Brand Discipline, One Plate at a Time

Kathleen Day didn't come up through restaurants — she came up through fashion advertising, running budgets and brand campaigns for Nordstrom, Macy's, and Victoria's Secret. Then she left it all, spent a year researching and saving, and opened Katalina's in Victorian Village on hustle, an inherited lease, and a thrift-store-chic vibe she refused to compromise on.

This episode is about what happens when someone brings a brand person's instincts into a restaurant kitchen. Kathleen talks about narrowing Katalina's menu into a distinct Latin-southern identity — even when it meant pulling a customer favorite to make room for something more honest to the brand. She gets real about the tension between mission and margins, what it's actually like hosting Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (including the parts that don't make the edit), and why Columbus's food scene is more special — and more underestimated — than people think.

It's a conversation about staying true to a vision when everyone around you is telling you to make it easier, cheaper, or safer. Kathleen didn't, and Katalina's is proof it can work.

Episode Guest: Kathleen Day, Owner of Katalina's

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hi everybody, welcome back to another episode of Brands and Banter. I am so excited to be sitting here today with none other than Kathleen Day of Catalina's. Hello. We are so excited to chat everything from the Columbus food scene to her brand, how she got her start, where we are today, where things are going. So we're really looking forward to this conversation. I wanted to kick us off a little bit. I know that you have a fashion background. So tell me a little bit about kind of your start and then how you made the leap over to Catalina's.

SPEAKER_00 0:33

Okay, I will add that I wanted to say thanks for having me. And when I was in fashion advertising at Victoria's Secret, I have to tell you I wasn't in visual, but Shute Gardeman had this pristine air to them. And anytime anyone would say, Oh, we're working with Shute Gardnerman on that, you'd be like, Oh, impressive. I love this. Yeah, it was great. So I was very flattered when you guys reached out. Um, so let's see, let's take us back. Long story short, I always wanted to open a restaurant. I was cooking since I was nine years old and Julia Child's recipes, and um then in undergrad and grad school I worked in restaurants, and between undergrad and grad school, I went to Paris and I worked for a countess, and I learned how to formally cook from her cook. And so it just, you know, really invigorated that idea of opening a restaurant to me, especially because going to from France to America in the 90s was such a big change from uh as far as a food scene goes. And uh, but then you know, my parents always emphasized education, so I moved to Seattle after grad school and I got a job with Nordstrom, and I had always been into fashion. So I worked for their fashion um advertising department and still always wanted to open that restaurant, and even in those early days, I was I had worked in a restaurant when I first went to Seattle as a server, and I was I just always had that in the back of my mind. Luckily, I was very naive. I I didn't know how much it would have taken to open a restaurant and how smart it was for me to get a really good job. And so I was eventually recruited to San Francisco to work for Macy's West in fashion advertising, and then to eventually to Columbus to work for Lane Bryant and Victoria's Secret. Um all along I had actually been still pitching people on my restaurant ideas, you know. So I got better and better at it over the years. I understood more and more what went on. And um then in my fashion advertising job at Victoria's Secret, Victoria's Secret is notoriously, or at least was then you work your butt off. And I was really working hard. Um, I think there comes a time in everyone's career where you finally you at first when you start your career off, you you don't really understand your value, and then you have that like uh paradigm shift where you understand you're actually great at your job, you know. And and I I had a lot of you know faith in my worth, but was still kind of naive about how a big organization like that works. So I made it very vocal that I did not, you know, that I wanted different things from my job. And I look back and I kind of cringe at that because I know how hard it is now as an owner to really um mentor your staff when you're stretched so thin. And you know, my organization compared to one like Victoria's Secret is nothing. If I can't do it, I can't imagine how you know an organization like that can make everyone happy. But it was a blessing in disguise because I wasn't happy, I took the leap finally. Um I had been researching, you know, probably for a year, making plans to open a restaurant, and I finally had saved some money so I could do it. Um, and so you know, without breaking in NDA, I'll just say it finally came to a point where that's what I did, and I'm glad I was pushed and uh it all worked out for the best, but that was scary for sure. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:57

I mean, I think too about your first location, right? You're in Victorian village area and you're in this old gas station. Yep. So how did you find that space? What was the thought process behind that?

