T-Bock’s Sports Bar & Grill owners / husband-and-wife team Mike and Dominique Bockman have welcomed in folks for a drink and a homemade meal for more than 30 years, carrying on a tradition that was started at the former Bernadine’s High Life Inn…albeit with longer hours and a lot more menu options.

Situated right in the middle of downtown Decorah, Iowa, T-Bock’s serves up a wide range of delicious food – wings, salads, rice bowls, wraps, sandwiches, soups and homemade chili… and, of course, great burgers, all hand-pattied fresh, never frozen, like fan favorites the Peanut Butter Cheeseburger or the sauerkraut-stacked Wytowski Burger. (Note: Inspire(d)’s Aryn and Benji love to order the spicy Southwest Burger with sweet potato fries and a Greek salad with chicken, which we share!)

T-Bock’s also makes their own hand-breaded chicken and pork tenderloins as well as many of their sauces, plus daily specials, like homemade lasagna, or the famous chili, served seasonally from Labor Day to Memorial Day. 

Customers can add house-made potato salad, using Mike’s father’s original recipe, or a serving of their homemade coleslaw, to really get the full spectrum of T-Bock’s dedication to great food.

That dedication starts with supporting local producers as much as possible. They source cheese curds from WW Homestead Dairy, lettuce from Rolling Hills, tomatoes from Triple H Family Farm (seasonally), and homemade cheesecake from local baker Jane Bullerman. 

Their organic bone-in wings and organic eggs come from Larry Schultz Farms and their beef sticks are from Polashek’s Locker. Patrons can also find many local beers and beverages on offer, like Decorah’s Toppling Goliath and Pulpit Rock, and other local and regional breweries like Pivo, Tellurian, and Paha Cider.

In addition to the fun sports bar / dining area, the large, three-story building has two event spaces: T-Bock’s Underground, a downstairs space for smaller parties, and T-Bock’s Upstairs, for larger events. And during nice weather, they can open up the garage door in front and invite diners to their cozy, three-table, outdoor patio.

One of their biggest goals, Dom says, was to create a successful business that supported their family’s needs and put their three sons through school. With their youngest heading into his junior year in college next year, they are close to achieving that goal. Although their sons’ life goals don’t currently include taking over the family business, all three have helped out at T-Bock’s off and on since they were able to work. 

“It’s been invaluable to have our boys work at T-Bock’s. They have been exposed to a variety of people – staff and customers alike. They have learned so much about how to be flexible, get along with people, work in a team and independently, and work in a variety of jobs,” Dom says. “We always say that everyone should work in the service industry at some point in their life. It is a unique field and helps you understand and appreciate people from all walks of life.” 

Read on to learn about how Mike and Dominique have melded family, entrepreneurship, and community to make it all work for more than three decades.

The Basics:
Name: Mike and Dominique Bockman
Age: 59 and 55
Business: T-Bock’s Sports Bar & Grill
Year Business Established: 1994
Business address: 206 W. Water Street, Decorah, IA 
Website: www.tbocks.com

1. Tell us about the “leap” moment. When/how did you decide to jump in and become your own boss?

Mike: My brother, Tom (hence “T-Bock”), bought Bernadine’s High Life Inn from Bernadine Sampson in 1990. She owned it from 1936 until she sold it to him and his wife, Teresa. It was originally located next door to Vesterheim Museum, which is now the beautiful Vesterheim Commons. In 1994, my brother Mark and I were living in Cocoa Beach, FL, working as landscapers and living the free-spirited life of “beach bums.” We received a call asking if we would like to come home and take over T-Bock’s, because Tom and Teresa were becoming very busy raising four young children and didn’t want to run the bar anymore. We jumped at the opportunity, packed our bags, and returned home almost immediately! 

We ran the bar in that location until 2000, when the Oddfellows gave us an offer we couldn’t refuse. And that was to purchase the building and relocate to our current location in the heart of downtown Decorah. It was at that time that we realized we had made the move from running a simple mom-and-pop bar to running a potentially large, successful business. In the early days of that transition, we learned some hard financial lessons. 

Both Mark and I were starting families, and the business could best support only one of us. Amicable negotiations were made and the difficult decision to end our partnership resulted in me as the sole owner in 2004.

2. What’s the best thing about being your own boss?

Mike: My wife, Dominique, has a business management degree from Luther College (BA-1992). She began helping me with the bookkeeping duties, while I ran the main restaurant. It soon became evident that we made a great team, and we found a nice rhythm in each working our sides of the business. Eventually, she became a part-owner with me in the business.

The best part of being our own bosses is the freedom and independence we find in making our own decisions, individually and in conjunction with one another. We can banter with each other and use our joint creativity to come up with and implement new ideas. 

Some of the creativity we are talking about has been unleashed in the building renovations we have made over the years: updating the basement in 2007, renovating the second floor in 2013, remodeling and expanding the kitchen three different times over the years, adding an outdoor patio along with a garage door in the front of the main restaurant in 2016, and most recently, imbedding the Luther College gym floor into our back room and creating a community bar out of their bleacher seats!

Dom: Prior to joining Mike in the business, I was a Customer Service Rep. at Donaldson Co. in Cresco. I ravished in the idea of working for and with him at T-Bock’s, and enjoyed the flexibility of raising our young boys with the freedom and liberty to work a schedule that allowed me to care for and support them in their childhood and with all their activities through the years.

