15 minutes of fame: What happens after a Charlotte business gets national attention?
As Charlotteans, we tend to favor our local businesses as some of the best. So it’s especially satisfying when they receive national recognition.
From Food Network appearances to notable print mentions, these local individuals and businesses grew their fan base outside of Charlotte — just by being themselves. The media attention improved morale, inspired business ideas and also posed a few challenges along the way.
Here’s a look behind the scenes at the newfound national attention:
Retail
Lauren Harbury, CEO and Founder of Feminist Goods Co. — a female-forward company — was surprised to find that her “Catch Flights, Not Feelings” hat secured a mention in a recent ”Seventeen” magazine article titled “15 Breakup Gifts for the Friend Who’s Really Going Through It.”
After the piece published, Harbury said she immediately sold out of the hat and saw an influx of sign-ups for her mailing list.
“Hello, new friends!” she said. “It really was absolutely amazing — I am travel-obsessed, so this hat really speaks to me personally. It was fantastic to see that resonate with other people.”
She shared that the recent publicity spurred her to think about a few new things and allowed her to step back and appreciate the company she built.
“Being an entrepreneur can feel extremely isolating at times, so having this moment made me feel connected to my community and to people who were just being introduced to me for the first time,” Harbury said. “It’s a motivation boost to keep working my butt off — I’m thankful.”
Harbury was able to meet the demand from new customers, and it inspired her to produce more for the holiday season. You might be able find her at the next Girl Tribe Pop Up in Charlotte, which is appropriate, given the beloved Charlotte-born shopping event also received national praise.
Girl Tribe Pop Up was the recipient of a slew of positive feedback after “Forbes” published a feature article showcasing an interview with founders Carrie Barker and Sarah Baucom.
“Having national attention is a ton of fun, and can really create some fun and positive conversations,” Baucom said. “When you have a national article, you definitely feel a little more pressure to take those dreams to become reality — but that is really our everyday anyway, to make these dreams come true.”
Chefs
Local culinary leaders are also not strangers to the national spotlight. In fact, quite a few have received prestigious James Beard Award nominations.
Chef Greg Collier, co-owner of The Yolk, was a 2019 James Beard Nominee for “Best Chef, Southeast,” an honor that came with national praise.
“The crazy thing is the nomination came while I was at Loft & Cellar,” Collier said. “We saw a big crowd when we first opened Uptown Yolk.”
Following the nomination, the Colliers received invitations to several exclusive events, including two James Beard Foundation dinners, a Southern Foodways Alliance dinner, a James Beard Foundation bootcamp and Outstanding in the Field dinner. They also participated in festivals and symposiums.
“The nomination definitely put people’s eyes on us,” Collier said. “We were never considering opening a dinner place (well I was all along, but…) the nomination gave me the validation that I was on the right track with my culinary voice. I don’t think Leah & Louise would exist without the James Beard nomination.”
Collier isn’t the only one who saw success after a James Beard nomination. Chef Paul Verica, owner of The Stanley and Orto, received a nomination for “Best Chef, Southeast” in 2016, and The Stanley was nominated for “Best New Restaurant” in 2019. After the nominations, Verica saw an uptick in business and was invited to participate in several regional food festivals, including the Charleston Wine + Food Festival and the Atlanta Food & Wine Festival.
“I think it affects notoriety among my peers more than anything,” Verica said. “It connected me with a few corporate sponsors, as well, which was beneficial when opening The Stanley.”
Verica also mentions that that the national attention opened the door for him to be able to sell Heritage and subsequently open The Stanley and Orto.
But like other forms of attention, a national media spotlight can sometimes pose challenges for its recipients.
“Most attention poses some sort of challenge. It is a difficult business, and food is so subjective. What one person loves another can not like, so it makes you stay on top of your game,” Verica said. “I work closely with my team to make sure that we are always living up to, if not exceeding, our guests’ expectations.”
Joe Kindred, who received a James Beard Nomination for “Best Chef, Southeast” in 2019, also attributes the attention to increased morale for the whole team.
