Alison Roman is an author, chef, and digital creator known for her unfiltered, honest approach to food, lifestyle, and storytelling.
@alisoneroman has successfully carved her own path in a media landscape that often favors formulaic approaches, taking the helm of her content and connecting deeply with her audience.
From her celebrated cookbooks to now a popular newsletter and an engaging YouTube presence, Roman has a gift for bringing people into her kitchen and, more recently, her world of podcasting and a brick-and-mortar grocery store.
Watch now to learn about empowering herself through YouTube, the challenges of podcasting, opening First Bloom Corner Store.
@alisoneroman has successfully carved her own path in a media landscape that often favors formulaic approaches, taking the helm of her content and connecting deeply with her audience.
From her celebrated cookbooks to now a popular newsletter and an engaging YouTube presence, Roman has a gift for bringing people into her kitchen and, more recently, her world of podcasting and a brick-and-mortar grocery store.
Watch now to learn about empowering herself through YouTube, the challenges of podcasting, opening First Bloom Corner Store.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Welcome to Restaurant Influencers presented by Entrepreneur.
00:09My name is Sean Walchef and I am your host.
00:11This is a Cali BBQ Media production in life, in the restaurant business, and in the new
00:17creator economy.
00:18We learn through lessons and stories.
00:21Our job is to find the best storytellers in the hospitality space, bring them on the show
00:26so that you can learn.
00:27We turned our barbecue restaurant into a media business.
00:30We are building in public.
00:31We are trying to share all of the things that we're learning about the creator economy,
00:35all the tools that we have at our fingertips.
00:38Our job, as I said, is to find the best people on earth.
00:41Today we are blessed to have Alison Roman.
00:44She is a New York Times bestselling author.
00:48She is her cookbooks, Sweet Enough, Nothing Fancy, Dining In.
00:52She has a newsletter on Substack, 281,000 subs, Home Movies on YouTube.
00:59She has 280,000 subscribers there.
01:02Those videos reach hundreds of thousands, millions of people.
01:06First Bloom is the corner store, the grocery store, which we're going to be talking about.
01:09She also has a podcast and she's also been on tour promoting that podcast.
01:13We're going to talk about all things in the creator economy, all things writing, all things
01:18curiosity.
01:19Alison, welcome to the show.
01:20Oh, hello.
01:22Very happy to be here.
01:23So I'm going to ask you, where in the world is your favorite stadium, stage, or venue?
01:29Oh my God, stadium, stage, or venue?
01:32Well, my husband will divorce me if I don't say Citi Field is my favorite stadium.
01:37Okay.
01:38Even though that's baseball related.
01:40That's totally fine.
01:41Citi Field.
01:42We're going to go to Citi Field.
01:43That's my favorite place in the world.
01:44Beautiful.
01:45There you go.
01:46You got it on record here.
01:48In the absence of actually having a favorite for any of those things, yeah, I'll say that.
01:53Okay.
01:54We're going to go to Citi Field.
01:55We can fit a lot of incredible hospitality students, hospitality students, hospitality
02:02professionals.
02:03You can really pack them in there.
02:04We can pack them in there.
02:05We're going to talk to entrepreneur, talk to Toast, our primary technology partner, sponsor
02:08the show, talk to Ovation, talk to so many people.
02:13But have you ever thought what topic would you give if you gave a TEDx talk?
02:18Um, honestly, I think it would probably be something in the vein of building a business
02:26from creativity.
02:27Okay.
02:28Like using creativity as like the backbone of building a business rather than coming
02:31at it from like a business perspective.
02:33Yeah.
02:34Great.
02:35We're going to go to Citi Field.
02:36I'm going to put you on the diamond.
02:37Beautiful.
02:38I did.
02:39I did throw a first pitch on that diamond.
02:41Did you really?
02:42Yeah, it was the scariest.
02:44It was the most scared I've ever been.
02:45It was very intimidating.
02:47You don't know.
02:48It is so big.
02:49It is so big.
02:50I didn't have to even talk to anyone, but it was still just very scary.
02:53You're experienced on the diamond there.
02:55This will be easy.
02:56I am.
02:57Yeah.
02:58The ball almost made it to the mound.
02:59So go ahead and let's kick it off.
03:02Let's kick off the TED talk.
03:03Let's do it.
03:04Oh, right now?
03:05Yeah.
03:06Right now.
03:07No, I can't do it right now.
03:08I don't have anything prepared.
03:09My God.
03:10You'll have to give me a minute.
03:11You're prepared because this is your life thesis.
03:12I know.
03:13You'll have to give me some time to craft the actual talk.
03:18Okay.
03:19Well, let's talk.
03:20I know recently you gave a talk about building your own business in the creator economy,
03:24building on YouTube, creating a show.
03:27Let's start there.
03:28Yeah.
03:29What do you want to know?
03:31I want to know.
03:33You call it the people's Netflix, which is fantastic.
03:38Let's talk about the people's Netflix.
03:39Let's talk about you delving into your...
03:42Let's just go to home movies.
03:44Tell me.
03:45Yeah.
03:46I mean, I think YouTube is a really interesting place for people that do have the desire to
03:53showcase something in a video format, right?
03:55There's so many ways to communicate, written word.
03:58Obviously, Instagram is a shorter attention span version of that, but I think I believe
04:02in the staying power and the integrity of a fully produced episodic style show.