SPEAKER_00 4:10

Um, well, a lot of people don't know. You guys probably do because you work with a lot of restaurants. Is if you are going to open a restaurant from scratch, the lease is probably the most, if not, you know, one of the most, or vice versa, important things. So oftentimes, especially new people like myself, people new to opening a restaurant, will buy a lease from an existing business, and then you get all the equipment, and you don't have to go through that laborious and very expensive process. So I had been looking at different um locations around town who were selling their lease and their equipment, and I had driven by that spot so many times, and it had been a few things. It had been a candle shop and a coffee shop, and I just always thought it was exactly my vibe, it was exactly what I was looking for, and it came available, and I tell you, I beat the pavement in every way possible to get that, and I was I just scraped by to get the funds together. So a lot of Catalina's has been luck. I I know I've also been very tenacious, but I couldn't have picked a better spot, or that spot couldn't uh a spot couldn't have picked a better, you know, me, I guess. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:21

Well, it has such a vibe to it too, and that area of town is so cool, but I feel like it was really built for kind of a restaurant that was gonna kind of pave the way and be so like rooted in Columbus. Um, so I love that. Uh, you kind of have like a eclectic like thrift store chic vibe about it. Yep. Was that always your vision for it, or was it just kind of how it panned out for location number one?

SPEAKER_00 5:45

Both. I'd say both, because I um was so low on funds that and I'd always been a huge thrifter and you know, flea market uh shopper. And once I bought that lease in that location per se, I literally had nothing. So I was taking things out of my house, I was taking things out of my garage, I was taking, you know, I was literally using what I had, but it was okay, you know, because I knew that's what I wanted at the time. Columbus, I I look back and I probably didn't know Columbus as well as I do now. And I, in fact, I definitely didn't. So um, but my perception of Columbus, especially coming from the West Coast in Seattle, was that everything was really polished and perfect. And, you know, I looked to Cameron Mitchell as a great business, you know, to emulate, but everything about Cameron Mitchell was polished and perfect. And I thought that, you know, there really was a white space for this kind of more. I lived in the hate, you know, in San Francisco where everything is mom and pop. And so it just all came together, both, you know, because out of necessity, but also that was my vibe, you know.

SPEAKER_01 6:52

Yeah. Well, I think the vibe completely works. And I've always thought that like I just I love the original Victorian Village location because it has such a cool eclectic vibe. I go to the Clintonville location too, and I I love that one too, because it's right up the street from me. But I have like some core memories of the first couple times I went to Catalina's in Victorian Village, and I just remember being like, this place is cool, like it just like radiates that energy. I love and that's that's hard to do.

SPEAKER_00 7:18

So I really appreciate it, especially coming from someone who works here. Um, but uh I agree, like that one's always in my heart. But I will tell you to keep that vibe going is is tough because uh, you know, you see the writing on the walls, it gets out of hand, but also just being in an old small location like that. It, you know, as you grow, it's harder and harder to manage, you know, everything out of such a small location. But uh I'll never let it go as far as I'm concerned, unless I have to, because I agree, I just love the vibe of that location.

SPEAKER_01 7:50

Yeah, so fun. Uh so walking us back, you have this um fashion retail advertising background. What did you learn or take away maybe from there that kind of set you free and helped launch Catalinas to what it is today?

SPEAKER_00 8:04

Uh that's a great question. And I I do tell my staff a lot that, you know, I've learned from literally every job I've ever had, including like selling candy when I was 16 years old, you know. I didn't appreciate at the time, you know, I had worked for these major, amazing, top of the, you know, best in class organizations like Nordstrom, Macy's, and Victoria's Secret. And I learned so much, you know, at the time, I you can't appreciate it when you're in it, but you know, just about process, just about technology, just about management, just about budgeting. I will say budgeting was a huge one when I opened Catalina's, you know, I didn't have an MBA and I was obviously a fashion creative and we're always stereotyped as, you know, artsy and not having that business side. And I so I did have to learn as I go, but these big organizations really taught me that. And something else I always tell my staff is the hardest boss I ever had, you know, at the time, it was just so difficult to please this person and you know live up to her standards. I learned more from that experience probably than you know, the easy fun bosses. They're great too. You learn from them, but you know, sometimes those perfectionist people, it may not be, you know, I don't know, the the best mental headspace sometimes, but you learn so much.

