BRANDON SHARP shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Good morning BRANDON, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
Wake up and try to remember to SMILE FTITM; coax the dogs downstairs because one of them is afraid to descend stairs in the dark; have an espresso, creatine, vitamin D, water with electrolyte tablet; stretch out on a yoga mat; either check work email or meditate; head out the door for an early workout.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Brandon Sharp; I grew up in Greensboro, NC. My wife Elizabeth and I own three restaurants in Chapel Hill: Hawthorne & Wood, Bluebird, and Proximo. What makes these restaurants interesting to me is that they have shared DNA and missions of hospitality and the very highest standards of cuisine, but the missions are expressed very differently via each restaurant’s own personality. We have no desire to create reproduceable concepts or in fact to operate a business outside of Chapel Hill–we want to be an integral part of this town of ours, and we believe that healthy, locally-run small businesses can be such a positive influence in the makeup of a small town.
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
Dishonesty. When these bonds are formed and then broken on a personal and emotional level, with people whom you hold dear and need, they can be repaired through requited love and camaraderie from both sides. I’m not sure these bonds can be repaired in business. This sentiment has been said many ways, but in the words of Biggie Smalls, “Keep your family and your business completely separated … “
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Plenty of times. But you look back down the mountain at how far you’ve climbed already, and it seems foolish not to crack on. The higher you’ve climbed, the harder it is to quit. It’s easy to reverse or change course when you’re only a little ways up, and that’s probably apropos. Circle around and find a different path.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
That’s a really good question. I think my closest friends have values that are very similar to my own, or at least know my oddities well enough to answer. They would know that I treasure family, purpose, freedom, challenge, and doing the right thing. To be clear, the latter four are things I am lucky to have the opportunity to do. They are ongoing action items, not assets.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What will you regret not doing?
Going to church with my grandparents more often when I was in college.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.glendalehospitality.com/
- Instagram: chefbrandonsharp
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxc9FO9cD7GwsTt5cxH_VAw
Image Credits
Anna Routh Barzin; Ryan Monroe
