By Matt de Simone
Spring and Chris Witt are the owners and operators of the establishment. They are also the proprietors of the Anchorage House bed and breakfast located directly across the street from The Witt Stop. This corner of Buchanan is a hub for gatherings such as weddings, parties, and family reunions, but also serves as a place for those passing by to stop in and have a home-cooked meal and a comfortable place to stay.
Spring Witt is an entrepreneur with a vision for Buchanan’s potential as a community and also as a destination for people who love the outdoors, good food, and eclectic entertainment. The restaurant gives Buchanan a new, progressive vibe previously distant from the town of old. Spring’s forward-thinking makes The Witt Stop a positive outlet in a town on the verge of burgeoning.
“Three years ago, the restaurant was was the first business I purchased,” Spring said. “I’ve seen the shift go from people saying, ‘That’ll never work,’ to ‘What are you up to next?’”
In three years, Spring’s ideas about her businesses and the community have been met with questions, but as the Witts continue working hard on bringing new things to Buchanan, the community is realizing that places like The Witt Stop and the Anchorage House are a positive. Having a restaurant with a warm and welcoming atmosphere brings in more revenue to Buchanan by way of tourism and also gives locals a place to go enjoy a burger, some beers, and live music.
Like many businesses throughout the pandemic, Spring and Chris were coming up with ideas to pivot away from the standard operations of a restaurant and into new ideas. Buchanan’s most popular events were canceled throughout 2020. While many locals viewed this as a negative, Spring saw a beam of hope.
“People thought the town was going to miss out on all this revenue,” Witt explained. “Actually, if no money if being put out, no money is being put in. It’s a wash. To hear people say that event like the carnival was one of the things that kept the town in business, it really isn’t.”
Many events were canceled worldwide over the course of the pandemic. Spring believes these instances helped people become more resilient.
“In 2020, we purchased a lot of things to pivot, but it was so nuts, we couldn’t even think straight,” Witt continued. “This year, we’ll make them happen. Last year, we worked through everything. We’ve been through the hard times. We have the equipment. Now, how do we market this?”
Spring sees the tourism potential of Buchanan and the positives it can bring the community. One metrics the Witts noticed in 2020 was that a lot of their sales were coming from people that live outside of Buchanan.
“I look at the vast majority of people in Buchanan and they’re not the ones I’m marketing,” Witt stated. “They’ll probably never go to my website. If they want to know what’s going on, they call my landline or come into the restaurant. Ninety-five percent of our guests across the street [at the Anchorage House] are out-of-towners. When I look at my monthly numbers from the restaurant, I think I started somewhere around 40 percent were from the 24066 Zip Code. Now, 92 percent are not from that Zip Code. That tells me I’m catering to tourism.”
Spring said that it took some time for her husband Chris, a Buchanan native, to get used to their market.
“It’s not like we originally planned to do that,” Chris said, “The numbers don’t lie. During the pandemic, everything that’s on our point of sales system—every time someone types in a cell phone number or an email address for a receipt or to get the newsletter—shot up to 92 percent from out-of-town revenue.”
Around Halloween last year, Spring called Square, the company that provides the Witts with their sales system, due to so many sales from people not living in Buchanan. Square confirmed a majority of the Witts’ sales were not from local patrons, solidifying their market.
Spring credits local businesses like Tizzone being helpful in giving ideas for The Witt Stop’s transition from being fully open to adjusting the menu and their infrastructure to fit the needs of their customers.
“I still looked at going into 2021 knowing we’re not perfect but we’ll figure it out as long as people are willing to understand that,” Spring stated.
The Witts remained respectful to their guests and the community throughout last year. They had a cyclist who wanted to stay at their bed and breakfast when there wasn’t a vacancy. He asked if he could pitch a tent in the Anchorage House’s front yard, which the Witts were happy to oblige.
In another instance, a family traveling from New York to Tennessee wanted to rent out the house due to their worries regarding COVID-19. Prior to their trip, the family told the Witts this was the first time they had left their home since the onset of the pandemic. Spring and Chris made their business available to accommodate the family for their stay. On the family’s trip back to New York, the Witts readied the Anchorage House for the family’s return.
“It’s just a matter of knowing your community, your guests, and being able to accommodate,” Spring said.
While 2021 will bring hesitation from travelers worldwide, places like The Witt Stop and The Anchorage House are places willing to adjust to fit the needs of their guests.
Spring and Chris are welcoming individuals who are prepared to restructure their day-to-day business in order to better the community and visitors during a time where the world needs comfortable accommodations.
For more information about The Witt Stop and the Witts’ other business ventures, visit www.wittstop.com.
