By Sam Burnham @C_SamBurnham I was back in Atlanta for an appearance on GPB's On Second Thought on Friday. Afterwards, I headed back over to Home grown GA for a Comfy Chicken Biscuit and also to talk to Kevin Clark, chef and owner of that establishment. After my review of Home grown, he had contacted me wanting to talk.
I can't imagine meeting a friendlier or more personable guy anywhere. He spoke of his employees and his customers as if they were his friends and neighbors...because mostly they are. He pointed out that people were happy to be there. It wasn't like North Korean propaganda. He was really stating the obvious. The dainty fork, coffee, and egg flowers on the logo are not some feel good facade. They represent the place as much as any image can. But down to business. We talked about a well-known chain that can be found in the area, and likely in yours as well. This establishment, like many others, has signs reading "Please reserve booths for parties of two or more". He explained, in modern business spreadsheet style there is a formula to figure out how much money a seat is worth. One person at a table for four is costing the business three seats worth of cash. "I don't care about that" was his feeling on the formula. He stressed that he trains his employees to pay attention to the guests to the point that if someone returns, they get recognized and treated accordingly. For him, the business is not about formulas or spreadsheets. It's about people. If his customers are happy with their experience, he is happy. And as counter-intuitive as that sounds, he's running a successful business. He's making a living with happy employees and happy customers. This all goes back to many experiences over my life that have taught me this simple business model: Provide a quality product or service, buy and sell via deals that are good for all parties involved, treat employees and customers as if they are important (because they are), and run an honest business. This business model is not a secret. I'm not pretending to be promoting an idea I hatched in the drone of the tractor the other day. This is the business model that made Truett Cathy and Sam Walton very wealthy men. It's the business model used by the company that employed my dad in my youth. It's the business model a former employer of mine used to run a successful business out of a shed in his back yard for over 20 years without a business card, much less a web site. No, what I'm sharing is not new. But it is the way of ABG to pick up something that hasn't been used in a while, dust it off, polish or paint it, and offer it up to anyone willing to look. So here it is, a fool proof business plan that has been used by people with household names for centuries but is quite neglected by large businesses in America. Use this plan. Do business with other people who use this plan. No matter how big your business gets, be too small, too friendly, too service-driven, too successful to fail.
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The search for stories, photos, adventure, and vintage goods carries us all over this state and beyond. Ringgold, near the Tennessee line is a frequent destination. This quaint Southern town has a vibrant downtown in which shops, businesses, and restaurants fill the historic downtown buildings. On our last visit there, we asked the cashier The Ringgold Feed & Seed where we should eat. We wanted somewhere locally owned and operated. Her recommendation carried us to Richard's. Richard's is one of those places every Southern town should have. The waitresses, quick with a "sweetheart", run around working like bees but, when asked about it, claim that they don't have very much to do. The menu rotates. Oh you can get a burger or pork chop any day of the week but each day has two entrees and if you want one of them, you go on that day. The sides rotate somewhat as well to correspond with the meat of the day. I wasn't hankering for meatloaf or Italian roasted chicken, so I took those fried pork chops from the everyday menu. As much as I like applesauce with my pork chops, the fried okra and mashed potatoes with white gravy called out and I went with that. Leigha took the meatloaf and the same sides, hold the gravy. I think she was disappointed that I didn't choose different sides so we could critique further but now we can offer two votes for the fried okra and mashed potatoes. Especially the okra, which was not mushy or messy. It was crisp like it should be. very tasty. The mashed potatoes were tasty as well. The meatloaf was moist, they are generous with the onion and ketchup. It was very flavorful. Leigha says it was just how she likes it. The pork chops were a generous portion. They were breaded and cooked in a manner so that they didn't reduce to meat and mush once I started cutting them. They we delicious and I would definitely choose them again. Cornbread muffins and sweet tea rounded the meal out well. The friendly atmosphere and the locals on a first name basis with the wait staff combined with an excellent meal and an great price (we both ate for under $20) make Richard's worth the short drive past the Cracker Barrel and other chain joints that sit just off the interstate. If you are hungry in the Ringgold area, get off at Exit 348, drive on into town and give them a try. Richard's Restaurant and Catering is located at 906 Lafayette St in Ringgold. They are open Mon-Fri 6:30 am to 8 pm and Saturday 7 am -11 am. Lagniappe! This week we are posting an additional article. This one is from ABG Managing Editor, Leigha Burnham. She is quite capable in the kitchen but recently she has been exploring healthier options with wonderful Southern food. Many of her choices are not necessarily what you might think of as Southern comfort food but, if we're honest, it may be a little more true to the traditions of the agrarian people that created the tastes of The South. Trust me on this one. She ain't lyin' about that okra. As most of our wonderful readers know, the ABG family loves food. Not just any food, but true Southern-style home-cooking like grandma used to make. But of course, many of us Southerners no longer have agrarian careers or the physical activity of running a farm, which can cause a bit of a problem with our waistlines. I am no exception. In recent months, I've really been trying to make a change in the way I think about food and the way I prepare it, mostly in order to lose weight. In that process, I have come to the realization that my local grocery store (which shall remain unnamed) has about the worst produce ever. The selection is poor, the lettuces are usually dripping wet with that stupid automatic-water-sprayer-thingy, and the tomatoes are just mushy and flavorless. What to do? Start looking for better produce. I mean, if I've gotta eat 6-7 cups of leafy greens a day, then they need to be packed full of flavor! My husband (and curator of this blog) kindly suggested that I try a local farm. Now I've driven past this farm times too numerous to count. I've commented to my children about all of the vintage equipment sitting out front. I've even "liked" the farm's Facebook page. But...I have never, in my 20 plus years of living in this town, stopped to purchase one thing. There is something really sad about that. So I asked Sam to take me to the farm yesterday. And it was perfect. A typically hot Georgia day had the young man working the counter sweating in spite of the three ceiling fans running at full speed. There were tables of plywood filled with baskets and crates of the most glorious, brightly colored produce! I immediately reached into the basket of okra and the prickly, somewhat fuzzy, skin brought the childhood memories of picking and cutting okra with my mother back to my mind. And the tomatoes... They were plump, fragrant, and I assure you, their flavor was as tangy as any I've ever eaten. There was something transcendental about the experience of touching and smelling the produce that had just been plucked from the Georgia soil. Something almost holy. It is experiences like this that could keep me on my whole foods eating plan for life. We returned home with our bounty and I quickly began thinking about the preparation of our evening meal. Most of what we bought, I planned to eat raw, but I had to think of a way to fix that okra. Mother always battered it and fried it. I chose to toss mine in a little olive oil and then roast it at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes. It was divine. It felt good to put quality food on my family table. It tasted even better. And the price wasn't that far off from what I pay for that dull, flavorless produce at the grocery store. Produce that is grown in some unknown place, picked far too early, boxed in a warehouse, shipped by trucks, and watered down by my grocer in an attempt to fool me into thinking it is equal to that which I can find fresh from the dirt, about 10 minutes down the road. |
Sam B.Historian, self-proclaimed gentleman, agrarian-at-heart, & curator extraordinaire Social MediaCategories
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