Bob Platzer, CEO of the P.J.W. Restaurant Group, is living his childhood dream, writes Jane Von Bergen for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Platzer opened his first bar in Lehighton nearly 25 years ago, and has since turned it into a 20-restaurant chain that includes P.J. Whelihan’s, The ChopHouse, The Pour House, and Treno Pizza Bar.
There are three Whelihan’s in Chester County – in Downingtown, West Chester, and Malvern. Also, The Pour House has a location in Exton.
The P.J.W. Restaurant Group currently employs 1,600 people and has never had to close a restaurant, something Platzer, 66, is especially proud of. His confidence that he would be a successful tap-room owner came from the time he spent with his father, who often used to stop by tap rooms.
“I just really always liked the atmosphere,” he said. “I always had a pretty welcoming personality. I just knew I would be good at it.”
The first restaurant he opened was in a building he bought for $72,000, and he lived upstairs while developing the business. It took 10 years to make it sustainable, but once it was profitable, Platzer built from there.
“After 10 years, I bought my second restaurant, in Allentown,” he said. “That’s when we really took off.”
Read more about Bob Platzer in the Philadelphia Inquirer here.
