We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Carrie (cj) Kay a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Carrie (CJ), looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

Teamwork and the “work family”

I am co-owner of a made from scratch kitchen which means 95% of our end product is made in-house. We are open for lunch, dinner and brunch on the weekends. It is impossible to be successful without supporting each other.

I have married couples, dating and best friends working together.We also have teenagers, 20, 30 and 40 somethings all in a 1000 square foot space supporting each other, leaning on each other, laughing, crying and yelling at each other. Life lessons, religion, prayer and everything under the sun. You learn respect and tolerance, we have learned everyone is different and we build on each other’s strengths. We do not target their weaknesses.

I have lost both of my parents within 18 months. When I lost my father I purchased The Barrel Room. This past July I lost my mother. When I got the call I was on my way to work. I was in shock, could not think clearly and the crew knew as soon as I walked in the door that something was wrong. My staff immediately rallied, sent me home and by that afternoon I was on a plane from Alabama to South Carolina to be with my family. The TBR crew took care of everything for 9 days. Even after I returned to work I wasn’t 100% but everything ran smoothly.

Some of the staff have never worked in a commercial restaurant and I have never owned one before but we learned from each other and went from a no name place on the side of the road to one of the best known restaurants in town. We are already looking for a second location. The current crew has first dibs on choice of location!

Carrie (CJ), love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I grew my business heavily inspired by my travels all over the world with the Air Force and the Army. My family, as with many other families, always had many celebrations around food and it was the one thing everyone has in common wherever you go. Everyone eats, everyone socializes around food and for many it is a love language. I grew up in the kitchen picking vegetables with my grandma and have always had a love for it. The simplicity and the complexity all in one.

My first eye opening experience outside of “country cooking” was when I was living in Chicago. My former sister-in-law introduced me to different cultures and styles of cooking. For three years I was a sponge. When I was active duty food was my go to for every fundraiser I participated in. Being active duty gave me many opportunities to experience new food and cultures. When I was active duty I lived in Portugal for 2 years, and Japan for 4. As a civilian I worked for the Army and lived in Italy for 2 years as well. I traveled anywhere and everywhere I could all over Europe and learned as much as I could.

My biggest influence was in Italy and the Agriturismo style dining. A Farm to Table from scratch experience. I can’t put a table in the middle of a barn or field but I can make the freshest, truest dishes possible. People have noticed a difference in the style of food we produce at The Barrel Room versus other restaurants. And we love talking about it. My ultimate goal at The Barrel Room is to make food that is familiar but exceptional. My proudest moments are when someone says ” I don’t like cauliflower but I like yours!” and when someone says “we only go out to dinner once a month and always choose The Barrel Room”, “this is our date night spot”

When people purposely choose your business over all others it is something to be proud of. I have other businesses asking me to collaborate on their menus or to provide food for their establishments and that makes the staff at The Barrel Room very proud.

Any advice for managing a team?

Be fair, Be understanding, be forgiving but also have boundaries. And above all else manage expectations. People fail, People disappoint, but we also support and care about each other. It’s like a marriage…..if everyone involved wants to make it work it will.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

The person I chose to partner with on this business journey was not the person they promised to be. We couldn’t work as a team and kept failing. Staff turned against each other, There was drama and in the end one of us had to leave. When something is failing do not be afraid to address it, to make a hard decision and to either let go or cut ties and carry on. In the end, the partnership ending did not affect any of our staff. There were those who chose to leave with the partner and there are those that will continue to be successful and rewarded in our future plans.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thebarrelroom-enterprise.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Thebarrelroomenterprise?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Image Credits

SouthrnGrits Kitchen