For local entrepreneur Jason Beter, business is booming in the village.
By Dawn Nolan
HQ 123 | AUTUMN 2023
With his long beard, sleeves of tattoos and wardrobe of flannel shirts, band tees and hats, Jason Beter doesn’t look like a stereotypical businessman. It’s just not his style. He does things his way, and so far, it’s proven successful.
Over the last six years, the Barboursville resident has played an integral role in the redevelopment of the village. He owns Oscar’s Breakfast, Burgers & Brews in the River Place Plaza on Route 60, as well as 1861 Public House (a quaint brewpub), Orbit’s Record Shop and the forthcoming Köerber Beer Company, all on Central Avenue. That’s three businesses on one block and four within two miles.
“Barboursville is home to me — it’s where I grew up — and I wanted to give back to it and help build it up,” Beter says. “I want Barboursville to be the place — like Lewisburg, for example — where people say, ‘Hey, let’s go spend the weekend.’ Because you can do that here. You’ve got the bar and the record store and then you’ve also got a bookstore, Booktenders; an upscale restaurant, Main Street on Central; and boutiques going in on Main Street. It’s a cool little area, and there’s more coming.”
Just like Barboursville, Beter also shows no sign of stopping. In addition to his other businesses, he partnered with Patrick Hensley last year to revamp the Giovanni’s Pizza by Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington and has alluded to other projects that have not yet been announced.
Barboursville Mayor Chris Tatum, who is a close friend of the entrepreneur, commends Beter for his dedication, vision and initiative. Tatum describes Beter as “giving, selfless and someone who ‘just gets it.’”
“Jason understands that we desire growth and development, and that we want people walking downtown,” Tatum says. “He has invested back into the community that he has grown up in, and he has been a catalyst for growth in downtown especially. He has spawned tourism and local business development. His investments have greatly benefited our village, and I am very appreciative of that.”
It all started with Oscar’s
After working for State Electric Supply Company as an industrial electrical sales representative for more than a decade, Beter, with the support of his family, opened Oscar’s Breakfast, Burgers & Brews in the River Place Plaza in 2017. The original location was where the current Fuel Counter restaurant is now.
For his passion project, Beter honored his late pet boxer, Oscar, and incorporated some of his favorite things, like music, baseball and art, into the restaurant. During its soft opening, Oscar’s only offered breakfast and coffee; but once the kitchen was complete and things were fully ready to roll, the menu expanded to include the “burgers” and “brews” part of the name. Oscar’s Breakfast, Burgers & Brews officially opened on Feb. 4, 2017, the day before Super Bowl LI.
“We sold out of food that day and the next day, and it’s been slammed ever since,” Beter says.
In June 2019, Beter moved Oscar’s to the former Christopher’s Eats location, a space that is significantly larger for his growing customer base.
“We outgrew that original space almost immediately,” Beter says. “The move just made sense.”
Then, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and Oscar’s had to transition to carryout service only, Beter decided to expand the restaurant’s outdoor dining area/patio for later use.
“Obviously, that was always in the plans, but COVID actually sped up the timeline by about two years,” Beter says. “Oscar’s has always had a supportive customer base, and I am very appreciative of that. We have not only made it through the last several years, but we’ve grown and been able to branch out.”
A record store & a neighborhood bar
With Oscar’s firmly established and doing well, Beter took a chance and opened a second restaurant, The Corner Hoagies & Hops, in downtown Huntington in August 2021. Sadly, the sandwich shop closed within a year of opening.
“Looking back, opening a new, full-service restaurant right after the height of the pandemic was a little too aggressive,” Beter says. However, he was not deterred, as he was already in the middle of two new projects back in Barboursville.
Orbit’s Record Shop, named after another of Beter’s dogs, opened in November 2021 where another vinyl venture, Maggie’s Farm Record Store, once stood in the early ’90s.
“If you’re familiar with Oscar’s, you know that there’s a lot of music themes and artwork throughout. I’ve been an avid record collector my whole life, and I spent a lot of time at Davidson’s Record Shop when I was younger. It’s where I developed my taste in music, made a lot of friends and learned about business,” Beter says. “Orbit’s was supposed to be my little pet project, my little clubhouse, but it has turned into a legit business.”
Less than a month after opening Orbit’s in December 2021, Beter opened 1861 Public House across the street.
“We started 1861 as a bar, or bar/restaurant, I guess. People treat it more like a restaurant, and that’s cool with us — as long as they understand we aren’t equipped to be a full restaurant, and they’re coming to a bar to eat,” he says. “People have just fallen in love with our pizzas and wings.”
Something’s brewing
Next door to 1861 is Beter’s current work-in-progress — Köerber Beer Company.
“I always wanted a brewery, even when I was starting Oscar’s. My wife and I travel a lot, and we visit a lot of breweries,” Beter says. “I feel like towns and cities need to have their own gathering spaces. This will be Barboursville’s brewery, just like The Peddler is Huntington’s and Bad Shepherd is Charleston’s.”
Köerber is his wife Krista’s maiden name.
“It’s a bit of a tribute to my father-in-law, a huge influence in my life,” Beter explains. “Not to mention that Köerber just sounds like a cool name for a beer.”
Beter’s goal is to have distribution ready by the end of the year and hopefully have the taproom ready around the same time, which will seat an estimated 40 people at first.
“We’re on a true five-year plan,” Beter says. “When we open, we’ll have a small taproom. Then, hopefully, within two years, we plan to expand to a larger part of the building. We’re intentionally starting small and building slowly.”
As for the beer itself, Beter says he isn’t looking to do anything groundbreaking.
“We just want to make good beer. We want people to be able to say, ‘This beer was brewed in my hometown,’ and be proud of that fact. That’s the approach we’re taking.”
A family business
Being able to successfully run several different businesses can be challenging to say the least, so it’s a good thing Beter isn’t alone on this ride. In fact, he’s far from it.
Starting with Krista, whom Beter emphasizes he “couldn’t do any of this without.” Then, there are his sons, Lukas and Noah.
“My son Lukas, he’s the vice president of our company. He created the Oscar’s menu when he was 20, and he has been integral in the growth and development of the restaurant. I’m also teaching him the business side. He has his hand in pretty much all of them except the record store,” Beter says. “My son Noah is a Marshall grad and works as the manager at Oscar’s. He is also training with Bad Shepherd on how to brew and will eventually take over as brewmaster at Köerber.”
Both Lukas and Noah’s significant others work with them, as does Beter’s father-in-law and sister. There’s also the friends and employees that have, over the years, become like family.
“Surround yourself with the people who care about your business as much as you do,” Beter says. “That’s the secret.”
