people," he said. Bell added that he loves having conversations with people about the movies. "I've talked to a lot of people, and I have no idea who they are," he said.
"We really have the nicest, most thoughtful customers," said Heather Kanzaki, an employee at Brew & View for the past year and a half. And by "thoughtful" she doesn't mean that they remember her birthday, but that they're smart people who have interesting conversations before or after the movie.
In the original conception, Brew & View was going to show art movies during the day and popular comedies at night. Hansen's business M.O. has changed as he learned more about what people want.
Hansen said there are two basic criteria for the movies he chooses: that they haven't played at Showcase, and that they've been out a few weeks (so he can get them from theatres in big cities). He looks for critically acclaimed movies that are "a little obscure." He's found, in other words, that the Quad Cities audience is thirsting for something more challenging than the multiplex offers.
That helps explain the success of the Michael Moore documentaries Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11, the cult comedy Bubba Ho-tep, the sentimental baseball documentary This Old Cub, the period drama Girl with a Pearl Earring, and the surprise hit The Station Agent.
Brew & View offers "the whole cutting-edge scene of film," said Jason Parris, a regular customer and member of the local band Driver of the Year.
And yet ... some "sure things" just don't find an audience here. "Sometimes we get in these great movies, and almost nobody shows up," Hansen said, citing the recent Before Sunset, which - despite glowing reviews - tanked in the Quad Cities. And with only one screen, Hansen can't afford to have patience with films.
"A lot of it is just luck," Hansen said of the film-selection process.
Sometimes the luck involves being able to snag movies that he expected would be playing the multiplex. Girl with a Pearl Earring was nominated for three Oscars, and Shaun of the Dead - now playing and part of the second-anniversary festival - was a hit in its native Britain and arrived on these shores with significant buzz.
But Brew & View is about more than movies. One constant has been service: "Treat the customers right, and they'll come back." Hansen also credits "surrounding myself with really good employees" as a key to his success. One employee started with the business two years ago, and two others have been with him for a year and a half.
Parris praised the staff's conversational skills, and said he'll often just stop in for a drink. "They're knowledgeable about more than just movies," he said.
Hansen certainly benefits from the goodwill he generates with his treatment of customers. Although Fahrenheit 9/11 did play at Showcase, many Brew & View regulars - including Parris - waited until it came to Rock Island before seeing it.
In addition, Brew & View has a unique environment, with its brick interior and walls covered with photos and posters from movies both popular and of the cult variety. And the bar includes everything from Brew & View's exclusive Odin Ale to Hamm's, ever-popular with the live-music crowd.
In the past two years, Hansen has tried a lot of different ideas. Midnight movies have done well, he said, as have regular concerts. "I didn't know there were so many great underground bands who wanted to play the Quad Cities but didn't have a venue," he said.
Parris, whose band is playing at the Film & Music Festival, said Brew & View is the perfect venue for emerging and cutting-edge acts. "You have a market that isn't used to (a) playing 'til three in the morning, and (b) two-hour sets," he said.
Brew & View has earned Parris' loyalty. "It's important that people support a local venue that supports a local scene," he said. "Any family or friend of mine, they're getting Brew & View passes."
For every good idea that Hansen has tried, there has been one that hasn't worked out so well. And Hansen was not only willing to say what didn't work; he called back to throw out a few more failures.
He says his biggest mistake was "quitting my day job and a steady paycheck." Other ideas that didn't pan out: video-game tournaments, an all-ages New Year's Eve show ("Literally nobody showed up," he said), sandwiches (so labor intensive that they slowed down everything), and concert videos.
Other events - such as the Sunday-morning movie and brunch - might be resurrected soon, he said. And Hansen said he'd still love to show prints of classics such as Casablanca and The African Queen.
He is also considering an expansion, taking a look at the Capri theatre at 226 19th Street in Rock Island. "That was the original venue I wanted," he said.
For now, though, Hansen is happy to be celebrating the Brew & View's anniversary. "I'm elated to be here two years later," he said.
Brew & View Film & Music Festival
The Brew & View Film & Music Festival is about what you'd expect from the venue, with things familiar (local rock bands The Metrolites, Chrash, and Driver of the Year) and fresh, but all clearly at least a little outside of the mainstream.