SPEAKER_01 9:21

Yeah. Well, I think it maybe also teaches you like other things to focus on that aren't natural for you. Like if they really do have that kind of perfectionist tendency. Like what are like some details that maybe you don't like think of, like they think of. So definitely lots to learn from that. So I love that. Um, well, so something too about Catalina's is you guys, I feel like blew up all these bloggers, started to flock to Catalina's and document their experience. Then you had a menu change and you took hash browns off the menu, replaced it with corn. Yes, I love that you read the story. I know. I'm like, tell me tell me about this and like what that moment was kind of like.

SPEAKER_00 10:02

So that's actually a great segue from the I I didn't mention what I also learned from these great organizations, especially Nordstrom, for example, is having brand integrity and being very narrowly focused on your brand and not to deviate from that. And I say all the time, if you're everything to everyone, you're nothing to no one. And someone pointed out the other day, that really doesn't make sense, but but it does because, you know, I mean, grammatically it doesn't, but it it really, you know, you have to find your niche and you have to stick to it, or you're gonna be your brand is gonna be so watered down. And I think even if I wasn't laser-like focused on that in the beginning, just having that background with these great brands, I knew that I had to stay true to my course. And it's very tempting, especially when you first open to try to please everyone. But I remember this is crazy. This is gonna date the opening days. I had all these customers asking for um flavored coffee that was big back then, and now you're just like, ugh. And I'm like, no, you cannot have, you know, that is not my brand. My brand is, you know, authentic and coffee isn't flavored, and you know, that's I'm not gonna do that. So uh the story you asked me about was hard. Uh, you know, at first when I was opening, I did more simplified, more classic breakfast dishes, and the hash browns were immensely popular. Yeah, I feel like we made them really well somehow, and I'm not even sure how, but they were good hash browns, I will admit that. But when I changed my menu, it was about year three and three and a half or four, I knew that I had to narrow even more so, especially as other restaurants popped up. You know, I wanted to have a very narrow focus, and Latin Leaning Southern Slanted was definitely my focus. And I had uh a cook in the back, and I I believe he was originally from Mexico, and he was grabbing um uh a corn and putting aioli, our house made aioli on it, and eating it. And I was like, what is that? And now everyone knows what a lote is, but this was a different time. And I forget how we had why we had the corn on the cob because I wasn't serving it then. Maybe he made it, I don't know. But he explained to me what it was, and I'm like, that is perfect. We have to replace the hash browns who anyone could have, but only Catalina's could have a lote corn. Right, it makes total sense. And I had had uh the blogger who really got up in arms about this, he's amazing, and we're still, you know, he's he's really on fire to this day, but he gave me such grief about that. He he wrote, like, what is breakfast without hash browns? And you know, I started getting all these customers saying, Where are the hash browns? But to your point, or to you know what I was saying earlier, I knew I had to stay the course and be confident about it, and of course it all worked out, and now you see a lote everywhere. So I'm gonna have to change the elote now and get the same pushback, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:50

No, the elote was a good move though. And you have like purple hash now, too, right? That you have the potato hash. That's another good one. So it's not it's not a hash problem, but we have a potato option.

SPEAKER_00 13:02

Right, but that is a tough sell, let me tell you. And I'm staying the course on that because a lot of people, believe it or not, don't know purple potatoes, so they think they're burnt or something. And then a lot of people just want regular potatoes, but I am adamant and and now I'm reading everywhere. I'm sure the algorithm's finding me. Purple potatoes are so good for you, and they stop cancer, and they have all these ingredients in them that regular potatoes don't have. And so I'm staying the course, everyone. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:30

Purple potatoes.

SPEAKER_00 13:31

Purple craze hash is staying.