04:10I have sold a few shows to networks and streamers and nothing has been actually made and the
04:17collapse of the top down and the ownership is just so much bureaucracy and so many people
04:24to make decisions on what's valuable, what's not, what people want, what people don't want.
04:29And at a certain point, I was like, well, I just I'm going to do it myself.
04:32And to that end, a tool like YouTube is very helpful because it makes it very easy for
04:36people to figure it out.
04:37I mean, obviously, I'm not filming and producing and editing myself.
04:41I have a great team for that.
04:42But knowing that that was something that I wanted to do, having the option of being able
04:47to put it out there for people to watch and be like, well, people can watch it if they
04:51want to watch it.
04:53And nobody's responsible for that overhead other than me.
04:56And it's really gratifying when people do watch and it does work.
05:02Tell me about the beginning, the first season.
05:05What did you learn coming into season two?
05:07Um, God, so much.
05:10I learned that well, you know, sort of going into it, I kind of realized or I knew from
05:18the beginning that I was never going to like win the YouTube game.
05:21Like I'm not a YouTube creator.
05:23I'm not that's like not my native tongue.
05:25I'm not well versed in the like Internet speak of like how to succeed on YouTube.
05:30And there are like tricks you can employ and tactics and, you know, things you can
05:35do to better your chances of like, quote unquote, YouTube success.
05:38But like, that's not where I saw myself.
05:40I just saw myself as like a person who is successful at writing books and YouTube is
05:43a place where you can find me if you want to see those recipes sort of brought to life
05:47in a different way.
05:48I was never trying to be YouTube famous or like YouTube, you know, as my primary creative
05:54outlet.
05:55Um, I sort of, you know, in a perfect world, it's a stopover into something bigger.
06:00But like in in maybe in a more reality based world, it's it's just something that I do
06:05until I don't find joy in it anymore.
06:07But I still love doing it.
06:08But yeah, I think what I learned is that that's okay with me that I'm not out there to compete
06:15with like, people that are really successful on YouTube, like that is their primary bread
06:20winning source of income.
06:22Like they're, they're known for being on YouTube.
06:24They have like a certain style, like that is what they're successful at.
06:27I sort of think of my, my home there as like an extension of my books rather than like
06:34me trying to make it on YouTube, if that makes sense.
06:37Sure.
06:38Bring us back to the beginning of your writing career.
06:40Oh my god.
06:43Um, well, I was writing, I was working at a food magazine, I was working at Bon Appetit
06:48for a few years and I was working in the test kitchen and then I had sort of started asking
06:54I would like to write more like I was like asking for assignments basically.
06:58Um, so I could start writing more.
07:02I think I, because I left college to go work in restaurants, I missed the like cerebral
07:08teaching style that I could communicate in like a written word, which I really flex that
07:14muscle like in writing recipes, but I wanted to like write more.
07:18But it was tough because you're, you're writing as a brand, you're writing not necessarily
07:22as an I.
07:23It's not that personal.
07:24So I think my writing more took off when I wrote my first cookbook when I was really
07:29able to like see what I could do as an individual.
07:31And that was, I wrote that dining in, in 2016.
07:36Bring us into that process.
07:38What, what compelled you to, did you just have a book that had to come out?
07:43No, I was approached by my editor and she's like, you have a book that needs to come out.
07:47And I was like, I don't think so.
07:48Because at the time I had only, I mean, I, I was 28 or 29 and I had been working in food
07:55at that point for 10 years.
07:57And even still, I didn't think I was ready.
08:01You know, I was like, oh, I have so much to learn.
08:02Like I'm not a cookbook.
08:04That's like a thing that you do towards the end of your career.
08:06You know, like that's a, that's a book you write when you're like, okay, here's all the
08:09things that I've learned.
08:11And I really kind of felt like I hadn't earned it yet.
08:14I hadn't like done enough yet, but she sort of convinced me that I had.
08:19She's like, all my favorite recipes that I tear out of the magazine are yours and you
08:22have it.
08:23And like, you have what it takes if you want to write books.
08:24And I was just like, wow, okay.
08:25Like I hadn't even considered that that would be a possibility that young into my career,
08:32which just shows you how old I am because now people like work 30 seconds somewhere
08:36and they're like, where's my book?
08:38But I think like, I was grateful to her for seeing that in me and pushing me to do it
08:43before I felt like I was ready because I learned a lot in that.
08:45But it really was just kind of like, it was like a very dance, like no one's watching.
08:50Like I was like, who's going to buy this book?
08:51No one knows who I am.
08:52So I was really able to fully be myself.
08:54And I think that I was enabled, you know, in writing that book, I was able to more clearly
09:04define who I was as a cook and as a recipe writer, which, you know, then of course, I
09:08wanted to like do it again and again.
09:09And that gave way to like better, more like writing jobs and then other cookbooks.
09:14And I kind of went from there.
09:16And now I sort of find like the most joy in my writing.
09:20And I feel like I'm primarily a writer more than anything.
09:24CB1 One of my favorite quotes from Rick Rubin
09:27is the audience comes last.
09:29I've heard him on multiple.
09:30CB2 Yeah.
09:32And you know, I, I agree with that.
09:34I also think it's a very like, I feel conflicted when I hear when I, well,
09:39when I read his book in general, but so much great advice.
09:42And then so much of me being like, well, that's, of course, you can say that, you know, like,
09:47you're successful financially, and you don't have to, you can like, fuck everyone and like,
09:50do what you want.
