Speaker 1: 0:08

Hey everybody, welcome back to the show. Very excited to spend some time with you today and highlight one of my favorite organizations, eat Denver, as well as Same Cafe. So Kristen Rauch, the executive director of Eat Denver, is joining us today, in addition to Carrie Shores, who's the owner of Zame Cafe. These incredible organizations have been around since 2006. Their missions are absolutely extraordinary and we are going to talk about a very special event that they are collaborating on, called Savor the Season. So for those of you that have been in the Denver dining scene or in the Denver community for a while, you might remember Harvest Week. That was around for 16 years, an extraordinary event. Savor the Season is Harvest Week 2.0. So we're going to talk about what you can expect from the event. There are tickets available every single night still, which is crazy, so go get them before they're gone. And we're going to talk about how these two missions, two nonprofits, are aligned and there's six beneficiaries this year for Savor the Season, which is extraordinary. So major, major event happening. It's going to be at Rhino Park here in just a couple of weeks and just going to have a huge ripple effect throughout the community. So hope you enjoy this episode. Learn a bit more about the good work that these two are doing in the Denver community and stay tuned as we dive into a feast of stories and flavors and community spirit.

Speaker 1: 1:40

Welcome to the Restaurant Leadership Podcast. Welcome to the Restaurant Leadership Podcast, the show where restaurant leaders learn tools, tactics and habits from the world's greatest operators. I'm your host, kristen Marvin, with Solutions by Kristen. I've spent the last two decades in the restaurant industry and now partner with restaurant owners to develop their leaders and scale their businesses through powerful one-on-one coaching, group coaching and leadership workshops. This show is complete with episodes around coaching, leadership development and interviews with powerful industry leaders.

Speaker 1: 2:20

You can now engage with me on the show and share topics you'd like to hear about leadership, lessons you want to learn and any feedback you have. Simply click the link at the top of the show notes and I will give you a shout out on a future episode. Thanks so much for listening and I look forward to connecting. All right, let's set the stage for our amazing conversation that we're going to have today. Let's start with the beautiful alignment between your two organizations. Kristen, would you tell us a little bit about Eat Denver's mission to support Denver's independent restaurant community? And then, carrie, I'm going to ask you how Same Cafe's so All May Eat model embodies food justice in action.

Speaker 2: 3:08

Yeah. So Eat Denver was started in 2006. A group of independent restaurateurs saw a lot of chains and franchises coming into the city and realized, you know, we should really be getting a dedicated group together to advocate for the little guys, the mom and pops, the full service restaurants, the next generation of hospitality and kind of the heartbeat of our communities. What that's now evolved into is a community of over 450.

Speaker 2: 3:35

We say food and beverage concepts across the region, and so there's this shared mentality, back from 2006 through today, of a rising tide lifts all boats. How can we best support owners, operators, staff, the communities they serve? How are we advocating for equitable and inclusive communities and how do we keep evolving in scale to better serve the people who are serving our community, who are nourishing our communities? And so Same Cafe is just such a good model of that. Carrie is now on our board as well, and so we're really trying to take the Same Cafe ethos through Eat Denver as well. Like, you get into hospitality because you enjoy service to people, and Same Cafe just does that so perfectly. I it.

Speaker 1: 4:24

Thank you. I think, kristin, you were my first phone call when I found out I was moving back to denver. I was like, can I get back involved with you? Dead need? How do I do this? Welcome back, thank you. It's just such an amazing organization. I haven't found anything else like it in the nation. And um, yeah, I just you know, obviously, shameless plug, but anybody that's listening to this. That's not a part of the organization, absolutely should be. But, carrie, what you're doing at SAME Cafe is a model that I've never heard of, I've never seen. I mean, obviously I knew about you when I lived in Denver the first time, but give us a little bit of insight into your mission.

