08/03/2026
Dear friends,
It’s been a year since we closed our doors. We haven’t kept up this page honestly because we’ve been pretty busy. The private chef dinners, caterings, and food truck events started rolling in after we closed. We even had the privilege of catering a movie set for a few weeks. We still have a commercial kitchen that is graded by the health department.
The year leading up to the closing of the restaurant was the toughest time of my life. I asked God for help. Sales were low, the area hadn’t grown like we thought, and the bar next door was no help after the sun went down. In that year I expirenced diabetic retinopathy, and went blind for a few days, Hudson had a choking incident and developed a mental block against eating. Despite countless doctor visits, specialists, and therapy, he lost about 25% of his body weight. And we still worked every day, all day, through his little 10 year old summer. A friend of mine stopped by and gave me these words- “God is no longer blessing what you have because this season is over. Until you quit fighting him on it, you’ll stay stuck.”
I didn’t want to believe him. I wanted to lean on my own understanding. I wanted to blame myself for lack of sales, because my past mistakes, because the economy, and because I simply just wasn’t good enough. One day I just decided to let go. I went out behind the dumpster and cried. I yelled at God back there. I yelled for help.
After we closed I had an identity crisis for awhile. All I’ve ever really known is restaurant work. Men are pretty good at measuring our worth by the career we hold. When meeting other men we usually shake hands and ask “So what do you do?” as if it’s some way to gauge the type of and success of this new person. Then we compartmentalize ourselves in relation to them in the grand scheme of things. I did welding work for about 6 months. While I appreciated the newfound knowledge, I just couldn’t place myself in the welder compartment.
One day I got a call from a friend. She said my church needs a chef, as the last one is retiring after 30 years. I had never been to a church that had a chef. It was First Baptist downtown Columbus. In the interview I learned about the food ministry. It’s working with other local non profits, food banks, and feeding the staff, members, and visitors. Every Wednesday night is family night and there’s a buffet in the fellowship hall. Anyone can come, but it’s by reservation. The first time is free but after that it’s $10/ person.
The pastor gives a quick uplifting word, and some people go to different small groups or Bible studies. It feels like home here.
I wanted my business to survive and my employees to flourish. What my family needed was dad to be around- and alive. It wasn’t until I gave it to God, that the healing began. Wisdom often comes through pain. But today, we are building something new.