09:51And like, that's such a beautiful way to consider creating and the creative experience.
09:55But I also like have bills to pay.
09:57And I have to like, consider, I do have to consider the audience, I probably consider
10:00the audience more than the average.
10:04But I, but I'm also in the service industry, you know, and I'm sure you can relate to that
10:08where it's like, fuck the audience, but you're like, well, I'm doing this, because I also
10:11want to make people happy.
10:13I want to feed them.
10:13And I want to like, make sure that they enjoy what I do.
10:15And if they don't, then I'm not.
10:17There's a difference between being misunderstood or having the wrong audience and being like,
10:20well, I'm sorry, I'm not for everyone.
10:22But like, if I wrote recipes that I was like, well, these are my favorite things, and no
10:26one cooked them, I wouldn't be able to, I wouldn't have anything that I have now.
10:31CB2 Dance like no one's watching.
10:33CB1 Yeah, I mean, for the first book, and that's why the second book was so much harder
10:38to write, because I was like, oh, shit.
10:39Now people know who I am.
10:40There's an expectation.
10:42Like, I got to do it again.
10:43I was so afraid that it wouldn't be as successful.
10:45And it ended up being more successful.
10:49But yeah, it was, it was scary to, like, have an expectation put upon you after achieving
10:55any sort of success, because before you've achieved any success, and you're making something
10:59you don't, there is no audience, you know, you are, you really are just kind of making
11:03it for yourself and hoping people enjoy it.
11:05But like, once people have an expectation of you, then you have to like, kind of deliver
11:11or risk being like, oh, it's not as good as the first one, or like, oh, I used to like
11:14it, but it's not anymore.
11:16It's like, and that's sort of the risk that you run or the calculation you make when you
11:20try to when you change anything about your creativity, or your process or the work that
11:26you make.
11:26CB2 Can you talk about some of the legacy media opportunities, some of the huge names
11:32that have interviewed you?
11:34Give us a story about maybe being nervous to go on a certain show.
11:39Um, trying to think of like, when I was the most nervous.
11:46I don't know, I don't get that nervous anymore.
11:50Like, it's been so long since I have been and it sort of goes like, again, like, before
11:54you've ever done anything, you're like, what's there to be nervous about?
11:57Like, you don't know anything anyway.
12:00Um, but yeah, I don't know.
12:02I sort of just like take each interview or opportunity or like TV appearance is just
12:07like me talking to a person.
12:08Sure.
12:09And I feel like, pretty comfortable doing that.
12:11And I think when I get most nervous is when I can't connect to a person where I'm like,
12:15I'm just trying to be a regular human and they're like, fully mediafied or like, they're
12:19talking to me like a robot.
12:20I'm like, oh, I've lost.
12:21I don't know how to do this.
12:23That's when I get scared.
12:24Who, who in the media were you most excited to meet that you admired their work?
12:29Or their craft?
12:32Um, good question.
12:35I know there's a good answer in here somewhere.
12:37I can't think of it in this moment.
12:40Um, I mean, I've been very lucky and have met people that are like, the best at what
12:47they do, um, both in media and in food and cooking and writing and, um, yeah, I mean,
12:56a lot of my like food writing heroes are passed away.
12:59So I never got to meet them.
13:00But, um, yeah, I mean, I, I found out that when like Ruth Reichel know, knew who I was,
13:08I was like, pretty pleased.
13:10I was like, wow, that feels wild.
13:13Cause I remember like reading her books, um, and Alice Waters, like those are books that
13:17I read as a really young line cook and really connected with and felt, you know, attracted
13:22to, um, Gabrielle Hamilton.
13:25I'm always nervous around her cause I think she's just the best, um, at writing and at
13:30cooking and living.
13:31And I just really admire her.
13:34Um, yeah, I think that, um, yeah.
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14:17You, you talked about the audience and one of the things that I really admire that you
14:22do on your Instagram is the ask your questions.
14:27It's literally the first call to action, which is a very audience first approach.
14:32Um, can you talk about why you've done that?
14:35How you do it?
14:36What, what kind of questions you've been getting asked?
14:38How many do you get a day?
14:40Yeah, I mean, that's sort of the impetus for why I started the podcast was just like a
14:43better way to answer questions.
14:44And like a more organized fashion because doing it on Instagram means you're kind of
14:47glued to your phone.
14:47And you know, I, I, I'm happy to work for the audience.
14:51I'm not happy to work for Instagram.
14:52You know, like I don't, I don't want to be so beholden to my phone and, and that.
14:57But, um, yeah, I mean, again, I think I'm, I consider myself to be like in the service
15:01industry.
15:02I'm here to help people cook more and I want people to cook at home and I want them to
15:06do it with confidence and with joy and pleasure and success.
15:09And if I possess knowledge or, or advice or soothing words of wisdom to encourage people
15:16to do that more, I consider that to be like, I've done my job.
15:19Um, recipes are one way to do that, but like sometimes a recipe, you know, doesn't include
15:24information or somebody has a specific question or they're like, oh, but what if you don't
15:28like this?
15:28Or what if you only have this size pan or whatever?
15:30Like, you know, I've been cooking for so long that I've, I've failed so many times at cooking
15:36certain things that I know how to answer a lot of those questions to be like, oh, well,
15:40you could actually just do that in a, on a baking sheet.
15:43You don't need a skillet.
15:43Or I can be like, you actually do need that random piece of equipment.