Speaker 3: 4:58

Yeah, thank you, and Kristen, thank you for the lovely recognition. Little plug here SAME was also started in 2006 in Denver, so pretty cool that we're both coming up on our 19th year in operation, so kudos to both of us. But yeah, same Cafe was built on the belief that everyone, regardless of ability to pay, deserves access to healthy, delicious food served in a warm, welcoming space. Same has operated on a pay-what-you-can model for almost 19 years and it's just as much about community as it is about health and nutrition, and I think you know Eat Denver's commitment to not only the local food ecosystem but their support. Uplifting restaurants kind of plays into the food-focused nonprofit like ours, and so you know, together we're addressing systemic inequities and access to healthy food in our community.

Speaker 1: 6:04

Yeah, it's so great. I was watching a five-minute little video that you have on your website this morning and it's just, it's beautiful, beautifully done. Anybody should take a chance and take, you know, five minutes and watch it. But just really touching, thank you, and it's just, it's yeah, it like made me tear up. It was really, really cool to see the people that you're you know, that were being interviewed and loved what you said about you know, some people come to just our guests at same cafe and then they end up volunteering which is just really really beautiful, so love that, thank you.

Speaker 1: 6:36

Yeah, kristen, would you talk a little bit about the Savor the Season event, what guests can expect? And Carrie, you know, amazingly, is joining us today as one of the beneficiaries, but she's not the only one. Would you talk a little bit more about who else this is benefiting and how you chose them?

Speaker 2: 6:55

So Savor the Season is an evolution of the longstanding Harvest Week event. We've had a 16 year run as kind of Denver's premier farm-to-table celebration. We're carrying a lot of what you loved from Harvest Week into Savor. So we're featuring 24 different restaurants, everyone from James Beard Award winners like Rootstock and Breckenridge to Michelin Award winners like Alma Fonda, fina and best of winners, um kind of the people who are leading the food scene, who are doing super creative things with the food scene.

Speaker 2: 7:28

Same cafe is cooking as well on our vegan night. Um, all complimented by an open bar of local craft beverage, all benefiting culinary and community advocacy. And so you're eating a great meal and it's for a great intention. The whole model of it is based around community. The chefs are each cooking a different course but they're helping each other out with their courses, and then on the attendee side, you're sharing a community table, family style meal and just really celebrating the harvest season through local ingredient sourcing and just feeling good.

Speaker 2: 8:02

I don't know, I always left harvest week feeling just so uplifted and inspired, and we are leaning into that even harder this year with six different nonprofit beneficiaries, including Eat Denver. And so on Monday night we've got same cafe. Tuesday we have we Don't Waste. Wednesday we have Work Options. Thursday we have Ciao, and then, kind of underwriting the whole event, we're giving 1% back to the planet through Zero Food Print, who issues regenerative agriculture grants, and so there's always an element either you're supporting culinary food, insecurity and food justice, work food redistribution, accessible workforce development. There's some element of culinary and community advocacy which I think is just so essential to we're preaching that we're helping community and we're building community. Let's put money into that work as well.

Speaker 1: 8:56

Yeah, here's the thing 80% of restaurants fail because they don't have the systems, not because they have bad food or service. If you're ready to stop being the bottleneck in your own business and start building something that can actually scale profitably, I want you to put Multi-Unit Mastery, my new book, directly in your hands for free. Go to IRFbookcom right now and grab your copy. When you do, you're going to get access to some additional tools that are not available anywhere else. This is about building a legacy, not just another location. Stop putting it off and go get your book Again, that's IRFbookcom. Book Again, that's IRFbookcom. What else can guests expect each of those nights?

Speaker 2: 9:51

Yeah. So each night is structured where you walk into the event and we do about an hour long cocktail, past app hour, and so one of the restaurants every night is doing past apps. The menus are insane. We always kind of tease a little, we like doing a little bit of a secret. And local craft beverage again, everything from there's a local distillery who's featured every night Ratio Beer Works, blanchard and Carboy Wines, stem Ciders, and then we have some non-alcoholic partners as well. And then you go into Truss House we're doing it at Rhino Art Park this year and there's seated farm style tables and then there's a course dinner, so five courses, salad through dessert with mains, throughout flowing drinks, horses you see a face behind the name and there'll be a community advocate about halfway through the night to just deliver a quick hey, here's who I am, here's who I represent, and to really ground us in the intention of the night.

