Tags: American | expats | restauranteur

Co-owner of Bohemia Bagel, U Maleho Glena, and the Museum of Communism...

From Alexander the Great to Caesar to George W. Bush, lots of people have dreamed of creating an empire.

Some, like Walt Disney, Martha Stewart, and Glenn Spicker, have actually succeeded. Who's this Spicker guy, you say? Otherwise known as Little Glenn, he's the man behind some of the most well known institutions for expats and tourists in Prague.

If you've ever eaten a sandwich at Bohemia Bagel, drunk a cocktail at Nebe or M1, listened to jazz at U Maleho Glena, or been educated at the Communist Museum, this guy has left his mark on you.

A small, curly-haired, amiable Connecticut native, Glenn appears much younger than his 39 years. Maybe it 's this youthful energy that fuels his penchant for success. Or maybe it's his savvy business sense and the care he puts into maintaining a healthy relationship with his partners.

This, he admits, is one of the most important factors in a successful enterprise. And, in fact, he has at least one Czech or American partner in every one of his venues.

Glenn counts soccer (he's played for the International Football Club of Prague for a decade) and jazz as his favorite pastimes, but it's difficult to imagine just how he finds the time between running his many established businesses and opening new ones.

The most recent is 8 Bar, a low-key lounge in the space next to Bohemia Bagel at Ujezd that used to be occupied by an internet cafe. And this is not the end of the road. If for Walt Disney "it all started with a mouse," then for Glenn Spicker, it all started with a bagel and a dream.