15:48Save the recipe till you have it because it won't work otherwise.
15:50You know, like I, I feel like I've done a lot of trial and error to be able to properly
15:55advise people on their like really specific niche cooking questions.
15:58But like now it sort of has expanded into like hosting and clothing and like, you know,
16:04dating, like people ask me a lot of different stuff.
16:07And so I just like helping people.
16:10I like talking to them.
16:13You share a story about building a newsletter.
16:18Yeah.
16:18I mean, I had that newsletter.
16:23I think I opened it.
16:24Like I opened the newsletter.
16:26I started it in like 2016 or 20, no, 2017, 2018.
16:29As a way to communicate with people about like when I was going on a book tour and where
16:34people could find events and stuff like that.
16:35But it was kind of dormant because I became a columnist for the New York Times.
16:39And that sort of took the place of any newsletter writing that I would be doing.
16:44And also I was like still building my profile and all that stuff.
16:47And then when I stopped working at the Times, I took that sort of like biweekly column mentality
16:54and I started a newsletter.
16:56That sort of like biweekly column mentality and just brought it over to my newsletter,
17:01even though that meant I could publish a column every week or a recipe and then a recommendation
17:06and then a video.
17:07Like I can, I sort of had a lot more fluidity in how I was able to publish because I was
17:11self-publishing.
17:12And it was sort of the first time in my career that people started paying attention to my
17:16writing, even though I had been writing a column that was like five to 700 words every
17:21other week that was like, well edited, well written.
17:23It was like, you know, it was good stuff.
17:25But people were just reading the recipe.
17:28They weren't like reading the words that accompanied the recipe because that was sort of almost
17:32always, you know, it accompanied the print.
17:36And then if you wanted to look at it online, you had to go to a different page.
17:38Like it wasn't, it didn't all live together.
17:41And so for the first time I started getting like people being like, wow, I didn't know
17:45you could write.
17:45And I'm like, how did you, I wrote two books.
17:47Like I wrote this, like what?
17:49But I think I was also writing a little bit more openly, a little bit more vulnerably,
17:53a little bit more.
17:54I was like exploring tone and like, you know, just sort of like energy and vibe and what
18:02I wanted to communicate and just kind of having a good time with it, I guess.
18:06And feeling like I was given the opportunity to come into my own without worrying about
18:11like, does this fit the house voice of a publication?
18:16Can you talk about feedback from writing who's helped you with feedback?
18:21Oh, so many people.
18:22All my editors, Doris Cooper, who edited my first two books, Francis Lam, who's done my
18:28last one and my next one.
18:29And they're great.
18:33And, you know, I'm very lucky that they keep me, me, you know, they're very not interested
18:38in changing who I am and not interested in changing my tone of voice or like my expressions
18:42or the sort of things that make me, me and my writing.
18:46They want to like preserve that.
18:48And I'm really grateful.
18:50And yeah, I think before that, like editors that I had at Bon Appetit and New York Times,
18:55like they were really helpful in like helping me trim the fat and like say, say more with
18:59less cut to the core of something.
19:03How can you be the most helpful, the most descriptive, the most evocative in the fewest
19:07amount of words, I think is a real lost art.
19:11And sometimes I still struggle with that.
19:12I can be a little verbose and I'm like, oh, I should maybe edit that down.
19:15But I have a friend, Julia Kramer, who I worked with at Bon Appetit as well.
19:20She's a brilliant writer and editor.
19:21She no longer does that professionally, but she like in terms of magazines.
19:25But like she she's somebody that I lean on a lot, just like as a friend to be like, hey,
19:29can you read this?
19:30What do you think?
19:31And she's very honest and very good at what she does.
19:33So that's always fun.
19:35What have you learned about podcasting, having your own show?
19:39Um, I have learned that it's hard to be a host.
19:48It's it's it's easy to be a host on YouTube because it's just me and I'm just cooking
19:52and I'm in my element.
19:53And it's easy to be a guest on a podcast because someone else is leading the conversation.
19:57Sometimes when you just don't have it in you and you're like, I have to be the one to like
20:00keep the energy up and keep it on and keep it whatever.
20:03And I like made the joke like pretty early into the season, the first season, I was just
20:06like podcasting is hard.
20:07And I don't know why everybody thinks they can do.
20:10So I've also discovered that, like, it's something that I'm definitely not the best at.
20:15And I feel very confident and OK admitting that and saying that it's something that I
20:20like doing.
20:20So I keep doing it and it's fun, but it's like definitely not.
20:24I don't like fancy myself a podcaster.
20:26You know, I think that it is much harder than people understand.
20:30And I fully understand that.
20:33I'm obviously have a great deal of support in my producer and all that.
20:36But it's it's like it's funny because it's like everyone has a podcast.
20:40It's like, why does everybody want a podcast?
20:41It's pretty hard.
20:42It's really hard.
20:43Yeah.
20:43I mean, some of the some of the statistics, there's two million podcasts on podcasts.
20:48It's so diluted at this point, too.
20:50It's like the financial windfall is just not what it used to be.
20:52And you're like, wait, what's happening?
20:53What is this for?
20:55But but it is fun.
20:56Like, I love talking to a microphone.
20:59Can you tell me about building your team, your creative team that helps you with home
21:03movies, helps you with the podcast?
21:05How did you find them?
21:06How did you recruit them?
21:08Yeah, the first iteration of Home Movies, I had worked with a friend of mine who then
21:13helped me find our director who then he hired the editors.
