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

Jayme, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

Opening our restaurant, Sassafras, was the biggest risk my husband, Tony, and I have ever taken. Anthony Fish, my husband, has been cooking since he was 14 years old. He worked in many popular, cutting-edge restaurants in San Francisco for many years. I had only ever worked in offices all of my life. I was introduced to the restaurant business by Tony. We moved to Carson City so he could return to working at Adele’s Restaurant & Lounge, after taking a hiatus in Southern California running a restaurant in Manhattan Beach. We were both working at Adele’s Restaurant in Carson City, I was a server and he did a number of jobs there from being a Cook to a Floor Manager. We decided our time was over at Adele’s and we wanted to conduct an experiment to see if we could make a living serving fresh, delicious and innovative food in a dive bar here in Carson City called Mo & Sluggo’s. We wanted to get away from the fine-dining environment and execute Tony’s culinary ideas and experience in the exact opposite environment. We were losing our house around that time about 2010, so we basically said “Why not?” and talked to the owner of the bar about our idea. He was thrilled and we opened up The Grill at Mo & Sluggo’s in 2011. So we quit our jobs at Adele’s, with no money and our house about to be taken by the bank, and opened our restaurant. After about a year, a local restaurant owner across the street from us was planning on closing his restaurant. He asked if we wanted to move into his spot and partner up with him, so we did and named the restaurant Sassafras Eclectic Food Joint. After a few successful years, we were wrongfully evicted from our location. We had to make a decision fast. Whether we wanted to give up or try to find another location to move to, which is not exactly easy in the small town we are in. We found an even better location out of downtown Carson City out at the Carson Hot Springs, and we reopened in 2015 after being closed for about 6 months. So this is basically our 3rd time starting over and it has continued to be a success. We have our rough patches still but overall we are still going strong after 14 years.

Jayme, 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?

Sassafras Eclectic Food Joint is a full=service bar and restaurant. Our menu incorporates dishes from many different cuisines and it is fresh and homemade. We make our own ketchup, dressings and sauces, and try to use local vendors whenever possible. During the Farmer’s Market season, we buy assorted foods from the market and incorporate them into various dishes. Our restaurant is set apart from many others in our area in that we do as much as we can from scratch. We prepare every dish to order which allows us to accommodate a wide range of food allergies and other dietary restrictions. We are proud and delighted that our vision for this restaurant has resonated with so many people and allowed us to remain in business for 14 years. We serve high quality, creative food in a casual and funky environment.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

We built our reputation in our community by just being ourselves. We built our reputation by providing great food and great service in a casual and fun environment and by being consistent. Tony and I work full-time in our restaurant we have a very “hands-on” work ethic. I am a server/bartender and he is a cook. We are in the trenches along with our employees and, while it is a lot of hard work, we ensure that things run smoothly and our regular guests expect to see us there. Over the years we have gotten to know so many of our guests that we have built a large “family.” They know we truly care about the restaurant, and the staff and guests are all invested in the success of Sassafras. We also donate to a number of community organizations and started the first ever Pride event in Carson City that we named Sassabration. Tony and I are strong supporters of the LGBTQ community and it was important to us to create a safe space for members of that community within a relatively conservative town.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Surviving the COVID pandemic proved our resilience. We were shut down and down to a skeleton crew. We served box to-go food served through a window in the dining room. We partnered with our neighbors, Shoe Tree Brewery, and did special box lunches that included one of their beers, as they were shut down as well. Our reputation in the community allowed us to survive COVID. Our numerous regulars made a habit of supporting us during the shutdown. As a result, we have remained in business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sassafrascarsoncity.com
• Instagram: sassafrascarsoncity
• Facebook: Sassafras Eclectic Food Joint
• Linkedin: none
• Twitter: none

Image Credits

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