SPEAKER_01 13:33

Yeah. And it's it's good. I like that Elaine. And I like it. It's so good. Um, well, awesome. So, what I guess can you maybe use as like some word of advice to maybe business owners or founders that maybe are going through a similar like situation where they're getting some noise on social media from either a change or um something that they've done like that?

SPEAKER_00 13:55

I'd say stay the course and be confident with your um your vision. I think a lot of restaurant owners, we all have different skill sets, and of course, we all have to wear many different hats. I think a lot of restaurant owners don't have that brand background and aren't so confident with their food. You know, my cooking background really helped me, and I've been very fortunate, partly because of my fashion background, to have eaten at literally the best restaurants in the world. So I feel like I'm very, you know, immersed in that language, you know, as much as a any chef. And so I'm more confident in that. But if you don't have that confidence, you know, do your research and you know, maybe uh delegate that to someone who does have that experience. There are certainly things that I am not great at that I have to do that with. You know, the food just happens to be one that I am, you know, really confident with. But I will say I have chef friends that I ask all the time, you know, their opinion. And, you know, it's of course fun to talk about when you're a huge food, you're, you know, in the industry, but you know, I'm always getting feedback from experts. And I think that's maybe kind of full circle about what we're talking about. You know, not everyone is an expert. You know, when I was a copywriter, you always had everyone weighing in on the copy, everyone wants to be a copywriter, but you have to be confident that you know, no, this is how it is. I know what I'm talking about, you know. And just getting, you know, we always call it, and you guys may too, in advertising creative by committee. You can't have creative by committee. It just does not work. And that's the same with running a business, you know.

SPEAKER_01 15:29

Yeah. And does it ever get easier?

SPEAKER_00 15:31

Like, no, no, no. And you know, you learn those lessons that you're supposed to learn. Now that I'm on the other side of the fence, I finally get it. You know what I mean? Like, I understand what all my bosses and the CEOs that I had to present creative to were going through, you know, and sometimes they were better at it than others, but sometimes you just have to shut out the noise and not listen to someone and move on. And, you know, I I just think of those, you know, moments I had in my corporate career that I'm now on the other side of it. And I I'm just going, well, you learned that lesson, Kathleen. But lessons are good.

SPEAKER_01 16:08

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 16:09

Yes, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 16:10

Um, that's incredible. So I want to switch a little bit over to Catalina's philosophy. And you've got peace, love, and pan pancake balls written on all three of your locations. Yep. Okay. I'm like, I haven't been to the Bexley location yet. I need to make it over there. Um, but tell me what that really means to the brand.

SPEAKER_00 16:27

Well, our internal mission is making the world better one little bite at a time, and that goes along with it to me. I mean, deep down, I was I was gonna say, you know, I I loved the fashion industry. I've always been really into fashion, but deep down I'm just a hippie and uh, you know, a rebel at heart, you know. And to me, that is, you know, in a corporate vein, as much as I can be, I truly believe in that. And if I did not believe in those, you know, in the peace, love, and uh making the world better, I wouldn't be able to do this. It's it's not enough, you know, I'm not getting super rich doing this or rich, period. I'm working more hours than I've ever worked. So if I didn't believe in those things, then I wouldn't be doing this. And even if it's, you know, of course we all struggle with it with customers sometimes, you know, like telling them we don't have flavored coffee or employees, you know, setting boundaries and saying this is, you know, our this is our corporate policy. But it truly, my actions and Catalina's actions have brought up so many small businesses and have supported the local economy in such ways that I've taken a hit that I I think that is kind of the vibe all around and the true, you know, m motivation and philosophy of Catalina's.

SPEAKER_01 17:47

But I think that makes total sense. And I love that that's so deeply rooted in what you guys do and what you believe that I can't help but feel like that probably carries through to every single person that works at Catalina's, which is incredible, and that's the kind of mission and vision that you want to build. Um, so I love that.

SPEAKER_00 18:02

I love that, and I hope you're right. Some days it doesn't feel that way, but yes.