21:17And, you know, it was sort of like a chain reaction.
21:21And then for season two, just for several reasons, we switched up the team and I found
21:26a new director who then brought in a different producer.
21:29And then we started working with actually a friend of mine who's a great editor, just
21:35because I had kind of become a little bored with my own shtick with my own thing.
21:42And so I really needed a break.
21:44I needed a creative reset.
21:46And I think sometimes you need new people to see something differently.
21:50Because me, myself, I am the same and my food is my food.
21:54So there's only so much I can bring to the table to be different.
21:59And I think I was just ready for a more streamlined,
22:02a pared back version.
22:04And again, because I'm not going to win the Internet Award for being internet-y, I was
22:10like, well, let me make...
22:11I want to make something that feels like a bit more like a classic TV show.
22:15And that was sort of the direction that we took, which I'm really proud of.
22:18And yeah, but it's great.
22:21I work with people that I like, you know, it's like if the vibe is there, if we can
22:27have a glass of wine after the shoot, if we can be honest with each other about feedback,
22:30what's working, what's not working.
22:32I love feedback.
22:33I love when people tell me.
22:34I love to be able to tell people.
22:36That's really important.
22:36Like the ability to be honest and like a real person when it comes to making things is,
22:41I think, the key to anything good.
22:44I think you need to give yourself a little bit more credit.
22:46Multiple times, just in this interview, you've talked about not being a YouTuber,
22:50not being on video.
22:51Well, you know what I mean?
22:51I'm not like, hey guys, welcome to my channel.
22:54Like I'm not, that's not my vibe at all.
22:56Yeah, yeah, that's not my vibe.
22:59And that is like the key to a lot of success.
23:01Yeah, but it shouldn't be.
23:02It shouldn't be.
23:02I mean, I think, you know, so much we live in a crazy world where we have all of these
23:06tools at our fingertips and sometimes we overthink the complexity, but if you're sharing your truth
23:11and your gift that you want to give written word, audio, video images, I mean, that's
23:17modern communication on the internet and whatever the platform is, it really, it really doesn't
23:21matter.
23:21I mean, you have videos on every single time you post a reel on Instagram, you're getting
23:25a quarter of a million people on average watching that.
23:29I mean, that's significant reach and significant impact just on Instagram alone.
23:33You know, once you add YouTube and you add those things, it's, it's impressive.
23:38It's impressive.
23:39And you need to give yourself a little bit of credit.
23:41I appreciate it.
23:41I'm working on it and therapy.
23:43Yeah, no, it feels so good.
23:45I, it is my beyond my wildest dreams that I get to earn a living doing the thing that
23:49I love the most and doing it on my own terms and like feeling really secure in that.
23:55And also knowing that I worked really hard for it and like put in so many, so many years
24:00to get here, you know, and each job that I've had led me to this place.
24:06Each person I learned from each mentor, each editor, each chef, each whatever, like all
24:11contributed in some way to me being able to do this on my own, which is like really wonderful.
24:16And people ask me that are like much younger than me, like how to do this or like how you
24:21get to this place.
24:22And I think it's like, there's such an emphasis on getting somewhere before you're ready now
24:26where people are like rushing everything and they want to be there.
24:29They want to have it.
24:30They want to, they want to like, you know, lock it in.
24:33And why don't I have this yet?
24:34Why am I not there yet?
24:35But there's so much value in like enjoying learning and enjoying like not being in charge
24:43and enjoying not knowing who you are.
24:44Like there are years that I worked in kitchens and magazines that I didn't know who I was
24:49as a writer, as a cook, but I knew that I would be something someday.
24:53I had like a version of myself that I thought I would be and that I was, but like, it's
24:57gotten so much better now that I've had like years under my belt to like really think about
25:01it and be thoughtful about it.
25:04How many people have asked you, when are you going to open up a restaurant?
25:07So many people.
25:09And the answer is never.
25:11That is actually, it's something that I think that like would be cool to do when I'm like
25:1565 and I have like a little place in the middle of nowhere and I'm open like one to
25:22three nights a week when I feel like it and the menu is set and it's like my living room.
25:27Yeah.
25:28Like that would be so lovely, but not, not now, no.
25:32Tell us the story about First Bloom.
25:36So in 2021, the end of 2020, beginning of 2021, I bought a building.
25:43And in the, it was an old, very beloved pizza restaurant in a town called Bloomville, which
25:48was like upstate New York, about an hour and 20 minutes west of Hudson, which is a popular
25:53place.
25:54People know upstate New York.
25:57And, you know, I, my career was sort of in flux at the time and it was like, like pandemic
26:02times.
26:02Like I think a lot of people's were, and I was like, what happens if no one can work
26:07again?
26:08Like, what are we all going to do?
26:09You know, like, what am I going to have a job?
26:11Like, am I going to have to make my own job?
26:13And that's sort of when I started doing more newsletter stuff.
26:15And I was like, well, the world is falling apart.
26:17I've better, I better like reinforce what I have and like what I can do.
26:21And I thought I can always, it was like a very affordable real estate option for me.
26:29And I was like, well, maybe now's the time.
26:31It was just like called to me.
26:32I was like, I just was like, I think I have to buy this place.
26:35I'd been looking for a house, but couldn't find one that I could afford.
26:39So instead I bought this pizza restaurant, which is technically in an old house, but
26:43you know, our restaurant is in an old house too.
26:47So yeah, there is an appeal there.
26:52And I thought, well, you know, worse comes to worse.
26:55I, I, it would be great to like one day open that grocery store.
26:58I've always wanted to open, it was like a long dream of mine, but again, something I
27:02thought I would do when I was like 70.
27:04Um, and three years in the making, I finally opened it.
27:09And, but it was sort of like a response also to just being like, I don't want to live on
27:13the internet.
27:13I don't want to live in the ephemeral.
27:15I don't want to live where things come and go in a day.
27:18I want to make things and I want to have like a real physical experience.
27:22And that's what makes restaurants special.
27:24That's what makes books special.
27:26That's what makes, you know, brick and mortar stores special.
27:29You can't recreate that feeling.
27:31No one can, can just duplicate that.
27:34And in a world in which things are so easily duplicatable, especially on the internet and
27:39people just kind of rip each other off and steal things and steal ideas and sound like
27:43each other.
27:44It's just like, you can't do that if you put heart and soul into like a physical space.
27:48And so that felt really important to me.
27:50Um, yeah.
27:52And I did it.
27:52I, I self-funded the whole project and did it on a pretty good budget and feel really
27:59proud of that.
27:59I like built like a full, like now functioning grocery store that serves a lot of people
28:04each week and gives people local produce and amazing meats and eggs and local cheese and
28:10like cool pantry items that they can't find otherwise.
28:12And really basic pantry items that they just don't want to drive 20 minutes to the store
28:16for, you know?
28:17So it feels again, like I'm really providing a service for somebody, um, for a community
28:22of people in a place that I really love.
28:24You talked about one of the things that you didn't expect was the cost of lumber.
28:29Yeah, I did not.
28:30Wood is so expensive.
28:32Um, and you know, like with any build out of any place, you're like, cool, this is our
28:36budget.
28:36This is how much things are cost.
28:37Like, forget it.
28:38That is never how much you spend, like add like 10 to $30,000 onto any project that you're
28:45doing because it's all stuff you're at.
28:47It's like out of your control.
28:48It's like, what am I going to do?
28:49Not finish it, not finish the building.
28:51Like it's, it's pretty funny.
28:54Uh, how's the community reacted?
28:56It's been great.
28:57Everyone is so lovely and supportive and, you know, I've been going up there and have,
29:01you know, had been up there for three years prior to the opening.
29:04And so, but it's, it's very like, uh, it's just good vibe.
29:11Like people are excited when there's other small businesses that come and succeed there
29:15because I think that area is really, um, fertile for that.
29:21It's like people are really welcoming of like new ideas, new concepts, new businesses.
29:26Um, and there's just a lot of opportunity because there's not a ton there.
29:29It's not like, you know, it's not hyper populated.
29:32And so there's just not that much.
29:35And so when things do come up, people are just like, hell yeah, that's great.
29:39I can't wait to go there, you know?
29:40And it's been, it's been really nice.
29:41We have so many wonderful regulars and people would like drive from the city just to come.
29:45And sometimes like they'll come from Canada.
29:48They'll come from Vermont.
29:49They'll come from Massachusetts.
29:51It's like people like come as this destination place, which I, I always want to manage people's
29:56expectations by time reminding them that it is a grocery store.
29:59Um, but I think a very special one, but still, you know,
30:04I heard you, uh, on a podcast with Samantha B sharing, uh, your first viral recipe video.
30:11Um, after your first book, can you share that story for our audience?
30:15Um, with your trip, with your best friend in Mexico?
30:18Yeah, I was, I was in Oaxaca with my friend Kate and I was looking on Instagram and I was like,
30:24what are all these comments?
30:26And like, what is happening?
30:27Like, why are people like, like it just like my phone like blew up and it was just really
30:34funny.
30:35Like I just noticed it over the course of like several days.
30:38It like ramped up every day and it got busier and busier and busier.
30:41And I was like, wow, this is kind of a trip.
30:43This is like a real phenomenon.
30:44Like I had never seen that before.
30:45Not for anyone else.
30:46Not for me.
30:47Um, and I kind of just thought it was a fluke.
30:49I was like, well, that'll never happen again.
30:51Um, and then it kept happening.
30:54It happened a few times.
30:55Um, and I do think it was like a very specific time and place.
30:58It was like in this pre TikTok Instagram world where it was still kind of like new and fresh
31:05and people were like, but the fact that a recipe from a cookbook from a physical book became so
31:11popular on the internet, I felt like was such a compliment and a testament to like the power
31:16of a good recipe, you know, that people want to make.
31:18And I did very little to market that recipe.
31:21The people did the most job, the most job, the people did the most work to make that
31:26successful.
31:26I just sort of showed people what other people were doing.
31:30I didn't have any intention on like typing it up or like making it a thing.
31:35I didn't have that foresight or that strategy, but it just kind of organically happened.
31:40And I, I've loved that.
31:43When it did organically happen, did you make any content of your own?
31:48Um, I mean, I was like reposting people's photos, but that this was a time where you
31:53couldn't like repost on Instagram.
31:54You had to like screenshot and then like, and like folders of other people's photos.
31:59And like, I would like make these stories that were like a narrative about these cookies.
32:04And like, I think that encouraged people to like follow along and watch.
32:08And then they're like, God, I got to make these cookies.
32:10I'm seeing them everywhere.
