Making Waves

>>In the 13 years since Raimond Aulen opened the Indigo Room in downtown Fort Myers, the bar, which features live music, has succeeded where many others have failed.

"The reason I came here was that the city wanted to promote downtown as an entertainment district," says Aulen, 45. But right from the start, he faced serious challenges.

"None of the attorneys who owned most the buildings downtown would rent to me when they found out what I wanted to do," he says, so he bought and renovated his own building. He managed to keep the business alive through the rebuilding of the adjacent Patio de Leon, during which "the city turned the patio into a big dirt pile and left it for, like, a year," he says. Aulen ended up ordering the patio bricks himself so the project could be finished. Following that, the Indigo Room weathered a ban on patrons under 21, higher taxes as property values soared and the current streetscape project, which has caused road closures and disrupted business. 

"Raimond is determined and passionate," says Roger Mercado Jr., a former downtown business owner who works with Oswald Trippe & Co. Mercado nominated Aulen for the 2008 Blue Chip Award, which recognizes successful small businesses that have surmounted obstacles. Aulen won. "He wants downtown to succeed and will help anyone he can," says Mercado. "He’s overcome a lot of challenges to stay open."

A 1981 graduate of Riverdale High School, Aulen’s first job was in construction, where he got a crash course in business ownership. "The guy I worked for mentored me. He taught me about ethics and management and how to deal with people," says Aulen.

A musician since he was 14, Aulen worked a second job at Soundcheck Recording Studio as a studio engineer. "My electronic knowledge and my musical background made me an asset, plus I got to work with some famous musicians," he says.