The Legal Tender Pub and Bistro has been a staple in the Clancy community since 1982. Having endured a global pandemic, the restaurant continues to serve community members and tourists five days a week in the hands of new owners, despite the impacts of economic inflation.
Eric Stickline, a Baltimore native, made his first appearance at The Legal Tender as a kitchen manager after replying to an ad in August 2021. Having noticed Stickline’s hard work and dedication to the business, the previous owners suggested he write up an offer for the business when the restaurant started to struggle in December 2021.
On Feb. 6, The Legal Tender opened under the guidance of new owner Stickline and another of the restaurant’s former employees. A short time later, Stickline’s wife Armanda took over Sarah’s portion of the company, giving the couple total ownership of the business.
Stickline has worked as a cook his whole life, gaining most of his experience on the East Coast; however, running The Legal Tender is his first go at business ownership.
Since taking over the restaurant, Stickline said business has been “up and down” in a post-coronavirus world and economic inflation.
Like many other businesses, Stickline struggles to find enough employees to stay open seven days a week, especially when it comes to the kitchen. At the moment, The Legal Tender serves customers Wednesday through Sunday. While past sales show that Tuesdays were the most profitable, Stickline said he and his pregnant wife already work as much as they can, clocking in more than 60 hours most weeks.
According to a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics July 13 news release, the food index has risen 10.4% since June 2021. This is the largest food index increase since 1981.
Stickline has noticed the inflation in necessary items such as fryer grease, but has yet to increase The Legal Tender’s prices in response, reasoning that he wants to maintain the small customer base the restaurant has. “Maybe we will have to at some point, but right now, I don’t want to lose or make the people upset that I do have coming here now,” Stickline told The Monitor. Customers have not responded negatively or positively to the restaurant’s prices, he said.
Further increasing the price of food is the rising cost of fuel and delivery charges. Stickline said each food delivery now includes a $50 fuel surcharge. “I can’t really complain too much about it, you know? I need my food every week,” he said.
Although prices are on the rise, so is local tourism, according to Stickline. Regardless, the restaurant has now placed signs near the interstate off-ramps notifying drivers that The Legal Tender is open to help improve business.
Stickline said current operation of the business is sustainable, however, he’d like to see it improve.
While The Legal Tender is a small community restaurant, Stickline emphasized that it’s an establishment that anyone can attend. “This place is for everybody and every budget,” he said.
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Prior to becoming owner of The Legal Tender Pub and Bistro, Stickline served nine years in prison for automobile theft and burglary. The crimes, he said, were the result of his 18-year battle with a heroin addiction.
Stickline used his time in prison to work on himself and prepare himself for life after release by taking classes and reading books. “I was determined to make myself better so I didn’t make the same mistakes I did that put me in there,” he said. Having overcome this challenge, Stickline hopes to help others make the right choices, too.
On Aug. 14, Stickline will celebrate five years being sober. “The system is not broken, we are,” he said. “We have to work the system. We have to do the next right thing.”
Stickline finished his sentence and was released from prison on Aug. 26, 2021. “Here it is not even a year later, I have this wonderful restaurant and my wonderful wife and family,” he said. “Life couldn’t be better.”
Stickline said his wife Armanda has continued to be his support system. The couple met on Tinder and were married on Dec. 25, 2021 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Stickline said he clicked with her family and it felt as if he had been there the whole time. “I got lucky. We met and it was like a piece to a puzzle,” he said.
Running The Legal Tender is more than just a business venture for Stickline, who said he wants to use this opportunity to give back to the community, a privilege that was taken away from him for so long.
“I don’t want to get rich,” Stickline said. “I’m just trying to keep people employed.”
