We recently connected with Edith Johnson and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Edith thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

What it takes to be Successful absolutly has to do with the people you surround yourself with. I throughly believe what you put out into the universe is what you get back. Being negative, attracts negative people. I chose to enjoy the ups and downs. Learning how to be humble as a chef is a skill in its own. We tend to love our craft to a passionate fault. We love to feed people, we get up at ungodly hours, to work relentless hours. Its the Satisfaction of being on a line, the comradery it brings between your staff and you after a successful service is what keeps you clocking in. Surroudning yourself with staff that has kindness, understanding and is able to strengthen the team has been the reason why I could possibly call myself successful. I could not have done it without my employees. They are the back bone. I cannot stress enough how important it is to treat your staff with kindness. Be understanding that they all lead lives outside of your establishments and supporting them as much as the support you.

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’ve lived in multiple places all over the country, but my true hometown is Sitka, Alaska. A tiny 14 mile road island in Southeast Alaska. Where our products and our food comes in by Plane or Barge. I have 2 young kids and a partner to share my life with. Owner of two Bussinesses, Our Town Catering and Ludvigs Bistro. The food industry is my passion and feeding people is my profession. I went to a two year college to get my Associates Degree in Culinary Arts. My Catering business won 2022 and 2023 best caterer in Alaska Foraker award and in 2022 I won Alaskas top 40 under 40. From there I worked for Professional Sports Teams such as the Saint Louis Cardinals, Rams, Seattle Seahawks and Sounders. Returning to my hometown of Sitka when my daughter was born. I ran a Float Plane and Charter Lodge Kitchen for 3 years, until I got the oppertunity to help open another local restaurant, building a concept from the ground up. It gave me the knowledge and contacts I needed to open a place of my own.

7 years ago I started Our Town Catering, seeing a niche that needed to be filled. Growing this business, I started small, from working out of commissary kitchens to finally owning my own commericial kitchen.

I pride myself on being a Indigenous Chef. I am a proud member of the Tlingit Tribe and Navajo Nation. Sharing my roots with others through food.

Let’s talk M&A – we’d love to hear your about your experience with buying businesses.

Recently I have just bought Ludvigs Bistro, taking my title from a single business owner to owning multiple. Running a restaurant is a whole other set of life lessons. I can honestly say that I have enjoyed being able to showcase food in a new setting. Its been a joy spinkled in with some stress tears. I had been catering for 7 years and wated to show another side of what I can do.

Buying a restaurant with a beer and wine license attached to it was one of the most challenging things I have had to do.. My advice to anyone that decides to take a leap like this, is to get a good laywer that will advocate for you. Its going to be a lot of upfront cost that could save you potentially hundreds of thousands in the long run. I bought the restaurant from one of the most incredible women and chefs Sitka has seen, we had open dialoge constantly about what we both wanted for the future of the restauratn and keeping that relatioship honorable meant that I also have an incredible mentor.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

In this day and age every small business owner has a covid story. As covid hit, my ability to cater deminished substantially, we saw a 90% decrese in need for catering as we were not allowed to have large gatherings. There was a time when I was fearful we would not make it. Filling out grant paperwork was one of the most humbling experiences of my life. I remeber crying, going over my declining numbers and having to write it down on paper. Trying to get the support I needed to get the lights on,

Ways I pivoted were offering Zoom Meeting Drop offs, catering to famllies in need by offering non contact to go dinners, and partnering with non profits bringing in grants to help underserved communities. Using my commerical kitchen to help my comminuty is what kept my business going.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ludvigsbistro.com
• Instagram: @Ludvigs_Sitka
• Facebook: http://facebook/ludvigsbistro.com
• Yelp: Ludvigs Bistro
• Other: www.OurtownCatering.com @ourtowncatering https://facebook/ourtowncatering

Image Credits
Caitlin Blaisdell Photography, all the photos submitted