We were lucky to catch up with Evan Papadakis recently and have shared our conversation below.

Evan, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

Our mission at Zuzu’s Petals is to provide our customers with an experience that helps cultivate joy and gratitude for their lives. By providing the highest quality customer service along with fresh and simply prepared ingredients, we hope to remind our patrons that “It’s a Wonderful Life”.

I grew up watching the 1946 film “It’s a Wonderful Life”. The film was a staple in my home, especially around the holidays. In short, George Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart falls on some hard times toward the end of the film after spending the majority of his life selflessly helping others. He becomes disenchanted and wishes he never lived. His wish is granted and he quickly realized he had entered a nightmare of sorts as the town and everyone in it had been hardened by the lack of humanity and connectivity that he had worked so hard to cultivate. He wishes to “live again” and finding his daughter’s rose petals in his pocket (Zuzu’s Petals) is one of his first signals that he has been granted his life back. His life exactly as it was when he had previously wished not to have lived. George Bailey is overwhelmed with joy and gratitude and a newfound resolve to continue to persevere and show up for others once more.

I was neighbors in an office park with Chef Jessie Franco. He was the owner operator and Chef of a wonderful Cafe called “The Cove” in Palos Verdes. We had become friendly over the years we were neighbors as I was a frequent patron of his cafe. I loved his food and we would have talks about life and our personal and professional futures. He had been working in kitchens since he was in high school paying his dues and learning under various reputable Chefs in the industry. I had been working in mental health for a decade but I grew up in my family’s restaurant (Papadakis Taverna). We were both working in service of others.

January 14, 2019 I had left the office in a downpour. My tires lost traction with the road and I was in a head on collision. I spent one month in the hospital recovering from severe injuries. I spent the next year mostly incapacitated, unable to work and in a depression wondering why I survived. When I did return to work I discovered my bandwidth for the work had diminished significantly, I could no longer work in mental health directly within the suffering of others and I fell into a deeper despair. Why did I survive this car accident? I spent my career helping others and this is what I get in return? My life upside down, constant physical and emotional pain, angry and derepressed I was at a loss… What was I going to do?

Then it happened… A thought hit me like a lightning bolt. Jessie and I should open a restaurant!!!! I immediately felt a weight lift off my shoulders and hope began to poke through again. He hadn’t even heard my pitch yet but my resolve was intense and I just felt like this is it, this is why I survived. I was born into a family of servants. From my grandparents to my cousins our identity is wrapped up in facilitating joy through our talent and hard-working dedication. I grew up seeing patrons experience pure joy in my Uncle John’s restaurant (Papadakis Taverna) where he worked side by side with my dad Tom for nearly 40 years to bring patrons an unforgettable evening of hospitality. I thought about the possibilities of how a restaurant can leave an impact on a person; how it can help remind people of the good in life.

Jessie has the heart for service. He puts his love and care for his community into his food and when you taste it you can tell there is something special about it. I had been tasting it for years and we both knew it was time to bring his talent to a bigger stage. We set out developing Zuzu’s Petals with the mission of bringing the highest quality food and service to our patrons. Here we are, four years on this journey and just celebrating our first year open for business. Our hope is to cultivate joy and a sense of gratitude within each customer that visits us. The film’s message is timeless. Life is a gift. Your life is worth more than you may consider and it can touch so many. We hope to remind you when visiting Zuzu’s Petals in Long Beach that it truly is A Wonderful Life!

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

Chef Jessie and I grew up working in restaurants. From a young age we both saw the value of hard work and dedication to craft. We both have the heart for service. This is a requirement to work in the service industry which can be incredibly taxing physically and emotionally. The inner joy for the work is mandatory to be able to execute day to day. It brings us great joy to see others enjoying an experience that we have curated. From the moment a customer walks into our space until they are walking out we are responsible for facilitating what we believe to be an extraordinary experience for them.

We believe that Chef Jessie’s extensive experience in various kitchens and his love of the craft combined with my background in mental health using a mindful approach to customer service and staff wellness are a dynamic combination. We are proud of our product. Top quality ingredients used in our simply prepared offerings are a part of the customer experience. The warmth of our sincere service help to complete the customer’s experience in our cozy, al fresco dining environment in Long Beach’s East Village. We hope each customer that walks through the door of Zuzu’s Petals feels “seen” by our team that they may depart with more joy and gratitude in their heart and a reminder through their experience of how Wonderful Life can be!

How’d you meet your business partner?

Jessie and I signed a lease for our small businesses the same year, 2017. He was downstairs and I was upstairs. It was our first time owning/operating our businesses and we would commiserate at times as well as share the joys of being small business owners. Over time our talks became more intimate as we got to know each other better. I was a regular of his Cafe visiting a few times a week on average, the food was SO good! The more we got to know each other the more we found we shared feelings and beliefs about life and it’s ups and downs. Jessie would talk about goals for his future and the excitement for the possibilities. I would talk about my journey as a mental health clinician and what I thought was next for me.

Little did we know that we were on a collision course (pun intended) to partner up and open Zuzu’s Petals. In the wake of my car accident and having determined I no longer held the bandwidth to be an effective clinician I had an idea to take my skill sets for human interaction and marry them with Jessie’s extraordinary talent for creating culinary perfection. Those were the first two ingredients in the creation of the recipe for Zuzu’s Petals.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

People must feel seen and heard in order to feel a sense of belonging. Feeling a sense of belonging within the team creates additional incentive to perform the duties of the position alongside people who take the time to cultivate camaraderie. AS important as that is rewarding the people that work for you with regular raises and bonuses to further incentivize hard work and dedication.

Help people to feel seen, heard and reward them regularly for their efforts.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://zpeatery.com
• Instagram: @zuzuspetalseatery
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/zuzu-s-petals-eatery
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/zuzu-s-petals-long-beach-2?osq=zuzu%27s+petals

Image Credits

Black and white picture is of Jessie and I, we’re in the middle. Jessie’s brother Matt is on the far left and our day 1 employee Jade is on the far right.

All photos were taken by Kyle Braaten, our freelance social media lead.