Today’s Notable Young Entrepreneurs are Jamie McFayden and Kelly Black, a talented pair of restaurateurs who are taking Calgary’s independent restaurant scene by storm. Partners in both life and business, they’re the brains behind notable establishments like Una Pizza, Ox + Angela Native Tongues, and Frenchie Wine Bar. We caught up with them to find out what inspires them and what advice they would share with other young professionals…
WORK
1. Describe what you do in less than 140 characters. Go.
We create and develop niche-focused restaurants with soul, culinary creativity, knowledgeable service and gracious hospitality.
2. What was the inspiration for your career route?
Travel. Being exposed to different cultures from a young age and seeing how important food and drink are to people around the world, especially how it brings people together.
3. What is the most memorable milestone in your career so far?
Winning the Pinnacle award for Independent Restaurateurs of the Year. To be recognized on a national scale for what we do is a huge honour.
4. Where do you see yourself in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years?
In five years, we would like to own and operate a small boutique hotel in Calgary that is closer to an “Airbnb” style of accommodation than an actual hotel. The amenities will be curated from artisans within our city to showcase what we produce locally.
In ten years, we would love to set up a mentoring and coaching program for young professionals in our industry; help them reach their goals of owning or operating their own hospitality business.
In 20 years… retired?! I don’t know that either of us have the ability to stop working 100%, but it would allow us the opportunity to travel and do a world tour – a big dream for us.
5. Do you have any advice for other young professionals?
Hustle. Ask for help. Be open to advice and people. Reflect on your mistakes and never burn a bridge.
A friend of ours recently published a book called “Hustle. A Guide to the Ethical Art of Selling and Survival”. We love that word: hustle. Nothing is going to happen unless you make it happen. For us, it’s a positive spin on the slang meaning and is enough to get our butts in gear to do something productive. Technically, we are not in the industry of straight sells, but no matter what our profession, we are always selling: to our guests, to our staff, to our team. We are selling them our vision and our values and that to us is worth hustling for.
6. Do you support any charities? If so, which one(s) and why is it (or they) important to you?
We support mostly local charities: Brown Bagging for Kids, Green Calgary, One Yellow Rabbit and Hope International (to name a few). The one we support in the biggest capacity is Mealshare (now a national charity). What we love about them is two things:
1) The money donated from each city stays within that community to feed malnourished and starving youth under the age of 18.
2) It’s easy. As a restaurant, you have Mealshare items on your menu. $1 from each of those meals goes to the charity. Most non-profits can make one meal for $1.
7. What is one major challenge that you’ve had to overcome in your career? How did you overcome it?
Six months after opening our second restaurant, it became very clear that we were not going to survive another six months of business. We had to come together with our team to create a new concept for this space, that we could execute even better than the first. We had to swallow our pride and tell our staff (and our community) of the choice to rebrand so soon after opening. It was a big ego check to announce that the concept we had created and felt so passionately about a few months prior wasn’t working and that we had to change or die.
8. What does the word notable mean to you?
It means someone or something that is worth taking note or notice of. There are notable moments and people all around us, every day. That is a true pleasure of this industry; talking to staff, suppliers and guests, we are always learning something about someone else’s experiences.
PLAY
1. Where is your favourite place to wine/dine in your city and why?
Ki for Sushi and Sake. Pigeonhole for Veggie-centric dishes and natural wines. Cassis Bistro for southern French food and Burgundy. Moti Mahal for Indian, specifically the veggie pakoras and butter chicken. And, of course, we love our own restaurants too. We try and sit down once a week for a meal as a guest in each place.
2. What’s the most visited website on your Internet browser? The most played song on your phone?
Eater.com and Band of Horses – Solemn Oath.
3. Who’s one person you think everyone should be following on social media?
We have no idea. We are bad social media users.
4. What’s your favourite country to visit and why? And what’s the next one you plan on travelling to?
Jayme: Costa Rica. The people are amazing, the government is progressive, the food is great and you can surf one day and hike a volcano the next. The next country I am planning on visiting is the British Virgin Islands for a sailing trip in the Spring.
Kelly: California – specifically LA. For the sun, eclectic people and restaurants. I’m currently in the UK, so I think that counts as the next country I am planning on visiting.
5. What gives you the greatest FOMO?
Jayme: Traveling. One true pleasure about being in this industry is having the opportunity to talk to so many different people each day. People are always travelling to great places and having new experiences that my bucket list keeps growing.
Kelly: There are so many events every day and night of the week whether it’s a restaurant opening, charity event, collaborative dinner or networking event, it’s hard sometimes to pick which ones to go to and still fit work in around them.
6. What’s your guiltiest pleasure?
Jayme – Salt and Vinegar chips
Kelly – Panago pizza
7. What’s something you wish you didn’t spend so much money on? What’s something you wish you spent more on?
We both spend so much money on food, but we can’t say we regret that! We’d love to spend more on travel… only because that would mean we are living our dream!
8. And finally, what does success look like to you? Work, play, or otherwise…
Success for us is about balance. Being able to focus on our business, but also being able to find time for friends, family and things we love doing outside of work. It’s also about our legacy. What people will say about us and our company in the future.
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