Taking gold in four categories is a sign of doing things right for a local pub owner. John Nicastro, who took over The George last September, said he’s proud to see his establishment receive gold for Best Bar or Pub, Best Live Music Venue, Best Patio and Best Wings/Appies in the 2018 Best of the Foothills awards. “It feels great in the sense that I didn’t screw these up when I took over,” said Nicastro. “We didn’t go from silver to bronze, we went from silver to gold.” He was quick to deny his involvement in The George receiving any of its awards. “It’s the community, it’s the people,” said Nicastro. And it’s the staff. “You don’t build a business, you build a staff and the staff builds your business,” he said. “So a lot of this credit goes to the staff. It’s one thing to have a game plan in place but they execute that game plan.” He said it’s also about the atmosphere his servers and staff help create at The George. It’s important to make customers feel like they’re welcome, he said. “We always say you’re among family at The George, and that’s exactly how we see it,” said Nicastro. “Our customers are an extension of our family. I always tell my servers ‘The George is our living room and we’re inviting people in, and our job is to make them feel at home.’” He said it’s not hard to create that warm, family atmosphere in a community like Okotoks. While people continue to tell him how great the pub is or how much they value The George’s involvement with community events and initiatives, he said it’s more about being part of Okotoks. “You can’t be successful if you don’t have a good community, and Okotoks is very tight-knit – everybody gets behind stuff,” said Nicastro. “Really, Okotoks should win the award for best community.”
