Business & Tech

Lots of Work, Lots of Fun for Bateman's Owners

The Lurz family accomplished its dream of owning a restaurant when the family opened the Middle River Bill Bateman's Express franchise in 2009.

Most people in the Baltimore region are expected Sunday to either be in the stands at M&T Bank Stadium or gathered with family, friends and others to cheer on the as they host the Houston Texans in an AFC Divisional playoff game.

Don’t count Garry Lurz Sr. as one of those people.

Lurz will be hard at work ensuring his customers are fully stocked on buffalo wings, crab pretzels, sliders and other typical game day delicacies as the owner

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While most of the area is decked out in purple, Lurz and other local restaurant and bar owners know that a deep playoff run by the Ravens will equate extra “green” for their business.

“When the Ravens played the Steelers in this round of the playoffs last year, our total represented 50 percent of our business for the week,” said Lurz, who opened his restaurant at 610 Compass Road in 2009. “It was an amazing day and we expect more of the same this year.”

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Lurz said he has 20 cases of wings ready to be served this weekend. This equates to about 8,000 wings. This doesn’t include the more than 6,000 buffalo bites he plans on serving fans at the stand he operates at M&T Bank Stadium.

“Like many similar businesses, when the Ravens do well, we do well,” Lurz said.

Despite the long hours and hard work, Lurz said he couldn’t be happier. Bill Bateman’s Express represents a dream for him and his family, who co-owns the restaurant with him.

Lurz had owned a construction business for 20 years, but had always envisioned eventually opening some sort of family-owned store. He just wasn’t sure how to do it.

That’s where his sons stepped into action.

“One day about four years ago and my sons tell me ‘We just put in for a Bill Bateman’s franchise,’” Lurz said. “I was looking to wind down the construction business at that point so everything just kind of moved forward from there.”

Two of Lurz’s three sons, Garry Jr. and Greg, had worked in the restaurant business for several years and offered that experience to compliment their father’s business background.

So, in 2008 the family, which includes Garry's wife of 34 years, Linda, went through the loan process and opened their Bill Bateman’s Express in March 2009. But, the timing could not have been worse as they opened at the height of the economic recession.

“We definitely had our struggles early on, but having a known name like Bill Bateman’s really helped get us through that. If we had just been ‘Garry’s Wings’ we probably wouldn’t be here today.”

Lurz said business has steadily improved and he expects to be serving Middle River for years to come. He employs about 15 people at the Middle River location and 18 at the stadium.

“This has been a dream for us. I get to work with my family every day. If they didn’t work here, they would be somewhere else and who knows when we would all see each other.”

Garry Lurz Jr. said getting to work with his family has been a rewarding experience.

“It’s a lot of work, especially this week with the Ravens game coming up,” he said. “But, it’s also been a lot of fun.”


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