Rooted in Reciprocity with Joe Burton
EP 012: Joe Burton
Chef and Co-owner of Rooted Rotisserie
Chef Joseph Burton is the proud owner of Rooted Rotisserie, a French restaurant located in Baltimore. His love for cooking and the influential women in his life inspired him to share his passion with his local community. During the pandemic, Chef Joe gained popularity by posting cooking videos on Instagram with the help of his wife. As the videos took off, he decided to offer curated special menus for his followers to try. Eventually, his passion for cooking led him to open his own restaurant to celebrate his achievements and further share his love of cooking with the Baltimore community. Chef Joe's journey has been a lesson in determination and the power of community support when working to achieve one's goals and we can't wait to share it with you!
EPISODE OUTLINE
[00:00:00] Introductions to Chef Joe and the Show
[00:04:39] Personal and Professional Paths to Success
[00:09:38] Bonus Shout-outs and Bonus Business for All
[00:12:33] Brief Pause for a Charitable Cause
[00:17:11] Light at the End of the Tunnel (or in this case outside of the kitchen dungeon)
[00:23:13] From the Pandemic to Paris
[00:29:03] The Rotisserie Moment
[00:33:00] The Beauty of Access within the Community
[00:41:28] Outro
RESOURCES
How to Find Us:
Rooted Rotisserie on Instagram
Mentioned in The Episode:
How to Support the Show:
Explore our bookshelf on Bookshop.org
Follow/Leave a review on Spotify
TRANSCRIPT
Music fades in…
[00:00:00] Joe: My family was very big on family. We spent a lot of time together, cooking together, laughing together, fellowshipping together, and that's what I want to implement in this restaurant. And, it's working. I like to think of it as like, paying homage to them. And now the spirit of my family lives on throughout the restaurant and really makes the feeling authentic.
Music transitions…
[00:00:30] Aubrey: Welcome to another episode of the Golden Approach Podcast. If you've listened before, it means the world to have you back. And if you're new here, I have no doubt you'll find some helpful little nuggets but first let me give you some super brief context about myself and the show. I'm Aubrey. I've spent the majority of my career as a pastry chef in elite companies with lots of stars, diamonds, James Beard nods, wins, and so forth. And while I love all things food and beverage, what really ties it together for me is the art of caring [00:01:00] for others. On this show, I'm excited to share all I've come to learn and introduce you to other talented and insightful professionals, F&B or not, who are passionate about making the world a better place. I have full confidence that together we can cultivate growth and meaningful connections as individuals, communities, and in any form of workplace. So without further ado, let's get to the good stuff.
Music transitions…
[00:01:23] Aubrey: Hello there. I am so excited for you to hear my conversation with Chef, restaurant owner, and dear friend, Joseph Burton. Even 10 seconds in Joe's presence will leave you feeling like you have been wrapped in a warm blanket. He is a kind soul and it was a true honor to have this conversation. Joe and I actually covered so much goodness in our chat that I wanted to share it all with you as a thank-you for waiting a whole extra week. So we're going to be releasing this episode in two parts. But today we're going to learn about the generations of women who've nurtured him and his potential and how he [00:02:00] translated those experiences into a physical business. So, I'm just gonna let him tell you all about it, and without further ado, I'd like you to meet Joe.
Music fades out…
[00:02:10] Aubrey: Hi Joe, welcome to the show. I'm so excited to have you.
[00:02:13] Joe: Hey, Aubrey. Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be on.
[00:02:17] Aubrey: Oh my God, truly honored. Can you please tell the listeners, a quick little introduction to who you are, your restaurant, what you do?
[00:02:27] Joe: Yes. Yes. My name is Joseph Burton. I'm a chef and owner of uh Rooted Rotisserie, um, downtown Baltimore. I'm a family man and lover of the outdoors. So super happy to talk and tell you about my story.
[00:02:45] Aubrey: Excellent. We're so very grateful that you're willing to share it, truly. Can you just give us a brief insight into your story? We'd love to kind of start every episode with each guest giving us background on who they are and how they got where they are. [00:03:00] So what's sort of like your, your four-minute summary of who you are and where you came from?
