The success resulted in looking to relocate to downtown Hamilton, and eventually opened the popular Hamilton hotspot, Pinball Garage on 3rd Street downtown.
In January, he was presented as the 2021 Hamilton Citizen of the Year by the Greater Hamilton Chamber of Commerce.
Next week, he’ll be the grand marshal of Hamilton’s Fourth of July parade that travels through downtown Hamilton ending across the bridge at Main and F streets.
Mayor Pat Moeller asked him at the beginning of May to be the grand marshal, which requires him to sit in a convertible Corvette and wave at the on-lookers along the 2-mile parade route. Baker said it’s an honor to be asked and likes the idea of sitting inside a cool car for the parade. However, being the humble Hamilton business owner and family man that he is, Baker said he’s not crazy about being the center of attention.
“It sounds fun, but it also sounds like, ‘Hey, look at me,’ and I’m not real excited about that part of it,” Baker said with a laugh. “It’s cool that they asked, and that’s one of the cool things you get to do when you earn that Citizen of the Year award.”
Monday, he said, it “will be a good day” because while it’s celebrating America, it’s also celebrating a city that has been transformed over the past decade-plus.
Hamilton City Manager Joshua Smith said every community needs a version of Brad Baker.
“Brad is the first person to step up when another small business needs assistance,” said Smith. Baker was the first business, which others quickly followed, to offer his space at no charge, to host events after a major fire at Hanover Reserves.
“He is incredibly community-oriented, and goes out of his way to ensure that our community thrives,” said Smith. “Frankly, he should be on our business development team, because he is always touting Hamilton, and encouraging small businesses to consider our city.”
Smith said he “could not think of a better ambassador” than Baker, but admitted he is “mildly biased because he makes one helluva a brisket on Fridays.”
Baker grew up in the area and recalls going to places around the city, but once Elder-Beerman left, there wasn’t much reason to come to the city before its revitalization efforts.
But he relocated his business to Hamilton from Fairfield and planted roots, and added it was one of the best decisions in his life as he’s met tons of people and made new friends.
“Gosh, it’s a cool community, but growing up in Hamilton, you really didn’t hear anything about community or small-town type of things,” he said. “We were just shocked (when they looked to relocate VPCabs) that there were so many cool people doing cool things here.”
The theme for this year’s 4th of July is “Celebrating Family.”
Volunteers and parade entries (the deadline for entries is Thursday) are still being sought, said Committee Chair Troy Schwable. For information on both, visit the committee’s website, www.hamiltonjuly4th.org.
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