I always ran the financial side of our business with the mindset that I was working for someone higher up. I ran reports, balanced the books, and kept our finances in check. It helped in tougher times to keep us conservative in our spending and stay in touch when making decisions about general spending or making renovations.

3. How about the worst?

We find the most difficult thing about being our own boss is something almost everyone we talk with in this business can relate to. And that is managing personnel. Through the years, we have had our ups and downs in staffing. Long ago, we might have stacks of applications to sort through in order to choose who we want to interview. Then, those stacks turned into empty baskets, yet we were still trying to run the business on a skeleton crew (COVID times). And most recently, we have found an uptick in applicants, but with higher demands on their own personal freedoms and time. So we have had to juggle with an ever-changing environment in personnel: hiring, staffing, and people’s specific needs.

4. Was there ever a hurdle where you just thought, “I can’t do this?” How did you overcome it?

We have definitely had our struggles, but we are both adept at digging in and persevering through crisis. Mike says he’s never had a time where he thought “I can’t do this…” Dom has had those moments, but it usually required just digging in and learning more about whatever topic was causing concern, be it hiring, marketing, labor laws, event management, etc. 

We both have such a passion and love for our business, customers, and our community, that we are fulfilled daily in seeing happy people enjoy our food, our environment, and especially in what we do to serve our community.

5. You host events in T-Bock’s Underground and T-Bock’s Upstairs. What are the sizes of the smallest groups and largest groups you’ve hosted? How have events changed your business?

The Underground capacity is about 60 for a sit-down meal and 75-80 for a party. 

The Upstairs capacity is up to 200 guests. We have hosted a variety of events over the years, from business meetings, birthday parties, funerals, weddings, graduations, and everything in between. 

These venues are often used by non-profit organizations to host meetings and events, too. We host the Oneota Film Festival, WWO Comedy Night, and a variety of book talks and community speaking engagements. AV equipment, sound systems, and wireless mics are also available in each venue (Thanks, Benji!).

We have pivoted over the years to include catering for these private venues. We can cater groups of up to 100 guests, and offer a wide variety of items, including appetizers, entrees and desserts, all served buffet style. These venues also provide a fully stocked bar, with beer, wine and liquor, which is different than in our main restaurant, where we only serve beer, wine, and vodka drinks. Traditionally, this is part of T-Bock’s history when the business was purchased from Bernadine, and we never changed it (except we added vodka, because who doesn’t like a delicious Bloody Mary?). We have felt that because we are in a college town, it has kept our establishment more family friendly. We love seeing families with small children and grandparents come in to eat and feel comfortable here. When all three levels are open with events, it is certainly a lively, hopping place!

6. In the summer, T-Bock’s hosts diners who have taken an excursion off the Mississippi River Viking Cruise Ship. Can you tell us about that experience?

For us, the Viking Tours has created a wonderful partnership with Vesterheim Museum, the Decorah Chamber, and Winneshiek County Tourism. We host tour groups for lunch when they journey to Decorah from their boat dock in La Crosse. Their visit includes a 90-minute tour of the museum and its beautiful grounds, a lovely walk down Water Street, as well as lunch in a “good old midwestern traditional sports bar!” Some visitors are foreign, others from the south or east coast, and simply have never been to the Midwest. It is such a fun experience to host them, feed them and immerse them in our casual, comfortable environment.

7. Any mentors/role models you look to/have looked to?

Mike: Growing up, I worked for Ruby Olson, Manny and MaryAnn Madrigal, and Don and Mimi White. They were all solid restaurant owners in this community who taught me a great deal. I also worked for Dale McCormick and his partners at the Cafe Deluxe, and they were great mentors who taught me a lot about financial reporting and accountability in business. My family, specifically Tom and Teresa, and my brother, Mark, are still great role models for me, in business and in life.

Dom: I would have to say my biggest role model would be my father. He is loyal, honest, intelligent, and kind. He is a retired lawyer, and I often find myself asking him for advice and opinions. My mother and siblings are also incredibly important to me, who offer unconditional love and support all the time. 

8. What’s the one thing you wish you had known before you started?

We wish we would have known how much dedication and time commitment it would take to create this business to be a success. We often joke that we didn’t have three children…we actually had four! This business needs as much of our attention as one of our kids, if not more!

9. How do you manage your life/work balance?

WE ARE MARRIED TO THE RESTAURANT! Knowing that is part of the deal has helped us avoid many disputes. We know where our focus should be…it’s either on our family or our restaurant. We would have loved to go to dinner parties and a plethora of social engagements through the years, but we have had to make great compromises in order for our business to succeed. We tried very hard not to miss out on our kids’ events, and we negotiated with one another many times to make sure at least one of us could always be there for them, while the other one stayed back at the restaurant, if needed. 

But we make it a priority to take at least one vacation per year and get a complete break from work. And we are incredibly thankful that we have such great pillars to hold up the business when we aren’t there. We have to say a special thank you to Mitch, Bryce, and Coty for being our constant rock and support, and who have each been with us for over 15 years, as well as other staff who have had multiple years of service with us and work hard every day!

10. What keeps you inspired? Any quotes that keep you going?

Dom: “The Show Must Go On!”

Mike/Both: There are countless ways to continue to grow and evolve in our business, and to know that we have an outlet for our creativity continues to inspire us. Our customers are our number one inspiration! Our desire is to create an environment where our customers can feel relaxed, comfortable, and safe, enjoying good food, beer, and conversation. Seeing our customers satisfied, putting a smile on their faces, putting a little warmth in their hearts…that is what keeps us going.