SPEAKER_01 18:06

Well, I'm sure on the inside it's it's harder sometimes to feel that when you have all of the internal pressures and external pressures of it.

SPEAKER_00 18:14

But I think uh what my employees would say about me is that I care, and you know, that sometimes you can't care in business, you know, you have to make a business decision. But in the end, if that's what I'm known for, that's great, you know? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:26

Well, that kind of goes along with my next question. Okay. Uh I feel like Catalina's has a reputation where people that work there genuinely love it, and it's an industry where sometimes it's not great to work food service. So, what do you do? What do you do feel like you have like a secret sauce that you um influence on to your employees at Catalina's that changes that dynamic, or do you feel like it's just your mission that people really believe it?

SPEAKER_00 18:49

So I feel like I I didn't think about this question too much beforehand. So I may this isn't a very polished response. But one, like we alluded to earlier, uh your business and your employees are always a reflection of you, whether it's subtle or subconscious. So I feel like it does trickle down in that sense. But also I will say, you know, big, big corporations, and I I I don't mean to talk negatively necessarily, it is so hard to take care of your employees when you're a monolith, especially on the customer service side, especially when you're not you're not paying employees six figures. Um so I feel like by default, the standard is not that high in the service industry, which is really sad and unfortunate, but I see how it happens. So for me, just to care as much as I do and put my money where my mouth is as much as I do, you know, obviously trickles down to my employees. And I will say that I have taken, you know, substantive um positions when it comes to benefits, um, when it comes to being overly generous on my labor. Sure it helps with the business and with customers and with the overall, you know, um perception of Catalina's, but I often do make sure that my employees are taken care of to the detriment of my bottom bottom line. And that is getting harder and harder to do. You know, I'm I'm kind of chilling and tensing up at the same time as I talk about it because it is so important to me. But as margins get thinner and thinner, there are things I have to cut back on, and I do not want my business to operate that way, but that is probably the hardest thing about running a business is making those hard choices.

SPEAKER_01 20:39

Yeah, and I can't even imagine. I mean, just with everything is evolving right now, so I I can't imagine very tough decisions, but it seems like your heart is always in the right place, which is incredible.

SPEAKER_00 20:52

Well, I'm glad that perception is there. That means more to me than you know.

SPEAKER_01 20:56

Um I you also are like a coach and a mentor in the industry. I met you, I mean, almost a year ago at um a local event here in Columbus. I know you mentioned to me today that you're gonna be a coach again at that this year. Do you like enjoy doing like stuff like that too, just to kind of continue to feed back into the industry?

SPEAKER_00 21:14

I love it. Yeah. I mean, you know, as much as the old uh saying, you know, is a cliche, but the more you give back, the more you get. I mean, it true, it really is true. And I think I learned that more and more as I get older. Um, you know, you're not always giving back or giving back, you're also giving back because it makes you feel good and it makes you know that you're making a difference.

SPEAKER_01 21:38

So I think sometimes consultants might want to come in and influence and talk about ways to improve your margins and talk about food quality, cutting back on certain things. Do you? I know this is an important topic to you too. Um, and how do you typically navigate those conversations?

SPEAKER_00 21:57

You know, I was talking one time to Mikey's. From Mikey's late night slice, and he had, you know, his brand is very different from mine, and he, you know, his ingredients are obviously different. But we were having this conversation. It's just the same thing we said about branding and your point of view. You know, you just have to stay the course. And I look back on some of the consultants I've hired over the years, and I think I could have kept better food quality if I hadn't spent money on the consultant. But of course they're going to do that. Because when you crunch the numbers, you know, and you're you're not meeting a 10% um profitability, of course they're gonna look at those things. And I would too as an outsider. But, you know, it is just part of my brand. And I feel like even if the customers don't know it, they taste it. And I I I have to have these conversations with myself all the time. As things get tighter and tighter, what am I gonna do? Because I have slowly I haven't sacrificed my standards, but there's an example that I think I just wrote about in Edible Magazine with my bacon. It is not the amazing luxury, high-end gourmet bacon I once served. It's still a great bacon, but I had to make that choice because if otherwise I'm gonna raise my menu prices so much that no one's gonna come in, or I'm going to go out of business. And so if it keeps getting tougher and tougher for businesses like mine, what is gonna give? Like, am I gonna say I can't do this anymore and create a different brand? Am I going to say it's time for me to do something else where I can make a difference and you know stick to my guns with quality and things like that? Hopefully it won't come to that, but it's it the margins are getting thinner and thinner. So it is a it's it keeps me up at night, I'll tell you that.

