Tim Huelskamp has big plans for The Local House Restaurant & Bar. Just two months after expanding the brand to Wildwood with The Local House Bistro, Huelskamp announced on Facebook that the flagship location in Arnold is relocating to a larger space: the former 54th Street Restaurant location at 2236 Michigan in Arnold.
The move will allow the family-friendly restaurant to increase capacity to 200 seats, along with providing more parking. An opening date for the new location has not yet been announced, but expect a reconfigured dining room and bar, new flooring and paint, and details that will be familiar to Local House customers. In the meantime, as renovations progress at the forthcoming location, the restaurant will continue operations at the existing Arnold location (3946 Jeffco).
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The Background
Huelskamp bought the restaurant in February 2023. “I had previously been working at Mastercard as a vice president for 12 years,” Huelskamp says. “I was ready to get away from the corporate life and go back to where my passions are, which is small-business entrepreneurship. I had eaten at the Local House eight or 10 times, and I love the food, the setup, and everything they were doing. I thought to myself, This is a place that already does well, but I think I have the opportunity to elevate it and do more.
“I sat back and looked at all the processes, at everything that was going on,” he continues. “What bothered me and other people was the long ticket times. I looked at the three pillars, the same three pillars I used at Mastercard—people, technology, and process—and applied them to the restaurant.”
Huelskamp invested heavily in the staff and hired top talent. He switched from printers to kitchen display screens to help fill orders more accurately and quickly. The team changed processes and moved equipment around the kitchen. “We decreased ticket times by 30 percent,” Huelskamp says, “which means more people in and more people out. I had my eyes on moving us into a better position and was able to do that.”
In addition to strengthening the three pillars that Huelskamp outlined, he further integrated the restaurant into the community by giving back. “Three or four times a year, we have a fundraiser for Lone Dell [Elementary] School,” he says. “We give back 10-plus percent of the proceeds when the families come in to eat for their [Parent Teacher Association].” Some events are also just for fun, such as trivia nights on Mondays and live music on Friday and Saturday nights, events that brought in more people.
As Huelskamp says, “We’ve outgrown our britches over here.”