[00:03:07] Joe: Okay, so I was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. Raised on the west side of Baltimore, Maryland. My Mother was a teacher, and my great-aunt was a school principal. So they were two people who were very influential in my life, meaning there was a lot of structure in my life as well. My Mother would host a lot, which is where I believe like my hosting background comes into play. I got very interested in culinary very early, so I ended up going to hospitality school at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore and I've cooked around for several years. Finally developed the, the gumption to open my own restaurant with my wife. So that's at Rooted Rotisserie. We've been open seven months so far and, [00:04:00] excited to see where this goes.
[00:04:02] Aubrey: That's awesome, thank you so much for sharing that. So since you started more with like the professional things, I think we'll start there. As you mentioned you opened a restaurant seven months ago. I would love if you could give us some brief background on why you even decided to go down that path because anyone, in any industry, knows that opening a brick and mortar is like the highest level of commitment and dedication to what you're doing. So why did you go down that path, and how has it been going for you so far?
[00:04:39] Joe: Actually, it's a couple different reasons why I decided to go down this path. One of which, I love cooking. I love the idea of hosting people at the mercy of your ideas, your creativity. And then two, throughout my career, I've, I've felt like, you know, I've, I've [00:05:00] been kind of slighted in certain aspects of my career. And I felt like I should have been catapulted into uh, a bigger spotlight. And I felt like I was kind of held back, you know, a couple of different times. So as a chef, that kind of makes you feel like, almost you're not good enough, and I always felt that I was good enough. So I kind of wanted to prove it to myself, prove it to others that I was capable and able of doing this. It all kind of started during the pandemic. I was never, never off of work for that long. I was off for work, I believe, for God, like eight to ten months, you know, it may have been longer than that. And I spent a lot of time in the house, a lot of time with myself, with my wife, like kind of wondering what was this all for? You know, I spent like hundreds of hours working in the kitchen, [00:06:00] hot. Some people are mean, and it's, it's a, it's a tough job to do, you know, like if you follow the chefs out there, they, they know that if you're doing it, you really love it. And I really loved it. So during the pandemic, this gave me a lot of time to sit back and think about my career. And I really realized you know how much I've grown over the years, just far as skill level, and even as far as like, you know, just being an overall person; and my wife and I would, you know, cook little things in the house and she's like, ‘Joe, yeah, I'm, I'm really learning a lot from what you're doing and I think I should start filming you.’ So I was like, okay yeah, you can start filming me not really thinking much of it. So she would film me cooking certain things and we would post them on Instagram and, you know, people on Instagram would start to reply like, ‘Hey, [00:07:00] that's really cool, maybe you should do this every week. I'm actually trying the things out that you're demonstrating.’ Okay, alright, that's, that's pretty cool. So we did it a couple more times, and I look, look at things from a more realistic approach you know, like okay, these people are watching me do it, they're saying they do it, but I really want them to try it, the way that I'm presenting it; to make sure that they're doing it correctly. So I was like how, how could we do that during the pandemic? So I thought of the idea of making soup. Everyone always loved my soups, like throughout my whole career. So a friend of mine, Carrie Goultra down at La Cuchara; wonderful baker that I know. Uh, she bakes like some of the best breads I've ever had. So I called her up and was like, ‘Carrie, if I was able to curate soups would you be able to curate some bread to go along that I could purchase from you?’ And she loved the idea and [00:08:00] agreed to do it. So every week I would put the menu online, on Instagram for people, and the orders started coming in. And to be honest, I really couldn't believe it. I had never done anything like this aside from the restaurant as far as food sales. So the fact that people were actually ordering like was shocking to me. And, I believe that first week I made in profit about $800 off of soup and bread. And I'm like, ‘Oh my God Amanda.’ I was like you know, ‘this is the first time we ever did this. Like we, we really had a showing of love.’ So I said, ‘I think we should continue this thing.’ And then those same people who were ordering the bread and soup from me started asking about regular meals. So I was like, okay guys, let me, let me throw something out here to see how people react and it was a full meal. And I mean, people went [00:09:00] crazy. I think I had something like 25 or 30 orders. So then I knew I couldn't go back to just soup and bread. So I think I did three of them. Then I said to myself, I was like Joe, this is getting, this is getting out of hand. You, you kind of doing too much out of an apartment. Then, uh, a good friend of mine, she has an organic body care business and I've been using her products for years because, growing up as a child, I had eczema really bad. And her products were the only ones that helped me out.
