We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Codi Bates. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Codi below.
Codi, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?
The myth of ‘the grass is always greener on the other side’ is a hard one to let go of. This particularly comes up when you face challenges of course. I think it’s hard to not know everything about the choices you make as a business owner. So much of what we do is outside of a mold, which feels a bit isolating and leads the mind to envision alternatives. The most recent time I’ve gone through this tunnel of thought was when we expanded quite rapidly. Within the last year, we went from 2 restaurants and a fine art gallery and event space, to 4 restaurants and the same gallery and event space. Once the excitement of opening the 4th restaurant peaked, the crash of the weight of the responsibility and ‘what did we just do’ thoughts hit hard. It’s still rather fresh, but I’ve walked myself through the alternative and truly made a pros and cons list of staying the course or finding an alternative career and for me, being a small business owner is who I am. I walked myself through other career options, particularly those that had me home by 5 and free of any work responsibilities and the cons of that were double or triple the pros, or the planning for this ‘normal’ career evolved into another business opportunity in this explorative myth. Going through this thought process gives me confidence in where we are and how we’ve gotten here.
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.
I started my career in the hospitality industry at age 22 with our first restaurant, The Burger Stand. What started in an unused kitchen of a downtown college bar quickly outgrew its space. After a year, we located our own space directly on Massachusetts St. At the time; we also opened a second restaurant (now closed, Esquina) in Downtown Lawrence. We planned a third, our second Burger Stand location, in Topeka. Fast forward to 14 years later, and I have worn the hats of pastry chef, host, General Manager, Beverage Director, bartender, accountant, HR representative, payroll manager, and more of our company, Bates Co. Since 2009, the dynamic businesses of Bates Co have allowed me to have hands-on experience in all areas of the service industry and beyond. We currently own and operate The Burger Stand (Lawrence & Topeka), Taco Zone, The Cider Gallery (our fine-art gallery, event space, and co-working offices), and Bon Bon (temporarily closed in 2020 and reopened in October 2023). I am a James Beard Fellow as an Alumni of the Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership program, Board Vice Chair (and founding board member) of the Lawrence Restaurant Association, former Board President of Downtown Lawrence Inc., and former Executive Committee member of Van Go, Inc. I am a mother of two, a former theatre major with a BFA in Art History from the University of Kansas (which I obtained after starting the businesses), and a lover of all things food, drink, and gathering. I am a James Beard Fellow as an Alumni of the Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership program, Board Vice Chair (and founding board member) of the Lawrence Restaurant Association, former Board President of Downtown Lawrence Inc., and former Executive Committee member of Van Go, Inc. I am a curator of things: food, drink, art, people, places, and experiences.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
We often say to guests, try something new, something you haven’t tasted before or have been a little hesitant to step out of your comfort zone with our menu and if you don’t like it, it’s on us. Cultivating that trust with our guests has helped us build a loyal customer base that look forward to the new concepts we bring to fruition and the specials we offer frequently. And, I should note, it’s pretty rare we have to buy our guests meals when they take a risk on something new. Additionally, cross promotion within our community heightens the visibility of us and our company and when folks can associate us, the leaders, as contributing beyond our doors, allows for more buy in with our guests. Knowing where your dollars are going is so important as a consumer, and we hope that within our spaces and within our community, folks can see the impact they have in our lives is reciprocal.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
Having conversations that evolve overtime is so important and a key to maintaining high morale amongst our teams. We’ve evolved as managers and leaders of our company from a sort of check list, rule presenting way of leading our teams, to honest and open conversations about what we all can do different or better to make our work environments positive, supportive and encouraging. This is especially important when approaching difficult conversations about financial decisions and changes that need to be made, or adjustments to our leadership teams. Making sure that the conversations go both ways, with the emphasis on listening, really helps create productive and resilient teams.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bates-co.com
- Instagram: @bates_co
- Other: Personal Instagram: @codib