Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Maddie Waseka. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Maddie, thanks for joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

My company holds a very simple name name, but yet a rich history. In 1966 my grandparents moved from Wisconsin to Minnesota and opened a Country Kitchen franchised restaurant. They worked this business with their 4 kids for many years later selling it to them. When they went away from the franchise they renamed it Copper Lantern in 1980. 42 years later my Dad sold the business to me and I renamed it the Copper Kitchen as a combination and an ode to the generations of Waseka’s who have owned this business over the last 60 years. I wanted to honor my families hard work and efforts of being a third generation restaurant in the same place for the last 6 decades.

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 was born to be a restauranteur. I started in the industry when I was 12 working for my Dad until I was 18. I wanted to strike out and leave my little town for awhile to see what was out there in the world. I moved to St. Helena, California and attended the premier Culinary Institute of America. I was able to experience everything that the Napa Valley had to offer from wine to world-class culinary training. After leaving California I moved to Chicago to get my Bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship and hospitality. While working on my degree I applied to work at the Aviary. A prestigious bar owned by the Alinea group. Wanting to move closer to home I ended up moving into Minneapolis and working as a bar manager for Travail Kitchen and Amusements in Robbinsdale. After working for all of these amazing culinary establishments my Dad and I discussed his interest in selling me his restaurant and the rest is basically history because here I am today.

I mention all of these places and journeys throughout my life because they sculpted me into the business owner and person I am today. I owe the formation of my grit and unwavering sense of humor to the work I have done in these restaurants. It also taught me a lot about the way I wanted to run my own restaurants one day. The value in experience is why I worked in all such prestigious and well-known establishments. I realized that your success is directly correlated to persistence, ambition and hard work. You will never make it far if you don’t persist past every failure. You will never be better than you are if you don’t have the ambition to do more. You will never succeed if you are not willing to put in the hard work that success requires. I work on these concepts everyday and I am not perfect — it does not come easy.

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

A couple years ago I set out on yet another restaurant with in my first 3 years of buying my first. Knowing full well that such an ambitious plan would not be easy was always in the back of my mind. What I didn’t realize is getting started would be the hardest part. The amount of doubt about my ability to succeed at this venture was unwavering from outside forces. Peers, friends, loved ones and definitely bankers questioned my next moves constantly. Waking up everyday to find the motivation to prove them wrong and be successful in my goal was so much harder than expected. I kept moving forward everyday literally one step at a time. It took failing 4 loans before finding the right bank. It took ignoring the negativity to keep trying. It took telling people they were wrong about me. I could have stopped at the first denial. I could have walked away with my head hung. I didn’t. I am getting closer to opening it everyday because I didn’t give up on that goal.

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

Managing staff is never easy especially with the current staffing dynamic in restaurants. Covid changed the industry immensely. I find the most success in my business in my staffing because I see the person who is in front of me. I will never grow my businesses too big or too arrogant to not treat my employees like they are worth it. I genuinely enjoy the personalities that I work with everyday and know that if I was an employee again one day — I would want to be treated for who I am and not just another number in payroll. I invest in the success of my employees emotionally and financially to set them up for success. From buying them coffee, a frank conversation or a helping hand in a time of need. Their success ultimately benefits my core business. It took realizing that with out employees my business would never survive much less succeed. I work to treat them with those principles and values daily not just once in a while.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.copper.kitchen
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheCopperLanternRestaurant/