When I joined the Arts and Culture desk at the beginning of the year, I knew that the stories behind a restaurant or bar are just as important as the dishes served.
What I struggled with from the beginning was personalizing the “why” of a location. Every restaurant owner or employee has a unique reason for cooking, bartending and serving others. Most importantly, I wanted to share with readers what working in the culinary world meant to the people behind your favorite local eateries.
For many entrepreneurs in the restaurant industry, the paths that their lives have taken are often unconventional. Over the course of the past year, I began to admire how important it was to the owners of restaurants to create an environment where people can enjoy being with others, just as much as they care about what’s on the menu…