Pub and Bean Restaurants in Ave Maria Have New Ownership

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Published on Tuesday, 29 July 2014 00:24

The coffee shop and pub in the Ave Maria town center are under new ownership.

Original owners Daniel and Monica Dix (right, at the opening of the Queen Mary Pub), among the earliest residents of Ave Maria, sold The Bean of Ave Maria and the adjoining Queen Mary Pub Monday to a partnership including a businessman from Chicago and Ave Maria resident Krista Joyce.

The Bean was one of Ave Maria's first businesses, opening in December, 2007, and it immediately became a gathering place for students and residents. The pub followed in September, 2009, becoming Ave Maria's first full-service restaurant and only establishment with a full liquor license.

Mr. Dix said that after 15 years in the restaurant business he wanted to look at other career options. He and his family plan to remain in Ave Maria. "It's going to feel strange not getting up at 4 a.m.," Mr. Dix said.

The new owners are Chris Heitmann, who has owned a variety of food establishments in the Chicago area, and local resident Krista Joyce.

No radical changes are planned, Mr. Heitmann said, but residents definitely will notice gradual changes over the next several months. "We think people will be really happy with them," he said.

"The Dix family did a great job and we're looking to build on that."

The pub will be closed for one or two week, he said, for a "summer cleaning" but The Bean will remain open as usual, he said. (Left, Mr. Heitmann with his wife and son, Diane and Jacob Nash.)

Mrs. Joyce, whose husband, Kevin, is the vice president of institutional advancement at Ave Maria University, will primarily be involved in marketing and events, Mr. Heitmann said. They also have hired a general manager, Ethan Striz, who graduated from AMU in 2014.

Mr. Dix said he will treasure his memories of the Bean and the pub.

"I love the town of Ave Maria and I feel very close to those that we have served these past years," he said. "The early years, though hard financially, will always be fondly remembered by my family. The faithful pioneers of those days were a truly remarkable group of people. I feel very fortunate to have had a small part in the birth of this amazing place. I have made some of the best friends of my life in that coffee house and in that pub"

Over the years, most visitors who came to Ave Maria wound up at one time or another in either the pub or the Bean. "I think that we have had three cardinals and five or six bishops in the pub over the years," Mr. Dix said. "I will always remember watching Father Benedict Groeschel drink a Guiness at my bar. "