We were lucky to catch up with Jocelyne Williams recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jocelyne thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Is your team able to work remotely? If so, how have you made it work? What, if any, have been the pitfalls? What have been the non-obvious benefits?

Because I play dual roles in my career, remote work has been integral to my success as a business woman. I have been able to co-create and work in my personal business as the owner and operator of Meat the Veggies takeout restaurant, while simultaneously maintaining my role as Director of Operations for a global consulting agency. Working remote in my full time corporate role has provided the space and flexibility and tools to manage my passion of entrepreneurship and serving the community. I can physically be at my takeout restaurant serving wholesome and delicious meals to the local masses and still take meetings and build business processes and workflows for the business region I support in my 9-5. It’s even better when the skills and processes for both overlap and I can leverage one for the other!

Jocelyne, 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?

I am originally from St. Louis, MO with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of MO-Saint Louis, I am an operations professional and I use my leadership skills on global system deployments, executive projects, business processes, strategic operations, training, and capability development. After running a rental property business for several years, in 2019 I relocated to Miami, FL and began the extension of the Backhome hospitality brand “Experience Backhome”, which incorporates luxury car rental and fine dining experiences. I met an experienced chef and ultimately followed my heart and love of food and co-founded Meat The Veggies with my partner Keith in the Fall of 2021.

Meat the Veggies is a contemporary food and hospitality brand featuring well-known meat and veggie staples. Highlighted by the original (and trademarked!) pulled oxtail sandwich, our dishes have 100% supernatural tropical ingredients infused into stimulating signature sauces and raw spices featured on veggies, with virtually no dairy or animal product additives. Meat the Veggies is a community focused culinary concept created out of a desire to provide creative, balanced, and nutritious meals to the masses. We take pride in being a place where everyone can eat together regardless of diet or tastebuds, because we offer delicious balanced meals for meat lovers, pescatarians, and vegans/vegetarians alike.

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

The biggest asset to our business and building a positive reputation in our market is the quality of our product, in this case food and the service we provide. If the food is good and we make people feel good when they buy it, customers will spread the word for our business, on our behalf. We have been intentional about the detail we put in our plates from the type of spices we use and how we garnish each menu item for the final presentation. As a takeout and delivery restaurant, it’s important to focus on the product and how the customer will receive it in the packaging, temperature of the food, and of course the flavors in every bite. Consumers pay attention to details, and so do we!

How’d you meet your business partner?

My business partner and I met on the dating app Hinge! Within 6 months after I moved to Miami for a new job, the pandemic started. I was single a little while after, so I decided to finally try a dating app to meet someone new in my new city, since I wasn’t going out much. About a month into dating my co-founder and chef Keith, we started working on a business plan together. My business experience and his career in food and hospitality was a match made in heaven. I was looking to invest in a new venture, since selling my rental property and he undoubtedly needed direction to elevate his career in food so we started the concept of Meat the Veggies! Within a year we have grown so much as a business and a couple.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.meattheveggies.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meattheveggiesmia/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/meat-the-veggies-miami

Image Credits
Papphoto Dalia