SPEAKER_01 23:41

Yeah. Um the bacon is an interesting example too. And and what you said about, you know, even if people don't know it, they taste it. I think that's such like an emotional like sense for people. You know, they're like they expect a certain thing, they expect that flavor, and kind of to the point of being like, I'm so upset that the hash browns are off the menu now. It's like, oh, well, I'm used to this taste, and that's what continues to drive them back. Um, so I can imagine that is a very tense topic.

SPEAKER_00 24:10

Well, and also just you know, the internal mission being making the world better one little bite at a time. My food is not just for taste, and you know, uh of course the customers don't always know this, but it is to create a better economy for uh for local businesses. It is to treat animals ethically, which is getting more and more difficult to do with you know the way farming is going. It is using organic food and food that hasn't been modified, so the taste is out. That's another great example. My cilantro, it it tastes so great because it is an organic product and it is it it has not been modified over and over, but that's another sacrifice I may eventually have to make.

SPEAKER_01 24:50

So you had a pretty fun experience where Guy Fury showed up and you got to record diners, drive-ins, and dives. Tell me a little bit about that experience.

SPEAKER_00 24:59

Well, um, it he finally reached out, or his people obviously, and we were very excited because for years you could like track online, like on Reddit or whatever, that everyone was asking him to come to Catalina's, and we couldn't figure out why he would not come. So when we finally got that call, I love it because it was you know more exciting, like you always want what you can't have kind of thing. But also, I don't think I would have been as prepared if you know he had come earlier. Um, so yeah, we were thrilled and it was a big projection, probably exactly what you think. Um he's just like he appears on camera and he's he nails it on camera. I love it. I wish I could learn from him even more.

SPEAKER_01 25:40

So yeah. How do you feel like things evolved business-wise after that episode, or did it not really?

SPEAKER_00 25:47

Well, so I believe him when he says that businesses usually, you know, he can he can take a diamond in the rough and make, you know, a line down the street. But I think some of his businesses that he frequents or goes to on the show are like Catalina's, and we were very fortunate to already have that crowd. So we get a lot of people coming in saying they saw us on, you know, DDD and that's why they're here. But you know, he also happened to come right at the beginning of this more tough economic time. So we didn't see like a blip like that we might have expected, but I don't want to say we aren't grateful because it it was great PR, and I love hearing all the stories of people driving for miles and miles to come because of him.

SPEAKER_01 26:32

Yeah, you know, that is so awesome. Yeah, and I remember watching Diners, Drive Ins and Dives like years ago, and it was before I think I even really knew what was around in Columbus. Like I've lived here my whole life, but I just feel like you always learn something new out of it, so that's really fun. And it gives you kind of like some good destination spots to check out if you go travel. Definitely.

SPEAKER_00 26:52

It's amazing the following he has, you know. Yeah, yeah, I mean, it truly is. And I love that he takes off the radar places and puts them on the map. It's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 27:01

And I love that Catalina's is one of those. Yes. It's so funny though that people were saying for years on Brennan for him to come and he just like hadn't yet.

SPEAKER_00 27:09

I know. I I I just can't figure out why. And he actually named us in an article, or you know, Ginnus People, um, the his favorite uh Columbus destination. So it was all worth it.

SPEAKER_01 27:20

Yeah, it was worth the wait for sure. Was there anything about the experience that surprised you or you didn't think would be how it was?

SPEAKER_00 27:27

Well, I signed a very strict NDA. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:30

I can imagine.

