We recently connected with Trish Macias and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Trish, thanks for joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later

Timing is everything. And everything has it’s own time. My husband, Larry and I had been looking for a restaurant that we could open together since 2018. Larry has been in the restaurant industry his entire adult life either as an owner or General Manager. I had bartended for a few years but working in restaurants wasn’t my background. I have a law degree and my real estate license. But we make a great team as we compliment each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

There were several times that we thought we had found the right restaurant and concept but for one reason or another it never came to fruition. And looking back, the one that finally did work out was exactly the right fit for us.

The first idea was a Cuban concept. We developed a menu and tasted a few of our closest friends on it. We decided it wasn’t the right one. We spoke to a restaurant broker and looked at a few restaurants that were for sale. After visiting a few places, none of them fit what we were looking for. Then we found a location for lease that we got excited about to open a bistro. We visited the site several times and negotiated a lease with the landlord. Then we started the process of obtaining a loan for the improvements and changes we needed to make. But then the landlord decided that he wanted to sell the property instead of lease it. We weren’t in a position to obtain that much funding so the deal fell apart. And then two months later Covid hit and shut everything down. As crushed as we were before, we realized we had just dodged a bullet. Because of Covid it was a couple of years before we started the process again. Then in 2022 we found a building for sale that was originally a Taco Bell and most recently a loan center. It had been vacant for a while and the homeless had broken in several times and stolen all the wires and plumbing. It was a great location but needed a lot of work. We entered into negotiations with the sellers but couldn’t agree on the price. We were $200,000 apart so we decided to walk away.

Friends knew that we were looking and one day a friend told us about a place that was for sale. We had never been so we went down to check it out. The bartender immediately impressed us and there was a certain charm to the place. After a second visit we asked our friend to connect us with the sellers. It was a pretty quick negotiation with them and then it was time we applied for funding, started drafting a sales contract and planning for the changes we wanted to make. All of this was about a 5 month process and there were several times along the way that we thought the deal was going to fall apart and finally, instead of worrying about it, we just believed if it was meant to be and the right time, it would all work out. And it did. We loved the place and wanted to keep the charm but knew we were going to rebrand to make it ours.

People always ask about our unusual name. It comes from a couple of our friends. Tay and I have been BFFs since 2000. On their last day in Paris, Tay and her husband Jim went looking for souvenirs. In St. Germaine and Tay found a small plaque that read “The Greedy Hamster.” Turns out it was a bad translation of “Fat American.” She bought the plaque, turned to her husband and said “What a great name for a bar.” A few years later, in 2015, The Greedy Hamster was first opened by Tay and Jim in Denver Colorado. Trish visited Denver many times to see Tay and Jim and shared many wonderful memories at The Greedy Hamster with them. And then Covid hit in 2020. They tried in vain to keep it open and finally had to close for good.
When trying to decide on a new name, Trish and Larry had always loved The Greedy Hamster and so a call went out to Tay. Before the question was even finished Tay gave her blessing and The Greedy Hamster was reborn in Phoenix.

Trish, 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?

To add to what we’ve already provided, we wanted a place that people wanted to hang out in. A local neighborhood joint you want to stop at after work. Our staff, we treat as family. We want you to feel like we invited you into our own home.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

I had lived in Phoenix for over 17 years to be close to family but they had all grown up and/or moved away. After several visits to Denver I had made the decision to relocate there to be closer to my BFF. I had taken my real estate exam and paid for my new Denver license for three years. Next I had to sell my home. But I needed to paint and make some repairs to get the best price and I did most of it myself to save on the cost. After a few hours of day working I would stop by my neighborhood restaurant. I hadn’t been by in a while so I didn’t know it was under new ownership. But the bartender Wayne was the same and he remembered me. I also met the new owner Larry and got to know him. Wayne kidded that when I moved to Denver that I needed to FaceTime them so it felt like I was still there. We exchanged numbers and since Larry was sitting next to me we exchanged numbers as well. And then 10 minutes later Larry texted me. It was then I realized he had been flirting with me the last couple of weeks. He asked me out but I was already half way to Denver. But my house wasn’t sold yet. So on our first date I told him I don’t date just to date. So all baggage needs to be put on the table. We both had previously been married and he had two boys. Our first two dates, all we did was talk for hours. After a couple of weeks and a lot of talking I finally took my house off the market and stayed in Phoenix.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

We believe in an attitude of gratitude. We pay in dollars and in appreciation. Good people can work anywhere and our aim is for them to choose us over and over again. We aim to build a team that feels like family. The difference is, on a team you have to do your job to keep your job. We have high standards and we hold our team accountable and coach before we discipline. We correct mistakes and deal with problems. Anyone can make a mistake and we of course correct them but if it never happens again we never speak of it again. If the mistake is repeated then it’s a problem and correction/discipline starts quickly. That said, we focus on having fun. We also provide a vision for where we want to go and what we want to build so we are all working towards the same goal.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thegreedyhamster.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_greedy_hamster_phoenix/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheGreedyHamsterPHX
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-greedy-hamster-phoenix-phoenix
• Other: https://maps.app.goo.gl/ADQmMtpKq52uyXSN6