Individual movie passes are $5, while an all-day movie pass is $10. Admission to a concert is $5, while an all-music pass is $10. An all-fest pass costs $20.
Movies
Shaun of the Dead (1 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday): British horror zombie comedy, reviewed on page 17.
Baxter (3 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 1 p.m. Sunday): dark 1989 French film about (and told from the point of view of) a dissatisfied dog.
No Man's Land (7 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday): 2001 absurdist war comedy set in 1993 Bosnia.
Music
Friday, 10 p.m.: Casey Meehan, Radical Turf. Meehan is a New Orleans singer-songwriter documenting the seedier side of life. For more information about Radical Turf, see story here.
Saturday, 10 p.m.: Chrash, Tijuana Hercules, Driver of the Year. Two local bands join Tijuana Hercules, a Chicago white-blues outfit that has drawn comparisons to the White Stripes, Howlin' Wolf, Tom Waits, and Jon Spencer.
Sunday, 7 p.m.: The Metrolites.
"Anybody could do it," he said of reaching the two-year milestone. "I don't attribute it to anything I've done."
Hansen undersells his contribution. He came in as novice - "I didn't know anything about the movie business when I started. ... I had never even run a projector" - and has learned the ins and outs of both film exhibition and his audience. He can repair the projector now, he said. And although choosing movies is still something of a crapshoot, he certainly has a better sense of it than he did starting out.
Of course, for a movie buff with an entrepreneurial spirit, a business such as Brew & View - at 1611 Second Avenue in the District of Rock Island - is a near-perfect confluence: Combing a movie theatre with a smoke-free bar differentiates the business from its multiplex competition, and the proprietor can show whatever he wants.
But the reality of business is far more complicated. There's a good reason that movie theatres keep growing in terms of the numbers of screens: The more movies a theatre can offer, the better the chance that what the public wants to see will be there. A greater number of movie screens also cuts overhead by reducing per-screen staff. With only one movie screen, it's imperative that Brew & View choose its movies carefully.
And the ever-shrinking window between a movie's theatrical release and its debut on video and DVD means that Hansen often needs to act quickly. He couldn't screen Control Room - the behind-the-scenes documentary about the Al Jazeera television network - until the week before its DVD release. And he dumped The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi from his film-festival lineup because it's due on home video on November 9.
In other words, don't give too much credence to Hansen's modesty. Considering the failure rate for small businesses - an estimated 30 percent of startups close within two years, and 45 percent of restaurants shut their doors within 24 months - Hansen must be doing quite a bit right.
"I feel very strong now," Hansen said of his business. "We're paying off our debt. That's all I can hope for."
Both customers and staff have high praise for Brew & View, particularly its combination of atmosphere, off-the-beaten-path movies, and conversation.
"I'm ferociously loyal to the place," said Les Bell, a local artist and a founding member of the Open Cities film society. Brew & View not only brings in movies that otherwise wouldn't come here, "you get to sit and watch them live with similarly interested people," he said. Bell added that he loves having conversations with people about the movies. "I've talked to a lot of people, and I have no idea who they are," he said.
"We really have the nicest, most thoughtful customers," said Heather Kanzaki, an employee at Brew & View for the past year and a half. And by "thoughtful" she doesn't mean that they remember her birthday, but that they're smart people who have interesting conversations before or after the movie.
In the original conception, Brew & View was going to show art movies during the day and popular comedies at night. Hansen's business M.O. has changed as he learned more about what people want.
Hansen said there are two basic criteria for the movies he chooses: that they haven't played at Showcase, and that they've been out a few weeks (so he can get them from theatres in big cities). He looks for critically acclaimed movies that are "a little obscure." He's found, in other words, that the Quad Cities audience is thirsting for something more challenging than the multiplex offers.
That helps explain the success of the Michael Moore documentaries Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11, the cult comedy Bubba Ho-tep, the sentimental baseball documentary This Old Cub, the period drama Girl with a Pearl Earring, and the surprise hit The Station Agent.
Brew & View offers "the whole cutting-edge scene of film," said Jason Parris, a regular customer and member of the local band Driver of the Year.
And yet ... some "sure things" just don't find an audience here. "Sometimes we get in these great movies, and almost nobody shows up," Hansen said, citing the recent Before Sunset, which - despite glowing reviews - tanked in the Quad Cities. And with only one screen, Hansen can't afford to have patience with films.
"A lot of it is just luck," Hansen said of the film-selection process.
Sometimes the luck involves being able to snag movies that he expected would be playing the multiplex. Girl with a Pearl Earring was nominated for three Oscars, and Shaun of the Dead - now playing and part of the second-anniversary festival - was a hit in its native Britain and arrived on these shores with significant buzz.
But Brew & View is about more than movies. One constant has been service: "Treat the customers right, and they'll come back." Hansen also credits "surrounding myself with really good employees" as a key to his success. One employee started with the business two years ago, and two others have been with him for a year and a half.
Parris praised the staff's conversational skills, and said he'll often just stop in for a drink. "They're knowledgeable about more than just movies," he said.
Hansen certainly benefits from the goodwill he generates with his treatment of customers. Although Fahrenheit 9/11 did play at Showcase, many Brew & View regulars - including Parris - waited until it came to Rock Island before seeing it.
In addition, Brew & View has a unique environment, with its brick interior and walls covered with photos and posters from movies both popular and of the cult variety. And the bar includes everything from Brew & View's exclusive Odin Ale to Hamm's, ever-popular with the live-music crowd.
In the past two years, Hansen has tried a lot of different ideas. Midnight movies have done well, he said, as have regular concerts. "I didn't know there were so many great underground bands who wanted to play the Quad Cities but didn't have a venue," he said.
Parris, whose band is playing at the Film & Music Festival, said Brew & View is the perfect venue for emerging and cutting-edge acts. "You have a market that isn't used to (a) playing 'til three in the morning, and (b) two-hour sets," he said.
Brew & View has earned Parris' loyalty. "It's important that people support a local venue that supports a local scene," he said. "Any family or friend of mine, they're getting Brew & View passes."
For every good idea that Hansen has tried, there has been one that hasn't worked out so well. And Hansen was not only willing to say what didn't work; he called back to throw out a few more failures.
He says his biggest mistake was "quitting my day job and a steady paycheck." Other ideas that didn't pan out: video-game tournaments, an all-ages New Year's Eve show ("Literally nobody showed up," he said), sandwiches (so labor intensive that they slowed down everything), and concert videos.
Other events - such as the Sunday-morning movie and brunch - might be resurrected soon, he said. And Hansen said he'd still love to show prints of classics such as Casablanca and The African Queen.
He is also considering an expansion, taking a look at the Capri theatre at 226 19th Street in Rock Island. "That was the original venue I wanted," he said.
For now, though, Hansen is happy to be celebrating the Brew & View's anniversary. "I'm elated to be here two years later," he said.
Brew & View Film & Music Festival
The Brew & View Film & Music Festival is about what you'd expect from the venue, with things familiar (local rock bands The Metrolites, Chrash, and Driver of the Year) and fresh, but all clearly at least a little outside of the mainstream.
Individual movie passes are $5, while an all-day movie pass is $10. Admission to a concert is $5, while an all-music pass is $10. An all-fest pass costs $20.
Movies
Shaun of the Dead (1 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday): British horror zombie comedy, reviewed on page 17.
Baxter (3 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 1 p.m. Sunday): dark 1989 French film about (and told from the point of view of) a dissatisfied dog.
No Man's Land (7 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday): 2001 absurdist war comedy set in 1993 Bosnia.
Music
Friday, 10 p.m.: Casey Meehan, Radical Turf. Meehan is a New Orleans singer-songwriter documenting the seedier side of life. For more information about Radical Turf, see story here.
Saturday, 10 p.m.: Chrash, Tijuana Hercules, Driver of the Year. Two local bands join Tijuana Hercules, a Chicago white-blues outfit that has drawn comparisons to the White Stripes, Howlin' Wolf, Tom Waits, and Jon Spencer.
Sunday, 7 p.m.: The Metrolites.
