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

Alright, Gabe thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Who is your hero and why? What lessons have you learned from them and how have they influenced your journey?

My parents are my constant inspiration and my direct line to my love of food. Both my mother and father were professional cooks, owning/operating one of North Carolina’s most well thought of fine-dining establishments for almost 30 years. So many of my formative memories were based around being in their business growing up, and the connection to food grew strong at a young age. As I grew older, I was always struck by their staunch commitment to quality over quantity. They helped show in the late 80’s and early 90’s that our area was to be taken seriously from a dining out perspective, and even though they were both James Beard Award winners their humility was bountiful.

I have always had the utmost respect for my Dad’s work ethic, which he instilled in me from a very young age. Nothing was ever handed to me, I was taught to earn it, one of the greatest lessons that can be shared with young people. Sometimes my Dad’s commitment to his vision retracted from his ability to be present, but it never affected his ability to love my brother and I. If anything, he was a shining example of hard work paying off and I was and still am inspired by it.

My mother on the other hand was the brains, wonderfully talented in so many ways. A powerful, strong, yet soft spoken person who’s few words carried much weight. She always did such a good job of riding the line between rigidity and empathy, I only aspire to be that type of person. How she managed the day to day of running a successful restaurant business and find time for me is a constant amazement in my older age, especially as my wife and I prepare to start having our own kids. Unfortunately, she became sick in 2017 and we lost her to cancer a little over a year later. I feel that sadness still of not having her here, but I’m constantly reminded of the caring, patient, loving person she shaped me into. It is my greatest asset as a manager of people, I use those soft skills she taught me every day.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I grew up in Chapel Hill, NC and after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a BA in History I lacked direction and a vision. After growing up in my parents restaurant and working those jobs to “pay my way” as a young kid, I expressed my desire to my parents to go to culinary school. They suggested I go work in a kitchen for a year, someone else’s kitchen other than theirs. My dad said, if after a year I still was interested in cooking they would look to help me financially underwrite my culinary school.

With the assistance of my Dad, I was connected to a job in San Francisco and packed up my stuff, moving across country from all of my support systems to pursue a kitchen job. I fell in love with the kitchen; fast paced, creating, the banter from one to another in the day to day, it hit me how much I loved the grind. After almost 6 years of living in San Francisco, my parents expressed their desire to help my open my own business. At 25, I arrogantly felt ready and moved home to North Carolina.

My business Pizzeria Mercato was born out of my admiration for my last job in San Francisco working for Craig Stoll at the Delfina restaurant group. They were extremely committed to quality and consistency, which was perfectly in line with how my parents handled their business. Next door to their casual fine-dining restaurant was a tiny hole in the wall pizza spot that was constantly bustling. I loved the inclusive atmosphere it provided and it helped guide the creation of Mercato which I operate now. After 9 1/2 years, Mercato has become a staple in our community and I’m extremely proud of our connection to the community here in Carrboro, NC. Just like my young life, we help create experiences for our guests they can recollect on for years to come which I believe is a truly powerful thing.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Obviously many in my industry can point out the Covid pandemic and how that truly tested their ability to survive in this industry, and unfortunately many did not survive.

This was a really trying time for me personally; I had lost my mom to cancer recently and had yet to really understand how to deal with the grief of such an important relationship, then Covid happened. It felt like getting hit by a bus only to start to stand up and the bus decided to back up and do it again. I questioned on multiple occasions finding another path, due to the sacrifices this job requires, especially from a time commitment perspective.

We were able to retain all of our core staff, I went out of my way to try and keep as many of my team employed as possible even at the financial cost to the business. This really helped us rebound as things began to open back up. It also afforded me the opportunity to reassess my life and when Mercato re-opened after Covid I decided to shift to a four day a week operating schedule. For the first time in over 10 years, I had created some balance between restaurant work and my personal life. I’m the happiest in my life now that I have been for a very long time because of my commitment to not just pursue the grind and carve out time for people and relationships.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Consistency is everything in our business, it is the number one goal I strive for on a daily basis. My team and I have built a hyper consistent clientele by providing the same quality of experience day in, day out. At almost ten years of operation, I believe that is what helps my business to continue to grow even only operating four days a week. I preach constantly to my staff about the power of consistency in everything we do, from the food program to the power of informed, caring service.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.pizzeriamercatonc.com
• Instagram: @pizzeriamercatonc
• Facebook: pizzeria mercato
• Yelp: pizzeria mercato