THE PEANUT BARREL, INC.

What THE PEANUT BARREL, INC. does

The Peanut Barrel, Inc. operates a single American casual restaurant and bar at 521 E. Grand River Ave. in East Lansing, Michigan, tracing its origins to a 1973 opening as Jacks or Better Restaurant by Carol and Gordon Smith and adopting its current name in 1974. The core offering is a full dine-in food menu (burgers, sandwiches, salads, chicken, sides) anchored by signature items such as Papa Joe's Cheeseburger, paired with a comprehensive beverage program of specialty cocktails, an 11-tap draft list skewed toward Michigan craft breweries (Bell's Two Hearted, Old Nation M-43, Saugatuck), wine, and a deep whiskey list, plus weekday lunch specials, daily drink specials, and a Mon-Fri happy hour.

The business is operated without proprietary technology: there is no online ordering, no delivery infrastructure, no mobile app, and no AI/data systems in evidence; the only digital surface is an active Instagram account driving top-of-funnel awareness and Toast Tab-powered gift card sales, with branded merchandise sold through a third-party partner (East Lansing Tees). Revenue mechanics consist entirely of on-premise food and beverage sales at a single location, supplemented by gift card and merchandise income, with pricing set at unit (per-item) levels in the $8-$15 range for food and comparable per-drink levels.

The customer base is concentrated in the local East Lansing community and Michigan State University student and alumni population, with a secondary base of general dine-in patrons drawn by the patio, live music programming (formalized through a partnership with Angry Talent Entertainment), and game-day adjacency to MSU's football stadium. Ownership is private and individual: Michael Krueger, also the owner of Crunchy's and an MSU alum, acquired the business in 2023 from retiring founders Joe and Jennifer Bell, with no institutional investment, no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no franchise or multi-unit footprint in evidence.

Name

THE PEANUT BARREL, INC.

Legal name

The Peanut Barrel, Inc.

Website

https://peanutbarrel.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Peanut Barrel is a privately held single-location American restaurant and bar in East Lansing, Michigan (est. 1973), serving burgers, sandwiches, salads, craft beer, cocktails, and live entertainment to local patrons and Michigan State University students and alumni.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Englewood, Colorado

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Food and Beverage Sales: The primary revenue stream is from on-premise food and beverage sales, including burgers, sandwiches, salads, sides, specialty cocktails, draft beer, wine, and whiskey. All sales are conducted in-house at the single restaurant location.
2. Gift Cards and Merchandise: Secondary revenue from gift cards (sold via Toasttab) and merchandise (sold via eastlansingtees.com). These represent ancillary revenue streams beyond daily food and beverage sales.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Peanut Barrel is a single-location American restaurant and bar in East Lansing, Michigan, serving a menu of burgers, sandwiches, salads, and chicken dishes alongside a beverage program of specialty cocktails, 11 draft beers, wine, and whiskey. The business generates revenue through dine-in service, weekday lunch specials, daily drink specials, Monday-Friday happy hour, gift cards via Toast Tab, branded merchandise via East Lansing Tees, and regular live music events.

Product overview

The Peanut Barrel is a traditional American restaurant and bar established in 1973, operating as a single unified establishment. The core offering consists of a full food menu (sandwiches, salads, burgers, chicken, sides) and a comprehensive drinks menu (specialty cocktails, craft and domestic beer, wine, and whiskey). Additional offerings include weekday lunch and happy hour specials, gift cards sold through Toast Tab, branded merchandise through East Lansing Tees, and regular live music events on weekends. The restaurant does not operate as a software platform with modular products—its offering is purely a physical dining and entertainment establishment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Angry Talent EntertainmentminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership for live music event programming. Angry Talent Entertainment presents and promotes live music acts at The Peanut Barrel, including Live Music Fridays series featuring artists like Gavin McDonnell.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Applebee's: National casual dining chain with full bar, burgers, and daily drink specials. Competes for similar value-oriented casual dining occasions in similar demographic markets.
• Chili's Grill & Bar: Casual dining chain offering burgers, sandwiches, and full bar service. Comparable menu and bar-driven revenue model, though at substantially larger scale and brand recognition.
• Buffalo Wild Wings: National sports bar and casual dining chain targeting sports viewing and casual group occasions. Comparable bar-centric casual dining model and game-day traffic capture, though operates at vastly larger scale.
• TGI Fridays: Casual dining and bar chain with full bar program and American comfort food menu. Comparable bar-and-burger positioning, but at chain scale versus The Peanut Barrel's independent single-location model.
• HopCat: Michigan-founded craft beer and burger bar chain with multi-state footprint. Comparable menu (burgers, large draft beer selection), experiential positioning, and regional Michigan identity, but operates at broader scale across multiple markets.

Direct peers

• Jolly Pumpkin Pizzeria and Brewery: Michigan-based casual restaurant and craft beverage concept with multiple locations. Comparable casual-dining-plus-craft-bar model in Michigan markets with similar local-landmark positioning.
• Crunchy's: East Lansing casual bar and restaurant owned by the same operator (Mike Krueger) since2023. Most directly comparable peer given identical geographic market, similar casual American menu with bar emphasis, and shared operator.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/thepeanutbarrel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-peanut-barrel-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about THE PEANUT BARREL, INC.