Page 38 - PC Living Jan-Feb 2017

cindy & vince GreinerOWNERS OF PATCHES PUB AND GRILL BY VAL SCHOGER PHOTOGRAPHY BY SAVANNAH DEANEveryone knows Patches Bar and Grill. The buildingis small and a block away from the Gulf of Mexico on Panama City Beach’s east end. In the evenings, guests crowd the outdoor area in front of the locale, obviously having a good time enjoying the freshly grilled burgers, ribs, and live music.Patches has reached cult status among the locals. In fact, Patches won several of Panama City Living’s Reader’s Choice Awards in the last three years – and it wasn’t just a win, it was a win by a landslide in the wings, burgers, and sports bar categories in 2016. A little less known are the owners, Cindy and Vince Greiner, who bought the business in 2013 and remain very humble about their success. “We are proud of the fact that we own a dive bar,” says Vince Greiner with a smile. “It is a literal dive bar, in the ‘diving’ sense. Many of our customers come from the Navy Base and it is what gives our place its name.” Hundreds, maybe thousands of military patches cover the interior wall of the building.Vince and Cindy had “retirement on the beach” plans and became highly successful with their rst business venture. They now have 42full-time employees and are sharing their personal recipe for success. PC Living: How did you meet?Vince Greiner: Oh, we're going way back. She was dating one of my high school friends. We lived in Michigan then.Cindy Greiner: It's where we're originally from. Vince was in the military, and he was transferred to Fort Benning, Georgia. We were there for, how long?Vince Greiner: Four years.Cindy Greiner: We went down south and we stayed down south, we moved to Alabama and to Atlanta for about 20 years when Vince was in the Army.Vince Greiner: I was a Marksmanship Instructor.PC Living: When was the rst time you came to Panama City?Vince Greiner: The very rst time would have been when we were in the Army, so probably 1988 or '89. Our rst visit was a vacation trip.PC Living: What do you remember about it?38 • January - February 2017 • www.PanamaCityLiving.com