Speaker 1: 10:49

Nice Carrie. What does this event mean to Sane Cafe? What could the impact be here?

Speaker 3: 10:56

Yeah, I mean, when I think of Savor the Season, first thing that comes to my mind is Savor the Season is a celebration with purpose, and I know that for SAME Cafe the funding will be transformational, but also believe that it will be transformational for all organizations involved. Same it really means that we're able to continue to provide chef-driven meals with dignity, increase our outreach meals that go out into the community for folks who don't have access to come to the cafe and then really just continue our mission where people can eat regardless of their ability to pay. So, ultimately, being a part of this, the visibility we get through Savor the Season for SAME, it really just means that more people will eat well and feel valued at our cafe.

Speaker 1: 11:53

Love it. So, Carrie, instead of a cash register, you guys use a donation box, right where diners pay what they felt like their meal was worth or exchange for 30, I think it's 30 minutes of volunteer work if they can't pay. Can you share a story that illustrates how this model creates dignity and community?

Speaker 3: 12:12

Yeah, I'd love to. Well, yeah, at SAME we always believe that dignity shouldn't come with a price. That's why we don't have a cash register. We offer a donation box as an option for guests to really pay what they can.

Speaker 3: 12:28

And one story that really captures the spirit of our model is about someone who came to dine at same during a rough patch in their life recently lost their job, job and eventually moved into homelessness.

Speaker 3: 12:44

And the first time he came in here he said I was really nervous when I first walked in the door, but quickly relaxed when he realized that there was no pressure to pay money and so he got to enjoy a healthy, nutritious meal. And then afterward he said I'd love to do some dishes for you. He began building friendships with staff and other volunteers coming in every day, leading to an eventual sense of purpose becoming part of our community. He came back a few months later and said hey, I found a job and a place to live, but still comes in somewhat regularly to volunteer and just share a meal. But really, that's the power of our model it transforms the act of eating into kind of a shared human experience, not a transaction but more like a connection, and I believe that people who participate at SAME are nourished not only by the food, but the community that they find here.

Speaker 1: 13:44

Yeah, love that. Thank you for sharing that, kristen. How does this align that storyline with Eat Denver's belief that, like you said earlier, rising tide lifts all boats in the restaurant industry?

Speaker 2: 13:56

Yeah, as we're advocating for owners and operators level and their staff, we're also looking beyond the restaurants.

Speaker 2: 14:02

The things that sustain restaurants are the community, and so we also don't believe that the food community is only limited to people who can afford that. Access to healthy, nutritious, culturally appropriate food is a human right, and so the fact that Same Cafe is doing that work and it's so in the heart of Denver on Colfax it's next to other restaurant members it's just really this like beacon of everything we believe in as far as, like, what food means and I love what Carrie said is is that the experience at same cafe is about community, um, and it's about the act of eating, and I feel like anytime I go there, I love that you can just sit down and you have no idea what walks of life people are coming from and there's no distinguishers Like what. I don't know who's paid, I don't know who's volunteering, I don't know, like why they're volunteering. You just walk in and you feel like we're all here for the same purpose to eat good food and to help nourish community. Yeah.

Speaker 1: 15:08

Love that Carrie. What are you most excited about for this year's event?

Speaker 3: 15:14

Oh gosh, so many different things. First and foremost, the food. I, uh, as a vegan, I don't get to experience a lot of events where the food is exclusively vegan, and so that was something that I was super excited about when Eat Denver decided hey, let's make this night vegan. It also opens the door for people who may not feel like they had a place at the table before the community of the evening. I'm really excited to be a part of all the community represented there, working with the other chefs and restaurants and then, yeah, meeting new people. Any opportunity for visibility for not only Eat Denver and SANE is going to just boost our organizations in a positive way. So, yeah, I'm just. This is besides the Big Eat. This is my second favorite food event of the year.