32:10Like it just was, it was good marketing, but again, it was very organic and very natural
32:15and you can't fake that sort of thing.
32:16You just can't.
32:18So we're recording this interview, July 2024 for entrepreneur.
32:23It's something that I love to do.
32:25It's, you know, I get the opportunity to have conversations with incredible world-class
32:29people.
32:30I'm so grateful for that opportunity, but it's also, it's a time capsule.
32:33So, you know, whenever our paths cross again, I'll be able to reference this interview.
32:37What were our mindsets back in that time?
32:40Can you share, what are you working on and what are your goals?
32:42So that we can, so we can look back three years, five years, 10 years from now and go,
32:47how big were you thinking?
32:48Oh gosh.
32:50Well, I hope that I eventually can successfully sell and make and have a TV show air.
32:56It's at this point, I'm like, well, I just have to do it.
32:59I want to, and I have to, it's gotta happen.
33:02I'm working on another cookbook right now, which will come out either in fall 2025 or
33:08spring 2026, depending on who you ask.
33:14And then I want to write more books forever.
33:17And then I want to like figure out a way to like tie them into my newsletter and then
33:19my YouTube channel and like keep this little media ecosystem alive and well.
33:24And I think, you know, part of the reason why I'm so interested in TV as opposed to
33:29YouTube is because YouTube is expensive to make and it requires advertisers, which I
33:33love to take advertisers.
33:35I love working with advertisers now.
33:38If you'd like to advertise, please contact me.
33:43But it's, you know, it's a lot of hustle and it's a lot of like, you know, it's creative
33:49for me.
33:49It's like, okay, what does your brand want to say?
33:51And how can I help you say it?
33:52Like if it feels authentic, I turn a lot of people down because it's not a product or
33:56brand that I enjoy or authentically.
33:58And I think my sort of my values are like, I'm pretty, you know, people would be like,
34:10you say you hate that.
34:11Why are you advertising?
34:12But, you know, I never want to be accused of being, you know, not authentic or contradictory
34:16in any way.
34:16So I am very mindful of who I partner with and try to like make sure it's people I feel
34:22good about.
34:22But, you know, it's a hustle.
34:25It'd be so much cooler if I had a show where there was a budget and it was being paid for
34:29by someone else and then they could help me promote it.
34:31And it didn't all fall on me and like my little phone to remind people to tune in all the
34:37time.
34:37You know, it's just like, boy, it is.
34:39It is like tough to constantly be your own promo to make sure that the work that you're
34:47doing gets out there.
34:48Because to your point about podcasts, like there's millions of everything.
34:52People are following more people than ever on Instagram.
34:54TikTok is now dividing their attention.
34:56There's people's YouTube shows are like, oh, I meant to watch that, but it's been a few
34:59weeks and there's just so many to catch up on.
35:01It's like people are inundated with content.
35:03It's very difficult to keep people engaged and paying attention constantly.
35:08Like people are like, I'd love it if you made an eggplant recipe.
35:11And I'm like, oh, I just published an eggplant pasta recipe.
35:13I talked about it 40 times.
35:14And they're like, oh, I missed that.
35:16I'm like, how did you miss that?
35:17You know?
35:17And so I think just having a bit more manpower and also creative collaboration and
35:23resources, both financially and manpower wise to like make something great.
35:29I love collaboration and I love the idea that somebody could make me even better.
35:33You know, I'm doing the best I can kind of on my own, but like it's very interesting
35:38to me to have somebody like help me be better.
35:41I agree.
35:42And I think we're in such an interesting time.
35:44I mean, the fact that I'm having this conversation with you on Entrepreneur Toast is helping
35:49us financially to make this happen.
35:51These things, we're in a totally different world.
35:54We're in a totally different world.
35:55And sometimes it feels like we're alone, like trying to figure out how do I pay my
35:59media team to produce this episode, to make sure that it gets out, to get the sponsors.
36:03But I know this is what I was meant to do.
36:08My grandfather asked me to help self-publish his book way back in the day.
36:12And we opened up restaurants and we're still in the restaurant business here in San Diego,
36:17but we're chasing something bigger with storytelling.
36:19And we believe deeply that we're not alone.
36:23You know, a lot of the times as restaurant owners, we feel like we give everything to
36:27our community and we give everything to our team.
36:29And we're really bad at taking care of ourselves.
36:31But once we started podcasting and publishing audio, video, words, and images on the internet,
36:37you know, really back in 2017, it was five years before we got our first deal.
36:42That's a lot of money, self-funded projects.
36:44Oh, yeah.
36:45And if you believe in yourself, you're like, this will pay off.
36:48We will get the help.
36:50If you keep at it and you're like, it's almost like you use the first few years,
36:54it's like runway for yourself to work out the kinks.
36:56And then by the time the real financial aid comes along, you're like, well, now I'm ready.
37:00Let's go.
37:01I know exactly what I'm doing.
37:03Absolutely.
37:03So you talked about being your own personal promoter, your own personal device.
37:07The last, how we end the interview is learning a little bit about your smartphone storytelling.
37:12So are you an iPhone or an Android user?
37:15I'm an iPhone.
37:16And what is your favorite app on your iPhone?
37:19My favorite here, I'm looking at it right now.
37:21My favorite app is, well, the app I use the most is Instagram because I'm addicted to it,
37:28followed closely by text and then email.
37:32And then otherwise, I do New York Times games every morning.
