Get to know these couples behind some of your favorite Charlotte restaurants
For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health … at home and at work?
Charlotte restaurants were among some of the hardest hit businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. As they begin to re-open, we wanted to take a look at how couples who are not only life partners, but also partners in business, got their start. They discussed whose idea it was to start a business, what lessons they have learned and how they weather the storms of restaurant ownership together.
While each journey is unique, the common thread is clear — respect, humility, compromise and a giant dose of love.
Jamie Brown and Jeff Tonidandel
Crepe Cellar Kitchen & Pub, 3116 N. Davidson St.
Growlers Pourhouse, 3120 N. Davidson St.
Haberdish, 3106 N. Davidson St.
Reigning Doughnuts, 3120 N Davidson St., Suite 100
Supperland (opening in 2020), 1212 The Plaza
Jamie Brown and Jeff Tonidandel knew one another while students at Davidson College, but it would take repeated outings with mutual friends where they were “stuck” together for them to finally become a couple. “As time went on, it was literally like the universe was saying … OK, let’s try this again...and again, and again. Eventually we got the clue and began a relationship.”
Fast forward 20 years, and Brown and Tonidandel are some of Charlotte’s most well-known restaurateurs, with five restaurants in the Queen City, plus a coronavirus popup effort called Bring the Queen that’s being run out of the Crepe Cellar space.
Their restaurant dream began while the pair was traveling through a quaint town in the south of Spain called Tarifa. After their 2006 wedding, Brown and Tonidandel had somewhat brazenly quit their corporate jobs to travel the world. “We started filling a notebook with ideas for this little restaurant we had. We’d serve crepes. It would have a slower pace, be a tiny spot and people would want to linger there. It would be really dark, too — candlelit,” Brown shared. “It all seemed so lovely, but I never expected it to actually happen.”
The end of the couple’s travel adventures coincided with the recession, making the job hunt a difficult one. Brown recalled the couple meeting for pizza one night after her retail job and Tonidandel’s job as a tennis coach: “I remember he was wearing his blue plaid newspaper boy hat and a sweater he always wore. He reached across the table and took hold of my hand. Then he said, ‘I’ve decided I know what I’m going to do with my life.’ It was quite a pause as I grappled with whatever was about to come out of his mouth. ‘I want to open a restaurant,’ he said.” Brown let go of his hand and took a sip of beer.
Tonidandel’s passion for this idea would eventually pull Brown in. She went out and got a steady corporate job with insurance to support the couple, noting, “I guess that’s just what you do when you’re on the same team.”
Over the course of opening five restaurants, the couple has had to learn how to divide and conquer. Brown tends to hold down the fort both at home and at the restaurants, while Tonidandel is on the hunt for new ideas.
Tonidandel said it works because, “We have our own responsibilities, and while we communicate a lot, we kind of let the other one handle his or her tasks without criticism.” Brown added, “What helps a lot is noticing when the other person makes an effort to help, even in small ways. He might get out of the car quickly to pump the gas or empty the dishes when he gets downstairs. Then I make sure to help him get the stain out of his shirt or grab him a glass of water while I’m getting one for myself. Noticing those small gestures can help positively escalate the relationship, and then you never feel like you’re being taken advantage of, or like you’re doing all the work.”
Leaning into what the other person does well, having faith in one another and showing humility are the keys to showing that both parties feel valued and loved, according to the couple. “When you’re in a business like ours that you can be really passionate about -- because we are doing this together, we can both be totally engrossed in it. We don’t have to put it away, we love working on our business, together,” Tonidandel said.
Miracle Clark-Yoder and James Yoder
Multiple locations
Miracle Clark-Yoder and James Yoder married in 2003, two years after meeting on a camping trip. From the start, they were hands on when it came to creating an experience, making their own food, decor, floral arrangements and drinks for their Chapel Hill farm wedding. Shortly thereafter, the couple moved to Italy, where they spent three years with their growing family. Facing expiring work visas and a challenging post-recession job market, they returned to Charlotte with the idea of opening a coffee shop and restaurant.
The Yoders found a 400-square-foot space that would allow them to lease month-to-month in a business incubator space called Area 15. It was close to home and the commitment flexible, making it ideal for bringing Not Just Coffee to life. “Not knowing what we were fully getting into we just said ‘yes’ and went for it,” Clark-Yoder said. The couple and their three children lived simply and were able to use the money from other jobs to fund this passion project.
In 2011, Not Just Coffee was invited to be a part of the 7th Street Public Market, which propelled the business to a new level. “We had no idea it would turn into six locations and full-time employment for both of us, as well as about 50 other employees over the last nine years,” Clark-Yoder said.
According to the Yoders, the best and worst parts of working with your spouse are one in the same — how much you get to see each other. “Just depends on the day,”Clark-Yoder said.
Despite the uncertainty of the restaurant business amid COVID-19, the Yoders are grateful to the Charlotte community. “I for one feel lucky and humbled by having had the experience of being a small business owner in a city like Charlotte with such an amazing community,” Clark-Yoder shared.
Jackelyn Danz and Freddy Rivas
location varies
Jackelyn Danz and Freddy Rivas met in 2013, when Danz placed a rather particular order for a milkshake from a local coffee shop. Rivas received her order and personally delivered it to her “to find out who this picky person was who had pretty much changed the whole milkshake around.” The couple has been together ever since.