Speaker 1: 16:11

Yeah, kristen, what about you?

Speaker 2: 16:14

I love all of these events. My favorite part is going back into the kitchen and seeing. I think sometimes chefs are just so in their lane, especially in independent restaurants where you just don't have enough staff to do every job. So you barely leave the office and you're getting out in the community and you're cooking alongside people who you might never have cooked with or that you admire, and you're rubbing shoulders with other chefs and you get to just be in a space of positivity.

Speaker 2: 16:44

I think that's another thing with our industry. Like you're doing what you love, you're here to cook, you're passionate, you're purpose-driven and they're all helping each other out. Like we'll have someone on past apps that's at like 6 pm and they will stay through 9 3030 to help plate dessert and they're there throughout the night and just going back into the kitchen and everyone's laughing and having a great time. And then you go out into the attendee facing side and everyone's just like so gently eating and chatting and meeting new people, just the flow of the event. You leave feeling so I don't know, you feel very uplifted. I already said that, but I just love watching all the chefs get to hang out with each other and in a really intentional space.

Speaker 1: 17:26

Yeah, that's so exciting. I second what both of you have said. I mean being a part of Harvest Week for years behind the scenes, to be able to see that chef and front of house community come together and help wash dishes, help, you know, do whatever needed to be done for the greater good, was just awesome. I can't wait to be a guest this year, which for the first time which would be great. It'll feel weird, I'll probably want to get up and run some food. I can't help it, but it'll be so exciting to see the evolution and what Savor the Season, kind of you know grows into be this year and the ripple impact that this will have on all of these beneficiaries. So super fun and amazing to see what's next for this amazing event, for anybody that's inspired, that's listening to this and they are eager to get involved in the event. Or with Same Cafe. Carrie, let's start with you. How do people get involved with Same Cafe?

Speaker 3: 18:26

Great Love that People can either join us for lunch Monday through Friday at the cafe, which is located at 2023 East Colfax Avenue in Denver. We are open for lunch from 11 to 2.30 pm, monday through Friday, or you can visit us at the City Park Farmers Market on Saturdays from 8 am to 1 pm. Or you can visit our website and you can learn how to get involved in other ways, by becoming a sustaining monthly donor or picking up a volunteer shift.

Speaker 1: 18:59

Awesome and Kristen tell people how they get involved with Eat Denver. How do they buy tickets to this amazing event?

Speaker 2: 19:06

If you go to eatdenvercom, slash saver, or if you just go to eatdenvercom, I installed a pop-up so you can't miss it. Check out the website. We have our full restaurant lineup on there, our full beverage lineup. If you're interested in partnership opportunities, we've got a deck there. I do want to plug. We recently started doing a four-pack promo. So if you're trying to treat some clients, if you've got a group of friends, if you're going on a double date, a four-pack of tickets for the price of three. So really cool deal. Again, some of these lineups are restaurants that you can't get a reservation at. So come to this event and experience six restaurants all in the same place.

Speaker 1: 19:50

Awesome, yeah, I don't think we. The four pack is a first time as just exclusive to this event, so super exciting yeah.

Speaker 2: 19:57

Yeah, the four pack. We're trying to. We love the feel of people sitting in community at the tables and trying to take advantage. There's so many people who have been long-time supporters who come with their friends, um, trying to reward that, trying to attract more corporate groups as well. I think this is such a cool event to reward teams or expose people to the culinary talent of the city and so trying to take advantage of larger groups who might want to attend a co-culinary event.

Speaker 1: 20:25

Yeah, absolutely All right everybody. Thank you so much for listening. Go into Same Cafe, sign up for Eat Denver, buy your four-packet tickets to savor the season. Can't wait to see you there. Experience what Denver has to offer from the culinary scene and give back to your community. Do good out there and thank you both for your time. I know you're both really, really busy and thank you for all that you are doing for the community of Denver and we will talk to you very, very soon.

Speaker 2: 20:57

Thanks, Kristen all right thanks everybody, bye.