37:35It's like I wake up, if I wake up in the middle of the night,
37:37I do all the games and then I go back to sleep.
37:41And then like First Dibs and Cherish, which are like secondhand furniture websites.
37:46Even if I'm not buying, I'm using it as like vision inspiration,
37:51being like, oh, it's an interesting chair.
37:52I like that lamp.
37:53It's your Pinterest.
37:55Yeah, I basically use those apps as Pinterest.
37:58Yeah, Pinterest that you could just click to buy if you wanted.
38:01That's very cool.
38:02Do you prefer text or emails?
38:05Text.
38:06How many texts do you get a day?
38:11Probably a hundred and something.
38:13Yeah.
38:13How many emails do you get a day?
38:16A lot of my emails are filtered through my chief of staff.
38:19So I'm unspared a lot.
38:22So I would say 15 to 40.
38:27How many of those do you enjoy reading?
38:31A quarter of them.
38:32Quarter of them.
38:34And your goal is to make sure that your content is something
38:37that people enjoy reading in their inbox because you do it.
38:40Totally.
38:41Yeah, I want, there's emails like newsletters that I subscribe to that I'll
38:45open.
38:46Some I never open.
38:48Like I subscribe to support the person because I like them.
38:50But I'm like, I'm not really reading this.
38:51And some I'm like, oh, I'm reading this because it's information.
38:54But I try to be like short and sweet and give you the information.
38:58It's like, it's also not going to go bad.
39:00If you want to open that email in three weeks, do that.
39:02You know, like, you know, the recipes in there waiting for you.
39:04But I try to have it always give you something like information,
39:09recommendation, a recipe, letting you know something's happening.
39:12Like, you know, I, they serve a purpose.
39:15You know, so I'm my open rates pretty good because I think most people know that I'm
39:18not just like, dear diary.
39:21Although sometimes I do dear diary.
39:22People like that, too.
39:24Do you prefer text messages or phone calls?
39:28Text messages, although I do love a phone call, but it has to be the right person.
39:33And I have to be in the right place at the right time, right time.
39:35Yeah.
39:36Yeah.
39:36Do you leave voice messages?
39:38Yes, all the time.
39:39Really?
39:40Yeah, I love them because it's a really fun way to communicate.
39:43I have a friend who hates texting, but we don't always have the time to, like,
39:47catch up on the phone.
39:47So we leave voice notes for each other.
39:49That's awesome.
39:51What, which map app do you use?
39:53Google, Google, Apple, Waze, Google, Google.
39:57I use Waze if I'm in a driving place, like if I'm in California, in LA specifically.
40:01Do you prefer photos or videos?
40:06I like a mix of both, but I probably prefer photos.
40:09And music, which music app do you use?
40:12Spotify.
40:13Spotify.
40:15Is there anything that we didn't ask you that you think our audience of restauranteurs,
40:20hospitality professionals, and creators, you think that they should know about,
40:24about you or about your journey?
40:27Oh my gosh, probably a million things, but we, you know, we're going to wrap it up.
40:30So no, I think you were very thorough.
40:33I think we covered a lot.
40:34Yeah, I think it's, it's, for every person, I think there's like, will I ever get there?
40:39Like, I think that we all still think that and you're, it takes someone like, you know,
40:43you're being like, no, you got there.
40:44And I'm like, oh, I guess I have got there, you know, but I think that we all sort of
40:47feel that way sometimes.
40:48And I don't always think that's a bad thing.
40:50I think it keeps us pushing forward.
40:52And, you know, I love that I've worked in restaurants for so many years.
40:56And I think that will always be a part of my like work ethic and my story.
40:59And there's a lot of people that I've worked with that are like,
41:03and there's a lot in common with business ownership outside of restaurants and owning
41:07a restaurant.
41:08Like you just, you do 40 jobs, you you're scrappy, you work really hard and you really
41:13care.
41:14And I think that that is not something that you can teach in any other workplace.
41:17So that's awesome.
41:19Well, if you guys want to keep in touch with me, it's at Sean P.
41:22Welcheff, Instagram, LinkedIn, all of the platforms.
41:25We're going to put links to everything that Allison is doing, her Instagram, her newsletter,
41:29her podcast, her YouTube channel.
41:31Please go and subscribe.
41:33Allison, thank you so much for taking the time.
41:35Thank you so much.
41:36I really appreciate it.
41:37This was awesome.
41:38You're great.
41:39Of course.
41:39Appreciate it.
41:40And always stay curious, get involved and don't be afraid to ask for help.
41:43We'll catch you guys next week.
41:46Thank you for listening to Restaurant Influencers.
41:49If you want to get in touch with me, I am weirdly available at Sean P. Welcheff, S-H-A-W-N
41:55P-W-A-L-C-H-E-F.
41:58Cali Barbecue Media has other shows.
42:01You can check out Digital Hospitality.
42:03We've been doing that show since 2017.
42:05We also just launched a show, Season 2, Family Style, on YouTube with Toast.
42:11And if you are a restaurant brand or a hospitality brand and you're looking to launch your own
42:16show, Cali Barbecue Media can help you.
42:19Recently, we just launched Room for Seconds with Greg Majewski.
42:23It is an incredible insight into leadership, into hospitality, into enterprise restaurants
42:30and franchise, franchisee relationships.
42:33Take a look at Room for Seconds.
42:35And if you're ready to start a show, reach out to us.
42:38Be the show dot media.
42:40We can't wait to work with you.