I particularly love the part when you have to adapt your offerings or concept to better fit with the customer behavior. Rarely does a food concept open and stay the course, not changing and morphing to better serve their clients.
I do that everyday. Whether it’s more lemon in the curry dish or fixing the topping to rice ratio on the bowls. I recently added a soup and salad combo perfectly tailored for today’s demanding schedule. No wait, just come in and order the combo to-go and your week got that much easier. People are loving it.
I love the creativity that comes with new marketing techniques and social media campaigns. It’s all so interesting to me - and given the opportunity to step out of daily operations - I truly can’t wait to jump in and create a brand and product that is a standby in the lives of Daytonians.
The people who have sacrificed the most for this transition to restaurateur? My kids. I often tell people that my twins, who are eleven, are raising themselves. Of course that’s not entirely true, a teenager is present, but on more than one occasion they’ve called in the midst of a busy dinner hour and said - “what are we supposed to have for dinner?”
The first couple months are a steep incline when starting a business and I know it won’t always be this way. They know it won’t always be this way. But still, a few breakdowns resulting from overwhelming guilt that I haven’t been home as much have nearly broken me. Lots of tears have been shed. All while they look at me, with love and understanding in their adorable eyes and say, “We’re proud of you, Mommy. You don’t have to feel bad.”
I know they know I love them. That’s not up for debate. I know they know this is temporary. They tell me that. I know they see how hard I’m working and it would be underestimating their maturity to not believe them when they say they’re proud of me.
But what one earth do you tell an 11 year old to make themselves for dinner? I’ll tell you.
- A snack plate, collect some cheeses, crackers, a handful of nuts, and a couple fruits - and this is a completely acceptable dinner.
- Beans and toast - and English mainstay. Microwave canned baked beans and butter some toast. Delicious.
- Microwave quesadillas - every kids’ go-to. Put some shredded cheese between a flour tortilla and microwave for one minute.
- Hummus plate - more assembly than anything. Cucumbers, carrots, and hummus with some pita to round it out.
That’s what we’re relying on these days. And you know what? It’s fine. I’ll be back to making them their favorite butternut squash lasagna or stewed black beans and rice long before they tire of Ramen.
”But First, Food” columnist Whitney Kling is a recipe developer who lives in southwest Ohio with her four kids and a cat. She is usually in the kitchen creating something totally addictive — and usually writing about it.
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