New Pine Drive owners carry on Lee’s legacy

Officially stepping in as the new owners of Pine Drive Bar and Grill in Holcombe June 30, left to right Chelsy Helland, Aaron Hetchler and Dana Hetchler, are excited to keep the legacy of former owners Lee and Amy Wright alive. Photo by Julia Wolf

By Julia Wolf

“After 21 years, I was ready to hang up my apron at Pine Drive, but wanted to make sure it went to a wonderful person or group,” said Amy Wright, former owner of Pine Drive Bar and Grill.

Amy says she and her late husband, Lee, literally raised their kids in the family business in Holcombe, and is glad two new families will continue the tradition.

Aaron and Dana (Mataczynski) Hetchler, and Chelsy Helland officially took over Pine Drive June 30.

“I will miss seeing all my customers and working with great people who became friends, but I know Aaron, Dana and Chelsy will do amazing things for this community,” said Amy.

That community is important to the new owners, as Dana grew up in the Holcombe area, while Aaron and Chelsy are originally from Cornell.

Dana says they were good friends with Amy and Lee for a long time, and saw a social media post that Amy was wanting to sell Pine Drive, but says the thought didn’t cross their mind to buy the business. That is, until Dana and Aaron’s friends and family, began asking them who is buying the bar and grill, and if it is them.

Since so many people brought it up, she and Aaron decided to discuss the option. In the discussion, they realized they could not do it on their own.

“We would need some help,” said Dana. Aaron suggested they ask Chelsy, since she has a lot of experience bar managing and bar tending. From there, Dana says she called Chelsy and asked if she wanted to buy Pine Drive with them.

“I feel like there wasn’t a whole lot of hesitation,” said Dana. Chelsy agreed the decision was easy for her.

Dana says the next step was to talk to Amy, because they were not sure if she already had another buyer in mind, nor did they know that Pine Drive was already listed with a realtor.

“Throughout the entire buying process, obviously obstacles popped up, but it seemed like the universe was pushing us in the direction of buying it,” said Aaron.

Dana says so many things just fell into place, plus they have seen so much support and confidence from the entire community.

“They’re coming from afar, I’ll tell you,” said Chelsy.

Chelsy says she hopes the community stays as supportive as they were with Amy and Lee, and gives them time to get their bearings in their new roles. She says there is a leaning curve, but she is enjoying the challenges and the variety each day brings.

Amy also helped them get started with the business, sticking around through the July 4 weekend. At the end of the weekend, Aaron, as promised, was able to fire Amy (a throwback to the time when Amy fired Aaron).

“Amy has tried to fire herself for years, it just never worked,” said Aaron, with a laugh.

The trio does have some changes in mind for Pine Drive. For now, they plan to keep the hours the same as they were. The biggest change to the menu, is they plan to use fresh burger, instead of frozen patties.

“I don’t like frozen patties,” said Aaron. They also intend to give the building a bit of a facelift, with upgrades to the kitchen equipment a priority.

“We’re going to more than double the flat top space, so the turnover gets lowered,” said Aaron.

They say they want Pine Drive to be family- oriented, and also have some ideas in mind to help keep younger customers happy and occupied, such as making board games and card games available.

Aaron says he is excited to have a job with a focus on talking to people, as he and Chelsy are social butterflies, and will be the two primarily running the place. Dana is still working her full-time job and is there to help, as needed.

“It’s always been kind of a dream, for me, to own a place,” said Dana, adding she always pictured a resort with a bar and restaurant. “This is like a huge, bucket list, milestone thing for me.”

Their new status as a business owner came as a bit more of a surprise to Aaron. He says he started working at Pine Drive in 2004, first as a cook, then bartending for a while. Aaron worked at the bar on and off for 18 years.

“When Lee passed...I was in denial for a long time,” said Aaron.

He says the memories and the blood, sweat and tears, that went into Pine Drive, are part of what drove him to want to buy the business, as Amy and Lee worked hard to build it up.

The LLC the trio formed to purchase the bar and grill is named To Lee, LLC, and Lee’s memorial bench will remain, as long as Amy allows it to.

“It’s kind of a cheers to him,” said Aaron.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="367"] Pine Drive also has outdoor seating, a tiki bar and a view of the lake. Much of what Pine Drive is known for, will stay the same under the new ownership, though some updates to the inside of the building are in the works. Photo by Julia Wolf[/caption]