[00:09:34] Aubrey: We love a bonus shout-out on this show. So love that.
[00:09:38] Joe: And I mean my skin is clear to this day. I haven't used like soaps or anything from the store, but anyway, bonus shout-out for Miss Fran, yes. Fran Gong’s Organic Body Care.
[00:09:50] Aubrey: Oh don't worry, we'll tag her.
[00:09:52] Joe: For sure. So she called me up one day and she's like, ‘Joe, like your food is great; you're growing. I love what [00:10:00] you're doing. Like the packaging, everything is just perfect. Are you outgrowing your apartment?’ I was like, yes, how did you know this? She's like, y‘know, I just been noticing how long it's been taking you to get here to deliver my order when I'm just down the street.’ So she said, uh, ‘If I offered you a space in my warehouse, would it help you out? Would it help alleviate some stress?’ So I was like, yeah, it would help alleviate some stress. I would just have to come and talk to you about what the pay would be and other things. So she told me, she's like, ‘No, I just want to, I'm just excited about what you're doing. Um, and I just want to be of, of help. I just wanted to see you grow.’ I'm like, wow. You know, like no one's ever offered me anything like that, uh, before. So, um, I took that space and I went to an auction and I bought my very first commercial refrigerator. You talking [00:11:00] about a proud moment? That was like a proud moment for me.
[00:11:04] Aubrey: That's like, I mean, that's a piece of investment in yourself. What a powerful moment to like realize, ‘Hey, I'm, I'm doing the work and I'm taking the steps of making it real.’
[00:11:15] Joe: Yeah, pretty cool. Pretty cool. So, I put that refrigerator in this space. I even went to the Restaurant Store and bought myself a prep table, all the utensils, everything. I was, I was basically growing my restaurant out of the space; I didn't even honestly realize what I was doing but that's what was happening. So eventually the dinners turned into me doing pop-ups out of Ms. Fran's parking lot. She's, she's like, uh, ‘Joe, I, I think, uh, would you, would you be interested in doing some type of barbecue event outside, uh, some type of little picnic in the parking lot? I think you would do well.’ So I was like, wow, you let me [00:12:00] do that in your parking lot? She's like, ‘Yeah! It works both ways for us. She's like you'll get your sales, I'll get my sales. You know, people will find out about me that know you, and people will find out about you that know me.’ So I was like okay, yeah, that, that works. And at the time I was really on a huge kick, like Rodney Scott is one of my favorite, like, chefs out here as far as barbecue goes; and I was always in love with wood and smoke.
Music fades in…
[00:12:33] Aubrey: Hi there! Maybe you've noticed, there's no commercials on this show. And that's because we don't currently have any sponsors. And while I do hope, someday in the future, that that will happen, currently, this is totally funded by yours truly. So. If you like the show and would like to help me make sure it continues to exist and grow, I just wanted to let you know that you can support the show directly by checking out our merch on our website, [00:13:00] www.goldenapproachpodcast.com. And in case you didn't know, every person we interview gets to choose a cause of choice. We then make them a custom episode merch piece, and we donate $8 of every shirt and $7 of every tote to that cause. It's vital we do what we ask of others, and we take action to build the world we believe in from the start. So each piece of merch sold could support up to three businesses at once. And I would say that's working smarter, not harder, am I right? So after listening, head to the show notes where we'll have the website page linked. Thank you so, so much because I literally couldn't do this without you.
Music fades out…
[00:13:38] Aubrey: I just really am so impressed by the community helping build community, and also that you were like, I literally just MacGyver'd each thing as I went.
[00:13:48] Joe: Yeah people, people who know me, um, like really know that I was this way since a kid. Like, you know I'm, I've always been a make it happen type of person. Like, ‘So [00:14:00] Joe, how are you going to do that?’ And I'm always like, I'll show you, trust me; like really balls to the wall, just make it happen by any means necessary.
[00:14:10] Aubrey: I mean, I feel like that's the energy that you carry with you. I just, sorry, I don't mean to cut you off. I just wanted to say like, I can see it, and I'm just so impressed by it.