SPEAKER_00 27:30

But no, I will say that, you know, I guess seeing him like on camera being so amazing, and then when he wasn't on camera, kind of overgoing on his phone, and you know, he's probably so used to having all this buzz around him, he kind of wants quiet time. It was just such a dichotomy, but just still always great. And then I will say, and I hope I'm not breaking my NDA with this. When he posted when they posted a picture of me, my legs were shortened. And guy, I don't like that. I'm still bitter about shortening my legs for whatever reason that happened. That is so funny. You know how it happens. Yeah, you know, it happens in every industry. I'm sure it was unintentional or something. Yeah. Was that on social media or was that?

SPEAKER_01 28:16

Or was it in print? Like, do you have a magazine copy of this?

SPEAKER_00 28:18

It was on social. It was on social. But no, I I hope I, you know, I'm still very grateful for the experience. And it turned out great, you know, and I thought the edits were amazing and all that.

SPEAKER_01 28:29

Yeah. I need to go back and re-watch the episode now that we've had this conversation. Yeah, I do too.

SPEAKER_00 28:35

I think I've only watched it twice. So fun.

SPEAKER_01 28:38

Uh well, talk to me a little bit just about the Columbus scene in general. So I feel like Catalina's has such um strong branding that it can really only exist in Columbus. It's so Columbus to me. Was that intentional, or do you feel like that's kind of evolved over time?

SPEAKER_00 28:55

I mean, I think it again, it was kind of circumstances and luck, but I agree with you. Had I, I also lived in New Orleans. Had I opened in New Orleans, I would have been a small fish in a big pond of many quirky restaurants, same in Seattle or even in San Francisco. And I think I did see that white space. I'm not saying I was this visionary or anything, but I came about in a time when Columbus wasn't on the map as much for food. And so I was very lucky to kind of fit that niche that, you know, and really evolve along with Columbus in the food scene. And then my pancake balls became such a staple of Columbus. And in fact, I was just thinking the other day, I I remember Jenny's put us in some top 10 Columbus items or something, and that was, you know, uh, I think when it really took off pancake balls being my signature item. And I'm not like, think about it. In New Orleans, they'd compete with beignets. Yeah. I don't know. It just, I agree with you. And I'm not saying it's because of me, I'm saying it just happened and I love it, you know. I I'm glad to be known for that. That's that makes me very proud.

SPEAKER_01 30:03

Yeah. Um, how did pancake balls? I know you said Jenny's did a write-up, but did you go in thinking like, oh, this will probably be my signature item, or was it just something that you wanted to have on the menu?

SPEAKER_00 30:14

It was just something I wanted to have on the menu, but from day one it took off, which you know, I'm very fortunate. I'd always wanted to create um in in the northwest in Seattle, there's a big um Danish and Swedish population, so Ebble skevers are big there, and so I'd always wanted to create kind of a southern version of that. Yeah. And I put it on the menu. I think that was the very first item that I put on that was permanent, and it just, you know, it took off immediately. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:43

Well, they're delicious, so it makes sense. The new Tella ones, Dolce Dolece, like thank you, so good. Um, so that's awesome. Talk to me too. You've lived in New Orleans, you've lived in Seattle, you've lived in California. People underestimate Columbus. Do you like have any idea why you think they underestimate Columbus?

SPEAKER_00 31:03

Well, I often tell the story. I might have told it on another podcast too. I know that I did myself. And I uh so the story was when I was in the art department at Macy's in San Francisco. Macy's had a New York and a West Coast office. I saw this catalog on one of the art director's desks, and it had a return address of Columbus, Ohio. And I literally said, Who the f would live at Columbus, Ohio? Here you are. They're like, the art director was like, No, they have a huge fashion scene there, and I had no idea. And so then when I got the call to be recruited there, I was in New Orleans at the time, recruited here, I thought the same thing. I was like, there's no way I'll go from New Orleans being a foodie or whatever, to Columbus, Ohio. But I saw German Village, I went to Betty's, and I was hooked. I I knew that it it was uh the place for me. And yeah, it wasn't as sophisticated and you know, great of a food scene as it is now, but I still feel like I talk often talk to my friends on the West Coast, I still feel like I have to convince them. And I'm like, you guys, Columbus is awesome. I would not live anywhere else now. And it's still hard, you know. I can see in their eyes they don't believe me. And I'm but you know, maybe that's good. Maybe we we're not as huge as we could be because of that.

