We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ashley Edwards a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Ashley thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the best thing you’ve ever seen (or done yourself) to show a customer that you appreciate them?

I believe the best kind of hospitably lies in daily interactions with guests. I believe in the power of using someone’s name, and remembering their kids names and where they go to school, and where they vacation. As a society, we all have so much coming at us every day. We are stressed out and overstimulated, with constant text messages, emails, and increasingly pervasive social media coming at us.
People more than ever have an acute need to be appreciated and seen. We are at such an advantage in the restaurant business because we get to interact with so many people every day, giving us the opportunity to brighten someone’s day with the smallest of gestures.

Just last week, a guest who has Celiac walked through our doors for lunch. After chatting with him briefly, I learned he was at our restaurant that day celebrating his birthday. After I quickly realized we did not have any desserts in house to accommodate his severe gluten allergy, I ran over to the bakery in the adjacent shopping center and bought a gluten free dessert for him. I delivered it to him after his lunch, with a candle, and he was beaming as his table of friends sang him happy birthday. He was blown away that we had made such an effort to get him a birthday dessert he could actually eat.

At Palmer’s we write peoples’ names in chocolate on their birthdays, anniversaries, and graduation celebrations. We even draw little houses in chocolate when people are celebrating closing on a new house, and diamond rings when they are celebrating an engagement. We try to find some way to make every guest feel special, appreciated and seen, every day of the week.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have always been drawn to the restaurant business because it is a marriage of 2 things I love the most, food and connecting with people. We opened Palmer’s 7 years ago, and have learned many lessons along the way.
While we are passionate about the food we serve, for me, the restaurant business is about the people.
Nothing makes me happier than to see our guests enjoying themselves in the environment we have created for them. Palmer’s is a place where memories are made, friendships are nurtured, and families are strengthened.
We go out of our way to make sure
every guest feels a sense of warmth and comfort at Palmer’s, and I believe that is what sets us apart.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

My business partner is a brilliant restauranteur. He is creative, intentional, and detail oriented. His strengths are my weaknesses. Because he does his job so well, I am able to do mine well. Billy and I have been the operating partners of Palmer’s since its inception 7 years ago. For the first 2 years, neither of us left the building during operating hours. Thankfully, we have a little more flexibility now, but formed a lifelong bond during this period.
Billy is militant about processes, details, and structure. I nurture the guests, fine tune the front of house staff, and ensure the restaurant feels like a happy place.
We are a great team.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

We have not had to advertise at all in the 7 years we have been open. Word of mouth has been our best source of new customers. Every day I hear stories from new guests about how their neighbors told them they had to come to Palmer’s. These stories validate that we are making an impact. Additionally, we are big believers in supporting the community through outreach and sponsorships. We consistently support the local charities, schools and churches. We believe in giving back to the community that supports us.

Every Christmas, we partner with a local outreach center to provide a Christmas dinner to people into our community who are struggling financially.
It is this spirit of giving that has helped us not only expand our customer base, but also strengthen our existing customer base.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.palmersptc.com
• Instagram: palmersptc
• Facebook: Palmer’s Restaurant