[00:14:20] Joe: And it was a lot, to be honest. It was a lot, but I, at the same time, I didn't know what I was creating. You know, I didn't realize what I was doing. I just knew that I was making people happy, I was making some money; which was one of the most important parts to me because it's like, I always worked a job, you know, always got a paycheck, but to be creating my own paycheck? That was pretty cool to me. It was, it was something I didn't think I could do.
[00:14:50] Aubrey: Say more about that if you can; you're saying how you didn't really know where you were headed you were just sort of taking one step at a time, but I feel like to some extent any of us in those [00:15:00] scenarios are usually only able to do things because one, we've done the work to build some skill and to have some kind of inclination on how to execute something. And then also, your background or your current scenario kind of influencing the choices of, okay, well maybe I don't know exactly how this is going to translate but I know I have to pay my bills, I want to be happy when I wake up, and when I go to sleep. I don't know, whatever your versions of that are, so I guess what were, if you remember if you can speak to; what were those sort of things that you did know? Okay. You didn't know you were building towards a restaurant, but you were like, okay, I got a sample of making my own money and so I just kind of wanted to see where that led? Or did you somehow know that you wanted to have a restaurant someday? What was the groundwork?
[00:15:50] Joe: So it was like, you know, um, I'm sure a lot of other chefs around can understand what I mean by this. But, [00:16:00] for, for years I was just in the kitchen, eight, ten, twelve hours a day. And a lot of the kitchens don't have daylight, it's like a, a dungeon almost, you know, it's just metal everywhere; in the metal box all day, every day. And I love being in the kitchen just as much as the next guy. I just wanted my kitchen to be a little more inviting, to be tailored to my makeup.
[00:16:41] Aubrey: It's all right. I get what you're saying.
[00:16:43] Joe: So it's like since the pandemic happened, and I was laid off, I was able to enjoy like a lot of things that, you know, I once wasn't able to enjoy, because I was in the kitchen.
[00:16:57] Aubrey: I'm curious. Can you, speak to some [00:17:00] actual examples? You know, how have you adjusted those things? Because I totally get what you're describing being trapped in a windowless box and things like that. So what changes have you made?
[00:17:11] Joe: So I always told myself like, ‘Hey, like now that you know, making money on my own. I was like, maybe I should continue this. Maybe I shouldn't go back to my regular nine-to-five. Maybe I should continue on my own journey as my own chef, you know, doing my own thing’ and that really like made me hungry for my own restaurant. And when I finally acquired the restaurant, 1116 Hollins Street is where the restaurant is now. Like, I mean, it has the most perfect windows in the front. And like so much light shines through and so, I don't feel like I was trapped in a box anymore. It's the little things. And after being home during the pandemic, I, [00:18:00] I've really got a taste for what real outdoor life was as an adult, and I kind of didn't want to go back. I kind of wanted to just create my own, my own space, my own schedule, you know, my own day-to-day routines, and preparing these foods for my guests like really made that possible for me. And I'm like extremely, extremely happy with how things have turned out so far.
[00:18:31] Aubrey: That's awesome. I think there's something really powerful of Covid that yes, lots of really horrible things happened and it's sort of mind-blowing that it was only literally four years ago. It feels, everyone knows, it feels yesterday and like a lifetime ago, but one of the most beautiful takeaways I think all of us can agree on, is that it was such a reset moment; that we all had to reflect on the [00:19:00] priorities of our lives. What was going well? And what was not? And that is why you own a restaurant and I have a podcast now, but, with those things, right, that opportunity to really like switch things up. And so, okay, obviously we don't wish a pandemic to come around anytime soon again, once is truly enough. So, I think this is a powerful lesson in encouraging people to find a way that if something's not working, to take yourself out of that experience in whatever way possible, whether it literally be faking a smoke break or what, like, how do we get that fresh air and that fresh perspective? Because otherwise you wouldn't, it doesn't sound like, you would be on this path, which I feel like is the right path for you. So I don't know. I guess that's sort of, I'm just like so impressed that you were able to sort of take that reset and build [00:20:00] something that is so authentically you.