SPEAKER_01 32:21

I always tell people, I'm like, let's keep Columbus a little bit of a secret. Exactly. Because I like living here. So but it does. We have so many good hidden gems. And I think uh the people that live here or have lived here for a while like really do have a love for Columbus. Yes, yes, which is fun. Um, and I think it's the food scene, it's just like the the ease of being able to like drive from one place to another. It's there's a lot of really great aspects of it.

SPEAKER_00 32:48

I agree. And the people, I don't know, on the West Coast, maybe it was because of the stage I was in my life. I I felt like I wasn't ever part of the community. Yeah, and granted I wasn't there nearly as long as I've been here, but I just feel like immediately Columbus felt like home. Yeah. And I'm I've heard a lot of people feel that way.

SPEAKER_01 33:08

There is great community here. I will say that. And I'm sure, you know, being a business owner and working in the restaurant industry, I'm sure you have a lot of community there too, of people that are kind of in it with you and get it. Um, so I can imagine that it's a more tight-knit group here and a bit more supportive.

SPEAKER_00 33:24

Well, you know, I have never said this before, but it just occurred to me Seattle and San Francisco and New Orleans are all smaller population-wise than Columbus's, but I feel the opposite, which is a great thing. You know, we are a lot bigger population-wise than a lot of cities, but it feels smaller to me in so many great ways, you know?

SPEAKER_01 33:42

Yeah. Well, I feel like you, like your restaurants are in really good little pockets of Columbus that have great community too. Yeah. Like the Bexley community, I know is like a very loyal community. Um, the Clintonville community, the Victorian Village um community. I'm sure if you ever went to like a German village or things like that, it's you find those pockets of Columbus, and you know, you get people obviously that don't live in those communities, but the people that do live in that area are so loyal to that area.

SPEAKER_00 34:10

They really embrace it, and it feels like little mini cities within a big city, right?

SPEAKER_01 34:14

Yeah, a hundred percent. Um, awesome. Talk to me a little bit about like what's next for Catalina's, any fun, big things coming up.

SPEAKER_00 34:23

For Catalina's nothing in particular, we are encouraging people to go to Bexley's patio for the Fourth of July parade. That'll be fun. They have a parade right down Main Street. Um, I will say that I think like a lot of restaurants, we're kind of holding tight to see what happens in the world. And then I would like to keep growing. You know, it's always exciting to grow. I don't want to become too big that, you know, again, the brand and quality are watered down. But um, you know, it's always exciting to go in more communities, and we certainly have people asking for that. So um, as far as what's next, I'd say ask me in six months. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 35:02

Well, I will be back in your email asking you in six months, then what's next? Okay.

SPEAKER_00 35:07

Um, anything else you'd like to share or chat about today? Thank you for having me. I'd say, you know, it's always nice to uh be invited to things like this. And as far as what's next, you know, I love how it's evolved as far as social and you know, podcasts. And I love being able like this is probably a great way to come full full circle. You asked me what um, you know, why I like giving back and things like that. I guess for me personally, you know, still being a part of Catalina's, but being able to give back in different ways and exploring other things, you know. Um, you know, public speaking is fun. I love that too. And, you know, just uh utilizing my expertise to hold to help small businesses out because, especially starting ones, especially female-owned ones, because it's just so tough, you know, and I've been there.

SPEAKER_01 35:59

Yeah. Well, you are a Columbus gem for sure. I appreciate that so much. And everybody, if you haven't been to a Catalina's location, even if you don't live in Columbus next time you're in town, come check out one of the locations because you gotta have a pancake ball at least once in your life. Um or once a month, what whatever pancake ball or six, yeah. Or six, yeah. You could have the whole pack, that would be good too. Um, thank you so much for taking the time with us. Thank you. Hopefully, I'll see you at Herd here in August.

SPEAKER_00 36:26

Yes, it was great to see you, and thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_01 36:28

Absolutely. Okay. Thanks everybody. Bye.