We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shelly Kentner. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shelly below.
Hi Shelly, thanks for joining us today. Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.
I come from a long line of entrepreneurs. From my grandpa owning a restaurant in Carlsbad back in the 70’s and 80’s to my dad now owning a metal fabrication shop in Oceanside for the past 20+ years. Always hearing about their own stories of trial and tribulations intrigued me. I was put to work at a young age and worked along side my dad doing whatever I could to help and learn. Seeing first hand the hard work and dedication it took to run a business is something I admired. When everyone else was going home at the end of the day I watched my dad stay behind and work. I can understand how to some that would be a turn off and truth be told at the end of some days I question my own decision in being a business owner. But there’s a deeper admiration and honest love of a job well done that I believe my dad showed me and I now truly understand. No one was telling him he had to stay and work those long hours. It was a labor of love in way knowing that he was and currently is working to provide for our family. I take that with me everyday when I’m at work. It’s the same passion and work ethic that I put into my own business now.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
When I found bartending at the age of 23 I fell in love with it. It was fast pace, personable and ever changing. I started at a large casino and worked my way down to a locally owned bar. After working in a neighborhood bar in a neighboring city to my hometown I knew that was exactly what I wanted to bring to my own neighborhood. My husband and I were both bartenders by trade. He had been in the industry going on 20 years at the time. I wanted to bring my own touch to Vista and be apart of the community that I was raised in. Together we did just that. After 5 very long years we have a wonderful family friendly neighborhood spot. 508 Tavern is a place where you can go and grab a bite to eat and talk with other patrons. Or hang on the patio with your dog and enjoy a beer. You’ll find co-workers mingling after work or moms grabbing grub with the kids. It’s amazing to see our community coming together and enjoying the beautiful slice of home away from home we’ve worked so hard to create.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I can speak for most restaurateur when I say making it through the pandemic was the truest test to our resilience. Having to pivot on a dime and jump through hoops to keep safe and satisfy the ever changing rules and regulations set on us. My heart breaks for all the owners that couldn’t pull through, it’s a true tragedy. We are forever grateful for the support of our local community. It was amazing to see people come out and support so freely and continuously.
Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?
When I thinking about the way we went about funding our restaurant it really tells an American Dream story. We had been saving for about a year. We didn’t have much truthfully. I was searching for restaurants for sale and had a tiny stroke of luck when we found a little old sandwich shop selling. So we took what little money we had and made an offer. But with close to nothing left after the purchase we bartended at night and worked for the next 6 months on the renovations. Piece by piece, one bucket of paint at a time. For the first two years my husband worked at the casino and 508 Tavern just to make sure that we would be okay. It took us two full years before he was able to leave his second job.
Contact Info:
- Website: 508tavern.com
- Instagram: 508tavern