Intelligencer Journal / Lancaster New Era
by Tim Mekeel, Business Editor

Go with what you know.

That’s how savvy entrepreneurs point their new business toward success.
And it’s the strategy that the Neff family is following in their first start-up venture, Hunger-N-Thirst.

A unique concept for the county, Hunger-N-Thirst will include a specialty food store, a craft-beer tap room and a take-out bottle shop.

All will be under one roof.

“Each of these can stand on its own, but why not put them together? Why should people drive to three places when they can go to one?” said co-owner David Neff.

Costing more than $1.5 million to develop, Hunger-N-Thirst will be at 920 Landis Ave., off Harrisburg Pike, on property bought from car dealer Judith Faulkner.

A March opening is planned, creating 15 jobs initially.

Hunger-N-Thirst will draw on the Lancaster family’s past in specialty food retailing at S. Clyde Weaver, as well as their experience with craft beer and the hospitality industry.

“We grew up around specialty food. We love the gourmet side of things. We want to do the work to make it available to people,” said Neff, the co-owner with his brother Andrew.

David Neff, 33, is a former assistant general manager at the Hampton Inn here and former assistant manager at S. Clyde Weaver. He’s a Johnson & Wales University graduate.

Andrew Neff, 35, is a home brewer and former touring musician who recently returned here after a decade in New York City. He’s a Cincinnati Conservatory graduate.

Their mother, Nancy Neff, is a former executive director of Leadership Lancaster, city Zoning Hearing Board member and S. Clyde Weaver specialty-foods buyer.

Their father, Sam Neff, is a grandson of Weaver who spent 36 years as co-owner of the namesake firm. He sold his stake in the company to his brother Dan in 2009.
Sam and Nancy Neff are unpaid consultants on their sons’ project.

“I don’t think my brother and I would have taken on something this large without having their support and wealth of knowledge at our fingertips,” said Andrew Neff.

The Neffs formulated the concept for Hunger-N-Thirst about 2 1/2 years ago, having seen the three-in-one approach succeed in New York, Chicago and elsewhere.

Much of the time since was spent searching for a suitable property.
Trying to locate in the city, they found properties big enough to accommodate only the tap room.

They also looked at existing businesses for sale that they would need to make over.
Eventually they found the Landis Avenue site, a group of four buildings on 0.82 acres just across the city line in Manheim Township.

There they could create all three simultaneously.

“We were thinking we’d start small and grow into it, but then we found a place where we could do it all at once. So here we are,” said Nancy Neff.

While the family has vast experience in business, Nancy Neff noted that Hunger-N-Thirst is posing new kinds of situations to solve.

“This is a very different venture for all of us — we’ve never done a start-up before. It’s both exciting and a little scary…,” she said.

“There are a lot of complexities involved in opening a business. We’ve learned a lot. It’s been a wonderful adventure so far.”

Two of the four buildings will remain as is — the locations for Columbo’s Pizzeria and Susquehanna Fishing Tackle, which include apartments.

Two buildings will not.

A small vacant office building has been razed, while a small apartment building has been partially razed, to help make room for the three new uses in a warm industrial setting. Professional Design & Construction is the project contractor.

Manheim Township zoners approved 14 variances for setbacks, lot size, lot depth, off-street parking and other issues last year to make the project possible.

The craft-beer tap room will be a 60-seat cafe with 24 taps of craft beer, plus artisan whiskeys, ryes, wines and other beverages, next to a 1,300-square-foot store and the bottle shop.

“Whatever we serve in the cafe, we want to sell in the store,” said Nancy Neff.
Hunger-N-Thirst will emphasize using small, preferably local suppliers of high-quality foods and beverages.

The Landis Avenue location also will have meeting space (for classes and private tasting events), outdoor garden seating for 60 and off-street parking for 51 vehicles.

The Neffs hope that more establishments in the area will echo their focus.

“We strongly believe that the more stores, bars, and restaurants that offer craft beer, artisan food and spirits the better…,” said Andrew Neff.

“We don’t view these other businesses as negative competition, but rather a possibility for future collaboration,” he added.

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