Customers in the coffee shop where he worked had given Rivas the idea of opening a food truck. Once that seed had been planted, he was convinced that the couple had to do it. Danz was a little slower to adapt to the idea, since the traditional path for businesses is to go from food truck to brick-and-mortar, not the other way around.
The couple began slowly building their business inside of an empty trailer. Together, they did all of the work themselves to save money and after two long years of hard work, the Chimi Spot Food Truck opened in 2017.
Business and personal lives have become one for Danz and Rivas, who divide responsibilities evenly between home and work. The two credit thinking alike and having the same goals as both the good and bad part about working together.
The duo has hit a few bumps in the road — quite literally. In fact one, nearly derailed an event. Chimi Truck was headed to serve at Red Clay Ciderworks when they went over a bump on the highway, but didn’t think much of it. “When we arrived and opened the door, we found our griddle — which is needed for pretty much everything on the menu — had completely fallen off the table and onto the floor. We were panicking and didn’t know where to begin,” Danz said. The couple made the best out of the situation, and no one went away hungry. “We were so embarrassed but we decided to open the window and serve what we could —French fries and empanadas.”
In terms of advice for couples looking to go into business together, Danz said: “Make sure you really enjoy spending a lot of time together. Sometimes it feels like we’re attached at the hip.”
Jay Davis and Miketa Proctor
Lulu’s Maryland Style Chicken and Seafood
2400 Tuckaseegee Road
When a bounty hunter meets a bondswoman, it sounds like the making of a movie. But it was the beginning of a love story for Jay Davis and Miketa Proctor. The Maryland natives first met in Charlotte, when Davis was tracking a suspect. They kept in touch long distance and when a trip brought him back through Charlotte months later, he never left.
The two had plans to marry this July in Florida, but thanks to COVID-19, those plans have shifted. Instead, the couple will have an intimate ceremony in Charlotte, celebrating with local family in their new home. On their one year anniversary, in 2021, they will host a reception as planned in Florida.
Proctor had always wanted to own a restaurant and after mentioning it to Davis, the couple made it a joint goal. A call came about an open space on the way to the airport to look at their wedding venue. “We signed the contract for the wedding venue and the paperwork for the restaurant in the hotel at the same time. Everything fell into place,” Proctor said.
One thing the Maryland natives noticed was lacking in Charlotte was Maryland-style chicken and seafood. This became the inspiration behind Lulus, which opened in September 2019. The couple divides responsibilities with Proctor overseeing everything related to the back of the house — kitchen, cooking, staff —and Davis handling everything in the front of the house —customer service and guests.
Though the restaurant has only been open a short time, the couple had their teamwork tested. Within two weeks of opening, Davis and Proctor arrived at Lulus to find that someone had smashed in the window and stolen the cash register. The duo quickly boarded up the windows, got their security in order and re-opened the very next day. “The break-in really just fueled the fire for us. So many people didn’t want to see us succeed. Regardless of how many people wanted to see us fail, we just knew we had to make it work and we did,” Proctor said.
Lulu’s is closed every Tuesday, and that has become date night for the couple, who manage to find balance between work and home life. As far as the best part of working together, Davis said: “Our entire lives, we’ve had the same dreams and ambitions. All it took was the right person to make it all come together.”
As they enter into marriage and reflect on their journey as partners in business, David and Proctor had one united piece of advice: don’t expect to both fill the same role. “You are brought together because you are different. Do not lose that! That’s why we work well together,” Proctor said.
Sarah Forgash and Everett Emery
135 Brevard Court
Sara Forgash and Everett Emery met in 2007, while managing neighboring restaurants, and married 10 years later. During that decade, the couple had often discussed opening a restaurant and even contemplated a few sites from time to time, but were hesitant to take the plunge. When Queen City Bites and Crafts went up for sale in 2018, it felt like the right time and right fit.
Over the last two years, the couple has gone all in. Emery is in charge of daily operations and administrative duties, while Forgash handles the menu. Living a block away from the restaurant, home life and work life tend to blend together, but according to Forgash, “It’s not a bad thing. We love this business!”
Even in the tough times, the couple has pulled together as a team. Soon after taking over QCBC, there was an emergency in the kitchen that left the two of them in charge of cooking on a busy Saturday night. Being new to the menu made the situation especially stressful, but the pair managed to have some fun. “At the end of the evening when we got home, we poured ourselves a glass of wine and joked, ‘What did we get ourselves into?” Forgash shared.
Though they sometimes have different agendas and must compromise to find the best solution, the couple loves that they challenge each and push one another. “We are both fast paced individuals, and it is refreshing to have someone working at your same pace,” Forgash said. “We are each other’s biggest cheerleader and toughest critic.”
They’ve learned from their journey together and have valuable advice for couples looking to go into business together. “Set clear expectations, don’t be afraid to try new things, be ready with plan B if something doesn’t work out and above all slow down and celebrate the victories,” Forgash said.
Want to read more? Here are 5 more couples in Charlotte’s restaurant industry.
This story was originally published June 9, 2020 at 5:13 PM.
