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

Carly , appreciate you joining us today. How did you find your key vendor or vendors? Maybe you can share the backstory and share some context and the relevant details to help us understand why you chose them, why they chose you, etc.

When I was opening my restaurant, I was looking for local vendors to sell in my small market. A friend of mine told me to reach out to a honey producer they knew. Upon meeting and trying the honey (which was delicious), I realized that the family running the honey farm was also a teacher at my children’s elementary school. It really set the precedent for all my vendors moving forward. I love finding vendors who are directly in my community and helping them grow as a business (as mine also grows). Nearly four years in and my honey supplier (Bees & Trees) is still an integral part of my market and coffee program.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Carly Gatzlaff and I own a restaurant in my town called Churchill St. I moved to my community 13 years ago and was frustrated that there was no where close by that had good food or atmosphere. I had no experience in the restaurant industry prior to opening my restaurant; however my career path certainly has influenced my business ownership and greatly enhanced it. I was a trained Family and Consumer Science teacher and started my career as a high school teacher in the Boston suburbs teaching nutrition and cooking, child development, and fashion and sewing courses. Upon moving to MN, I began a fashion styling business which I sold when my restaurant dream took off. Both jobs taught me skills I use on the daily, but especially how to build personal relationships with people in a very quick way. It has really helped me craft the warm and inviting restaurant I now own; my favorite compliment I can get from a guest (and the most frequent, even though we have wicked good food :)

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I can do everything myself.

I can’t and I have hired people to perfect the things that are not in my wheelhouse. Allowing them to perform those roles (and focus on my skillset) has been an invaluable lesson I have learned over the years of business ownership.

Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?

After two years in business, we were able to make a huge pivot for our service style. I had prior to this not spent any money on marketing or hired anyone to help. I knew with the changes that I needed help and hired a local marketing firm whom specialized in restaurants. The initial photoshoot was hugely helpful for us, however the skills I was given by the marketing firm have forever impacted my business in a positive way. They taught me the skills (and got me started) on a clear cut marketing plan I could do myself post launch. It has made a HUGE difference to my business and I am so thankful I took the risk.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.churchillst.com
• Instagram: churchillstmn
• Facebook: churchillstmn
• Linkedin: Carly Gatzlaff

Image Credits

The Restaurant Project