The Blue Gate is an integral part of Shipshewana. It’s a place for friends and families to sit down for a meal, catch a concert, and rest for another day of adventure in Shipshewana. One of the keys to its success is VP of Sales and Marketing, Andrew Rohrer.
“I’ve been working for the Blue Gate for almost 25 years now. I started working for Mel Riegsecker right out of college. I actually grew up in Ohio Amish Country, so I was very familiar with the Amish community and the kind of businesses that go on in an Amish community.”
Andy’s one of the first faces you’ll likely meet if you hang around the Blue Gate long enough. On a tour of the restaurant, he shared a story about its founder, Mel, and how it all came to be. On the staircase is a wooden horse and buggy figure.
“Like everything Mel does, he was very meticulous in how he did it. He knew how it was done because his dad was an Amish harness maker. All his scale models were intricate and perfect.”
It’s one of Andy’s favorite stories to tell about the Blue Gate. The first model he made, his father put it in their shop at a “price no one will ever pay,” and a few weeks later, someone purchased it on the spot.
“It wasn’t long until he actually got known, very well within the Midwest, as someone who does this intricate model thing, and people would come all over just to have him make custom for them.”
This led to him opening the Craft Barn across the street from the Blue Gate Restaurant.
“I love telling that story, because we do so many different things here now, you wouldn’t think that we were started that way, but it’s a really fun story to tell. I guarantee when Mel was building back in his garage, he wasn’t thinking about concerts with Jay Leno and ZZ Top.”
As for Andy, he started by being the guy selling tickets to all those shows. “I actually ran the box office for a little while. I ran sound for a while. Designed the brochures. Ran the ads, recorded the radio ads. I’ve done a little bit of everything. Overall, we just try to book great entertainment. That’s the key. When you come to the Blue Gate, these are solid acts and you’re going to have a good time.”
Andy had a lot to share about the Blue Gate and its importance to Shipshewana. So much that we had to get him on the Shipshe Stories Podcast. Listen to the full interview for more insights into the award-winning Blue Gate and his career with it.