[00:20:02] Joe: Yeah. Authentic to me because I love being outside. Growing up as a child, my great-aunt Marylee Felton, who was a Baltimore City school principal. She was an avid gardener. And growing up with her allowed me those same opportunities. So she would pick me up from school a lot of the times, take me to her garden. Like I would say, maybe four or five days out of the week she would pick me up and we'd go gardening. And to be honest, as a kid, I hated it. You know, I would just be, wanting to ride my bike or doing whatever the other kids were doing at that time. But no here, my Aunt Marylee had me outside gardening, weeding, planting, picking vegetables, and I hated it. Um, but after I grew up, that's when I started to miss those things. Like, oh my God Aunt Marylee had it all figured out. So when the pandemic [00:21:00] happened, I still had that love, that passion for gardening, but I never had the opportunity to do it until the pandemic happened. And I mean Aubrey, I just, I just went crazy. I mean, I planted everything that I could plant. My entire porch was full of potted plants, like all kinds of vegetables, so you know that gave me like a safe space to hang out in daily, to be able to sit with my thoughts, generate some ideas for life, and how that should go. And I really feel like all of that time, you know Amanda and I, Amanda is my wife, we, we were able to jog and road bike. So it was like, you know, those were a lot of opportunities to really clear my head; clear our head. To clear out that fog of being in the kitchen and constantly being worried about this, worried about that, to just worrying about myself [00:22:00] and my own growth. And, it really, it really did work out for me. I mean, the pandemic was a terrible thing for a lot of people, you know. Never wish you would come back, but it really did help me out. You know, I won't say that I was in a bad space, but I guess I kind of was because I didn't have my own direction; I was just doing basically what I was told that I should be doing. And, you know, it worked. I was able to live. I was able to get a paycheck, buy certain things I wanted, but it wasn't totally what I wanted. You know, I realized years later.
Music fades in…
[00:22:42] Aubrey: Okay, pardon one more quick selfless plug. We are now affiliate partners of bookshop.org. An organization dedicated to supporting local bookstores and a direct competitor to Amazon, who honestly just doesn't need any more of our money. So please consider checking out our [00:23:00] bookshelf through our affiliate link in the show notes to not only support our show, but other small businesses. Trust me, we appreciate it way more than those big guys. Okay, let's dive back in.
Music fades out…
[00:23:13] Joe: My wife and I got married and that's when really everything started to make sense. Like,’ Oh, wow. I'm starting to check off some boxes.’ My life story that [I] really always thought of, but, but never executed. So, um, yeah. We, we… We got married during the pandemic. It was super difficult. Like extremely difficult. Like all of our plans got ruined. Everything was just a mess. You know, we lost some money in there, but we made the best out of it. We got married at a, uh, wine vineyard in Sparks, Maryland; it was a beautiful… beautiful, beautiful thing. You know, it started out being a mess and then it turned into a beautiful wedding. Then my wife and I couldn't go on the honeymoon because it was during the [00:24:00] pandemic, so we just waited it out. And that was one of the best things we did because we got an opportunity to go to Paris, France. Now it wasn't my wife's bucket list place to go to, but it was, it was always mine. I was classically French-trained as a chef, so I always wanted to go there to like experience it firsthand. And to be honest, my wife and I were like, nervous as crap. We're like, ‘Oh my God, we just booked a flight to Paris, France, we've never been there before. I don't even speak French. Like, oh, did we just make a mistake?’ So we were, kind of building ourself up to it. Like, ‘No, no. This is great. This is great.’ Kind of fast forward, we, we end up going to Paris. It was absolutely incredible, absolutely incredible. You know, more so [00:25:00] then going to view sites, like the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, all these places. I just wanted to eat, eat, eat, eat. Like I wanted to go to all of the famous places that I had ever heard of, that I could afford. You know, no three, two, or three Michelin star restaurants. That's for down the line, you know, it’s later on.
[00:25:26] Aubrey: I was just gonna say, I actually have been very fortunate to eat a few, for various reasons in France. And I think there's only been once, or twice, that I thought it was worth the money. And when they nailed it, don't get me wrong, they nailed it; it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But I have had much better food in France at, like, the everyday small bistro, personally, I think, than I did in most of the Michelin-starred places. I think you made the smarter choice, to be completely honest with you.
