By Jessica Baryla|2022-08-02T12:45:12-05:00November 22nd, 2021|Paper Trails, PodCasts, Season 2|0 Comments
Paper Trails Season 2 Ep. 15: Stomp, Chomp & Roll Restaurant Group
Stomp, Chomp & Roll Restaurant Group owner, Will Bigham, grew up in the restaurant industry. He describes himself as ‘always learning,’ which is probably why he’s seen success operating a wide variety of restaurants ranging from a dessert business to fast-casual Asian cuisine, and now the popular Charlotte, NC brands Improper Pig, Flying Biscuit, and Pizza Peel.
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Paper Trails Season 2: Manolo Betancur of Manolo‘s Latin Bakery
Manolo Betancur has a plan — to bring his Latin bakery concept to the poorest towns of NC in hopes to create jobs, growth, and spark life on desolate Main Streets that can use some love.
It’s this attitude that has helped his Charlotte, NC bakery, Manolo’s Latin Bakery, find success. “Business is not about money, business is about people,” says the former Colombian Navy vet. A Colombian native, Betancur grew up ‘under the influence of the U.S.’ He came to America and studied at King University in TN before making his way to Charlotte.
After taking over his ex-in-laws bakery, there were a few things he knew would be imperative to success. He did not want to create a niche Colombian bakery, instead offering a broad selection of Latin cultures from Cuban pastelitos, to Mexican bread, and Argentinean empanadas. And he believes businesses have a social responsibility to give back to the community and pay employees what they need to live in a metropolitan city. He strives to create a culture of respect and harmony, knowing the importance of hiring people smarter than him. “I’m a very bad baker,” laughs Betancur.
Through the ebbs and flows of financial crises, pandemics, and life’s hardships, Betancur has continued to persist. Failure is not an option for him. “The American dream is still alive. What you need to do is just stand up and work hard, invest in yourself and invest in knowledge. Challenge and difficult times, they’re always going to be there.”
Paper Trails Season 2: Vaulted Oak Brewery
Head Brewer, Kiel Arrington, takes Nick on a mini-tour of the brewery and what goes into making your favorite beers.
Owning a business was always in the back of Arrington’s mind and Vaulted Oak wasn’t his first attempt at starting a brewery business. In 2015, he pitched a brewery to investors and they didn’t bite. But Arrington wasn’t deterred and counts it as a good learning experience.
“It took years, up to a decade, in the food and bev industry to grow into where I am today,” says Arrington.
Years passed and Arrington started a family but didn’t give up on the brewery idea. He started looking at the possibility of opening a bottle shop near Lake Lure when his realtor turned him onto a former BB&T bank location that was just bought.
Arrington brought on business partner, Johnie Jones, and signed the lease in September 2019. Next step – he had to bring on investors. In the 11th hour, Arrington got it done. (the space almost became a Pop-eye’s!)
After breaking ground in July 2020 amidst a pandemic and dealing with delays and supply shortages, Vaulted Oak Brewing finally opened its doors on June 8, 2021.
And the brewery was immediately embraced.
“Overwhelming and humbling were phrases I used a lot of times. We didn’t expect that level of support, especially in a pandemic,” reflects Arrington on the community support.
“Community was always a pillar of our business model. we wanted to be more than just a place to get a beer.”
Arrington’s advice for business owners:
- Never burn bridges because never know when you’re going to need someone’s relationship.
- Fail and fail often.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
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