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Published September 16, 2008 06:11 pm - You would think that running a successful pizza restaurant/art gallery while at the same time launching an increasingly successful career as an artist would be enough for Dan McWilliams. Mike Pound: Pizza place/art gallery owner stays busy ... but a good busy By Mike Pound
Globe columnist mpound@joplinglobe.com You would think that running a successful pizza restaurant/art gallery while at the same time launching an increasingly successful career as an artist would be enough for Dan McWilliams. First of all, who runs a successful pizza restaurant/art gallery anyway? I mean, I’ve heard of successful pizza restaurants and successful art galleries, but I haven’t heard of many pizza joints that double as an art gallery — successful or not. I mean, in theory, it would be neat in, say, Chicago. The folks who run the Chicago Art Institute could team up with the folks who run Pizzeria Uno, but sadly the odds are greater that the Cubs will win the World Series than the Uno folks teamimg up with the Art Institute folks. But Dan’s pizza place/art gallery in Jasper seems to work. The pizza side of the restaurant has been around since 1999, which, in the restaurant biz, is pretty much a lifetime. Dan’s career as an artist has been going strong for just slightly less time than the restaurant. About a year after he opened Gem Dandy’s Pizza at 116 E. Grand Ave. in Jasper, Dan started working on a mural on one of the walls in his restaurant. He had done some painting in college but that was 30 years earlier. But something happened when Dan started painting — something clicked, a light bulb went off in his head, the skies opened up. Whatever cliché you want to use, something happened. He discovered that he absolutely loved to paint. More importantly, perhaps, Dan discovered he was good at painting. So, Dan put down his brush just long enough to quit his day job and, instead, became a full-time artist/pizza-restaurant owner. In the years since, Dan’s art career has begun rising like the dough in his restaurant. (You knew there had to be at least one dough-related pun.) When I first wrote about Dan a few years ago, he was looking forward to the day when his art earnings would outpace his pizza earnings. Well, Dan told me Monday, his pizza income is still greater than his art income but he said the gap is narrowing. A few month ago, he won a prestigious award (and garnered a major sale) in the PaintAmerica’s Paint the Parks contest. The award is just one of several that Dan has picked up in the past few years. His artwork, which is on display in his restaurant, has been purchased by folks from all around the country. So, like I said, you would think running a successful restaurant by night and a growing art career by day would be enough for Dan. Well, if you think that you don’t know much about Dan. See, he is a big fan of Jasper. He thinks the town, particularly the downtown area, has a lot to offer and he has backed up that belief with money and hard work. In May, he and his wife, Sheri, purchased two large vacant buildings just up the street from his restaurant. When he wasn’t painting or making pizzas, Dan could be found renovating his new properties. One of the buildings has been converted into an antique store. Dan plans to sell and purchase antique furniture, books, collectibles and artwork. The second building he plans to use as an art studio. He will use it to work on his paintings and on his handmade furniture. As he talks about his buildings, Dan can barely contain his excitement. He would like to see other artists do what he is doing. The way Dan sees it, there are a number of vacant buildings along Grand in Jasper that would make great studios or galleries. Dan says a community of artists working in Jasper could give the town a unique drawing card. “I don’t want people to buy (buildings) to invest, I want them to buy them to do something with,” he said. Dan plans to hold an open house, of sorts, for his buildings this Saturday during Jasper Appreciation Days. The daylong event, which kicks off at 6:30 a.m. Saturday with a breakfast at the VFW, will feature a host of activities including a 5K run, a car, truck and bike show, a quilt show, a parade at 2 p.m. and a barbecue in Jasper Park at 5 p.m. The event is the result of a collection of hardworking folks who share Dan and Sheri’s faith in Jasper. The day is a way to allow Jasper residents to reconnect with each other and to bring former residents back to their hometown. As Dan showed me around his newly renovated buildings and talked about his art career, his pizza business and the upcoming Jasper Appreciation Days, I mentioned that it sounded like he had been pretty busy. He stopped talking for a minute. Then he smiled. “Yeah, but it’s a good busy,” he said. 
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