[00:25:58] Joe: You know, [00:26:00] obviously I love having food look beautifully on the plate, you know, have the proteins executed like to perfection. But like some of these old world shops you go; may go to a boulangerie that's been there for eighty or a hundred years, or some smaller restaurants who have been doing these things for generations. It's just much better. It just feels much cozier.
[00:26:30] Aubrey: Exactly. I think it's the, it's the soul aspect. And I, I think this is another sort of one of those like little nuggets of, yes it's fun to talk about restaurants, but just for anyone listening, like, if I've learned anything in my time on this world, it's that progress and soul is worth so much more than perfection. And so anyway, I just think there's something really important about not forgetting, the heart
[00:26:56] Joe: The heart of cooking. Yeah, I love duck like [00:27:00] I, it's it's sinful. I love it. And, when we were in Paris, it was hard for me to eat anything else because that was one of the things that I wanted to experience most about being in Paris. And you know, I've had duck several different ways in Paris; I enjoyed all of them. It's like, okay, let's try something a little different, Joe. So we, we, we went to the Bastille farmer's market, Sunday market in Paris.
[00:27:32] Aubrey: This is another thing if you travel and you get the opportunity to go to a farmer's market, do it. It is, I feel like, the best way to get to understand the culture, the people, and get, like, the most authentic experience. Go to a food market.
[00:27:50] Joe: I mean, it was so fascinating. some of the best seafood that I've ever seen, the most beautiful breads, cheeses, [00:28:00] salamis. And, we saw this line for rotisserie chickens. And I mean, the line was long. And I was just more fascinated at the fact that these guys had a full-on rotisserie oven outside under a tent. It was raining this day. And I'm like, ‘Oh my God, people are standing in line with their umbrellas for this chicken. It's gotta be good.’ So my wife and I got a, uh, I think we got a half a chicken and potatoes. And the guy cut it with a pair of scissors, and that was the first time, honestly, that I had ever seen that done. Usually when you think of, like breaking down a, a cooked whole chicken, you think of cleaver, or, something else; but not, never scissors.
[00:28:47] Aubrey: I feel like I've only ever seen that in Asian culture, like especially Korean culture. I know uses scissors for everything. So I actually, I don't think I've ever seen French [00:29:00] technicians use scissors; that's wild.
[00:29:03] Joe: So I was already like, okay. So we took it back to the hotel lobby and I mean, I'm not, I'm not even joking you like the first bite of that chicken was like, ‘Oh my God,’ and the potatoes were like, magical. I mean, it was magical, to be honest. Like I'm not the biggest fan of chicken. I'm really not, but that day I became the biggest fan of chicken. I mean, I really sat in that hotel for about two, three hours, like thinking about chicken, talking to my wife about how this could be the thing.
[00:29:27] Aubrey: And it was literally the lightbulb moment.
[00:29:42] Joe: It was literally the light bulb moment. Like it was crazy. It's just good food done well, and that's what I envisioned at Rooted Rotisserie. And my wife and I spent quite some time drawing up the idea of how the food should feel, how the space should feel, and, [00:30:00] we're still growing to this day. I mean, we're still growing; still don't have it completely figured out, but we're really happy with, you know, what we have so far.
[00:30:08] Aubrey: I'm super happy with what you have so far, so I'm glad to hear you guys are super happy with it.
[00:30:15] Joe: Thank you.
[00:30:16] Aubrey: I think one of the best restaurants personally, I mean, you guys are only seven months old, but I, I'm not just saying that because we're friends. Your food is so delicious. Ryan and I, on our first trip, literally had dinner and thought dinner was so good that we bought dinner to take home and ate it the next night, and it was still just as good.
[00:30:39] Joe: Yeah, yeah
[00:30:40] Aubrey: And I, it's not about the money, but I do want to be clear for anyone who decides to stop by, like, your balance of trying to create quality food in a beautiful space that is still approachable and financially capable for [00:31:00] most people, I think is so powerful. It's one of the things I do also bring up when I suggest your restaurant to people, not because I'm like, ‘Oh, it's so cheap, you have to go!’ But because it is somewhere that I feel like we could go multiple times in a month, and not break the bank, and have a delicious meal.
