03/02/2024
Finally able to share some big news…
Long read but I have to connect the dots and mention so many people. The universe conspires for your success, but only if you are open to the challenges.
March 2024 will be a giant milestone in my growth as an entrepreneur and citizen. We closed on the building that houses Red Gravy
I’m a landlord to my own business!
I have many people to thank. Chronologically, I have to thank Doug Burkhalter for finding an existing business for sale in late 2015 and believing in me to open and run our Italian Bistro. Next, I have to thank Bob & Terri Holdren Jack for taking over as partners in 2018. We grew through the pandemic and beyond, thanks to their support in my efforts to focus on community and exploring ways to connect and help others. Virginia McDowell and Devon Cramer deserve a mention for helping me launch Meals to Heal early in the pandemic which not only saved jobs, but allowed us to be one of the few places hiring and growing our staff to feed the amazing front line workers at local hospitals.
As donations to the cause dried up and the world seemed to get back to normal, I started our Sunday Supper Club to continue funding the effort. This was a live, interactive cooking demo for a select group of foodies and regular patrons and all proceeds went to provide meals on Mother’s Day, Easter or any other time we wanted them to know we still appreciate their sacrifices in saving lives and healing their fellow citizens in what we can assume is the worst days of their lives. In this group, I met Jonah Attebery and his wife Jen (who hails from the Lou) and who both work in the medical field. A friendship began that would blossom beyond my imagination.
Meanwhile, I continued to volunteer for any seat on the Downtown Colorado Springs Partnership committees (which I had joined back in 2016 and became a member of the BID board in 2018) to continue finding ways to engage in helping the city and Downtown COS: Street Level Businesses to recover and forge into a new future of growth and success.
In one all-board session, we discussed, among many other things, the concern of gentrification of our local businesses by outside interlopers. From that session came a challenge to find a path of real estate ownership for local businesses. This would secure and stabilize the city center which boasts an amazing cluster of locally owned independent businesses. I volunteered to be the tip of the spear and dedicated most of 2023 to exploring this option.
In July of 2023, I was able to buy out Bob & Teri to be the sole owner of Red Gravy and was able to hire a GM for the first time in over 7 years as the only manager. Johnathan Shankland gave me the space to chase down this crazy idea of purchasing our building. Also, monumentally critical to this was the support of Adriel AD Hamlin who was promoted to chef and ran the kitchen. With a management team in place, and our amazing staff working hard day in and day out, we could actually announce that we nearly doubled overall revenue from 2019 (prepandemic) to date.
In my effort to open my mind and heart to the possibility of actually achieving this long-shot concept, I sought guidance from my own personal board room of my wife, Lara, cohort in life and dear friend, Paul David Chickey and longtime mentor Pete Rothschild. Invited to a home cooked dinner, Jonah Attebery heard the plan and offered to partner in the building.
Next up to help out was our guide and agents through the whole purchase: Ingrid Richter and her husband Jim DiBasse at Olive Real Estate. After months of negotiation and amazing leadership, we struck a deal. The City of Colorado Springs came to help by offering me an enrollment in the Exponential Impact: Survive & Thrive session which provided a low interest loan along with an 8-week program of entrepreneurial development. I attended the commencement the day before signing on the building and loan papers. Our landlords, who sold the building, were amazing partners through the process and had we any other people to deal with, this would probably not have been accomplished. Thanks Tricia and Mark Meltzer
I know there are many more people to thank and many more people who will come into my life and guide me on this amazing journey. But, I must say to anyone who actually read this far that once you give of yourself and even risk your business to help others, the reward comes in abudance and unforeseen capacity.
When you learn that the thing that brings you the greatest joy: giving of yourself, your time, your craft… to others, also becomes the vehicle of exponential growth, you have nothing left but to stand in awe and profound appreciation of the unseen bonds that connect us all and the realization that we are never fully aware of what we can accomplish.
Much love
E