“It goes to a greater building of your restaurant’s credibility and can help give you a little more creative capital to push as a team a bit further,” Kindred said. “We work so hard day in day out, as do all our peers, and we like to think it is that work that leads to the recognition and the opportunities.”
Aside from James Beard nominations, local chefs have also achieved success after brief appearances on Food Network. Dalton Espaillat, CEO of Raydal Hospitality (read: Sabor Latin Street Grill and Three Amigos), and Dairelyn Glunt, owner of Salud and Salud Cerveceria, participated in The Food Network’s “Family Food Showdown” in the spring.
Glunt shared: “I had a lot of people reach out to tell me they watched the show and that we should have won. I told them we had a blast with the other family and were very happy for them. I would do it 100 times again.”
Chef Chris Coleman of the soon-to-open The Goodyear House is also a Food Network veteran, having participated on “Chopped” recently. The timing of the episode proved useful as his new venture will open soon.
“We are happy with the timing of the episode; we are about a month away from opening, and the exposure from the show has given us a big boost in word-of-mouth as we gear up for the launch,” Coleman said.
But at the end of the day, the national attention can’t quite beat Charlottean pride.
“The support I have received from the Charlotte culinary community has been amazing,” Coleman said. “Tons of shares on social media, personal calls and texts, and general well wishes.”
Restaurants
Guy Fieri knows how to pick a good spot to get a bite — and his frequent stops in Charlotte on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” only further the local food scene.
Local hot dog joint, JJ’s Red Hots, is famous for its Sahlen’s hot dogs smothered in all the fixins’. After a visit from Fieri, the restaurant saw even more traffic than it had previously.
“The day after the episode premiered, we had the busiest day in JJ’s history, and we closed the year with an almost 40% increase in sales over the previous year, which is basically unheard of in the restaurant business,” said Jonathan Luther, proprietor of JJ’s Red Hots. “The producers of the show warned us that the lines would be out the door after the episode aired, and thank goodness we listened to them — we were ready for the increased business.”
The episode also brought increased awareness across the Southeast.
“There are fans of the show that go on pilgrimages to restaurants on that show. So we had new customers come in from all over the country. And the subsequent word of mouth advertising was incalculably valuable,” Luther said.
Luther shared that after the show aired, local publications featured stories on JJ’s Red Hots, and he appeared on some TV segments.
“Any time you can turn a national opportunity into more local business and introduce yourself to new customers is a win in my book,” he said.
The national attention also allowed Luther to leverage its popularity, creating a “Triple D Combo” featuring the items cooked on the show.
“One of the sausages we featured went on the menu permanently and remains very popular,” Luther said. “From time to time, we also collaborate with other restaurants in Charlotte that were on the show to do different ‘Dogs of the Week.’ It’s the gift that keeps on giving.”
One of JJ’s more popular collaborations involved Papi Queso — a popular food truck that recently opened a brick-and-mortar location in Optimist Hall. The business also found fame after a feature on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” particularly in visits from dedicated fans who traveled to them after the episode premiered.
“It was humbling how many people made the pilgrimage to the truck after our episode aired,” said Shelley Odom, co-owner of Papi Queso. “We had people calling from all over the country, trying to track us down when they were anywhere near Charlotte. One gentleman had a layover heading back to Chicago and tracked us down while he was here. He told us he didn’t care if he missed his connection.”
“We had a couple drive in from Virginia Beach just to have lunch, and then they headed back home. That kind of dedication to try us was pretty impressive.”
Odom mentioned that the publicity brought attention to the truck, allowing them to reach locals who hadn’t frequented the truck before and also garnering a new audience they couldn’t reach through social media outlets.
And, of course, the show brought the team behind the truck inspiration that will influence future business decisions.
“I think we already know we had something special as we were consistently developing loyal fans, which is no easy feat,” Odom said. “But getting that kind of recognition was a definite confidence boost. Guy had some very nice things to say to us once filming wrapped up, and that put our business into perspective.”
This story was originally published January 8, 2020 at 5:45 AM.