[00:31:22] Joe: Yes. That's it Aubrey. Everyday people, something nice.
[00:31:25] Aubrey: I, I love that that was something you guys did because I feel like in businesses in general, like restaurants aside, just businesses, keep opening and keep trying to be best of the best, super elaborate. And that's beautiful, and that's great, and I have bougie taste, so like, I love it, but I can't afford it. And also, too, like, it kind of takes the fun out of things when everything is, like, the best of the best all the time. You stop appreciating it the same way. And so, I [00:32:00] love this kind of push for this sort of middle ground where it's like, people are people and let's just give the people something nice, just everyday people something nice. So I'm just, so grateful. And I guess if there's anything else you want to speak to that, please go for it.
[00:32:18] Joe: Yeah, just to piggyback on what you're saying like, that is exactly what we were going for. You know, we didn't want to be the “occasion restaurant". I didn't want that place to be like that. I wanted you to feel like, just like you said, we can go there two, three times a week, and it didn't kill my bank account; and the food is good. You know we opened up in the Hollins Market area, which the area is being rapidly revitalized. It's kind of a middle ground, and it's coming up. So we put this restaurant there to make ourselves accessible to everyone; the middle-class crowd, the lower-class crowd as well, you know. [00:33:00] We want everybody to be able to enjoy this, this style of cooking, this style of restaurant. So we put ourselves there and people just applaud us for putting a restaurant that, uh, makes reservations in their neighborhood, you know, like, ‘Oh my God, I never thought in all these years that a restaurant that takes reservations will be in my neighborhood.’ It's like yes. It is. And you can come here and eat, and I just think it's a great thing because, we people, we have people coming all the time and say, ‘Oh, I've never had this. I think it's great.’ And they come back and they bring more people back with them. So I think it's a great thing. and I mean it's not just the younger crowd, you know the thing that's very like heartwarming to me about the restaurant is like, obviously when we did our business plan we had a target market as far as like age group that we were trying to attract, and that's been totally blown off. We get people, young people, [00:34:00] old people; just people from all different walks of life like that love this place and love the food.
[00:34:07] Aubrey: Just wanted to add to this real quick, cause I think this is a really important point. You know, something I've been learning as I've been doing the podcast is, we have to do all these business plans and marketing strategies and things like that right? And I feel like every time I go down that path I'm always surprised, but not surprised, that it goes the complete opposite, right? It resonates with someone differently or whatever, because in business I feel like we're forced to sort of do all these statistics, and you know, formulations; but at the end of the day, especially in food, and in hospitality, you're literally trying to speak to someone's soul and their stomach. Those are the two parts of them that you are trying to connect with. And so, I think, if we could all just sort of do this re-grounding of like, ‘How am I actually trying to connect with people?’ [00:35:00] It's not about their age, necessarily. I shouldn't be grouping all these people together just because they happen to be born in the same years or whatever, like, I'm trying to connect with people to create this particular experience, and who does that experience resonate with? Why does that resonate with them and speak to them? So, I just think that there's something to be said about redirecting the mindset of, like, who are you actually trying to connect with, and why are you trying to connect with them? Beyond just these formulated techniques that marketing, I feel like always force us into.
[00:35:37] Joe: Absolutely. Absolutely. It's like a big thing is, is also just beyond the food to space. Like we wanted this space to feel like my family's living room or dining room, like when I was growing up, and like a lot of the people who come to the restaurant can relate to having those sorts of experiences. Like, ‘Oh yeah, we [00:36:00] used to hang out in my Grandmoms, dining room or living room during holidays, or whatever time, you know, on Sundays, and it was always a good time. People were always talking, the food was always flowing. And that's what I wanted this space to be, you know, and people get it as soon as they walk through the door. And they're like,’ Oh, the pictures on the wall really make it feel like home. Where did you thrift these?’ Well, these are actually real photos. ‘Oh my God! These are real photos?!’ And you know, I believe, makes the food taste better because they're like, ‘okay, the setting is right. Now the food is right. Now everything is perfect. They're like, okay, I'm in my Grandmom's house. I know to expect my Grandma's food to be wonderful.’ And when they try it, they're like, ‘Oh wow, this is, this is really good. Same flavors. It's just a different technique, and that's, that's what I'm all about, not reinventing the [00:37:00] wheel, just taking what was already good and continuing it on, making sure it doesn't get lost. My family was very big on family. You know we spent a lot of time together, a lot of time cooking together, laughing together, you know, fellowshipping together. And that's what I want to implement in this restaurant. It's working. And the pictures on my wall are all of real family members. A lot of them were very influential and in the long run, making this restaurant possible. Some of them have since passed on. So I like to think of it as like, paying homage to them because now every time someone walks in the restaurant, they get to see these people who are influential in my life. And now the spirit of my [00:38:00] family lives on throughout the restaurant, and they can see what's happening. And then, you know, they put their own little spirit on the things and really make the, the, the feeling authentic.
[00:38:12] Aubrey: I will say I actually think the picture wall is one of my favorite aspects visually of the entire place. We have different backgrounds because we're two different people but like what you're saying, I feel exactly the same way. And I felt that when I came in to eat. Like it did remind me of going to my grandmother's house, and we would have Sunday dinners every week at like four-thirty, five. And I think even like the name, like I can see it in every detail right? Rooted. Like I always interpreted that you called it that because of the homage to the family and the generational input. But I also like, didn't know about you gardening with your Aunt and I love that you, there's just, there's so many hidden details to who you are in this restaurant. You [00:39:00] literally built sort of a physical emulation of your story. And I, I hope people will go experience it firsthand because you truly put yourself out there. And I think we're at a weird time of people right now, just of like society and their mood, that there's a lot of looking forward; and we're pretty similar in age and I think that we're kind of an interesting generation because you know, it was pre-technology. There was a lot more simplicity, a lot more outdoor time, sort of quality time, things of that nature versus today. And I see all the benefit of technology. I mean, I have a podcast, we're talking on the internet right now. That is super freaking cool. But I think our generation has been sort of doing this reflective journey on like, how do you bridge those two experiences? How do we honor the past, but leave behind things that weren't as pleasant? And I love seeing people create these little [00:40:00] pockets that carry forward the good things of their heritage, and their past that they want to honor, and they want to make sure isn't forgotten, and feature it in their own way; in their own voice, to share with the outside world. And I just, I hope for more of that kind of energy. Like, I hope anyone listening to this feels encouraged to just sit with themselves and reflect on the beautiful gifts that they have been given and how they can translate that into their future. Cause I feel like that's what you've done and it's really freaking cool.
[00:40:35] Joe: I appreciate that. I appreciate that. Yeah it was, it was, it was really important to do that because, now we can create a new space for people to come to where they'll feel like a part of our family now. Allowing you, you guys to, you know… take a walk in my family's shoes, you know, see what we're all about. It's all, it's always love, you [00:41:00] know? Like, now we have people come in that we just know by face, or know us, might wave, know to wave back to the kitchen, and it's just, it's a beautiful thing. It really is. It's just like, you know, having people love what you do like gives you great validation; riding high.[00:41:22] I mean you should, you've earned it, so like you absolutely should.
[00:41:28] Joe: Thank you. Thank you.
Music fades in…
[00:41:28] Aubrey: Thank you for listening to another episode of the Golden Approach Podcast. I hope you've enjoyed this episode as much as I did. And as always, I do encourage you to listen through twice as there's a lot of really important takeaways from this conversation, like the importance of being connected to your roots, while still making a point to be brave and go outside of your comfort zone. Both of which are needed to reach full potential. So I do hope to see you back here next week for part two of our conversation, where you're going to hear more about how that love and support is [00:42:00] reciprocated in his family and his community. [00:42:03] And if you liked today's episode, or any episode prior, please show us some love by following the show and leaving a review wherever you're currently listening. And maybe even share us with a friend? The hardest part is having people find our show so your efforts are super appreciated. And you can also stay in the know by following us on Instagram @goldenapproachpod, or on our website, goldenapproachpodcast.com for details like references, affiliate partner details, transcripts, and more; all of which will be linked in the show notes. Until next time though, bye-bye!
Music fades out…
Resources
Support the show, check out our Merch
Support the show, check out our bookshelf on Bookshop.org
Follow/Leave a review on Spotify
