Curtis Perry Of True Grit Hospitality: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became a Restaurateur
An Interview With Martita Mestey
Above all, make sure you surround yourself with people with high levels of integrity. Make sure you keep yourself on a path of the straight and narrow. There are many restaurateurs that fall into the trap of partying and alcoholism. I see this being a big reason for failure.
As a part of our series about “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became a Restaurateur”, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Curtis Peery, True Grit Hospitality owns Calaveras Cantina, Roka Hula and Voodoo Bayou.
Curtis Peery is a proven, results-oriented leader with over 20 years of experience in restaurant management, consulting, quality management, event sales, training, marketing, and process performance.
Before starting his management career, Peery worked in nearly every position in the restaurant industry from cook to bartender in numerous restaurants including Ruby Tuesday’s, CR Chicks and Anna Maria Oyster Bar.
Throughout Curtis’s career with BB Kings, Curtis has gained extensive knowledge of opening and designing new restaurants. Curtis has had the privilege of opening the 18,000-square-foot Orlando BB King’s location in 2007 as the Operations Manager, the 10,000-square-foot BB King’s West Palm Beach Location as General Manager in 2009 and the 12,000 square-foot BB King’s Las Vegas Location. As General manager in 2009. In 2011, Curtis was Promoted to Vice President of Operations for all of the BB King’s locations and oversaw the renovation of the 20,000-square-foot BB King’s Nashville location. Under Curtis’s leadership, BB King’s saw tremendous growth and improved quality.
In 2014 Curtis Peery developed the concept of Calaveras Cantina and Voodoo Bayou from the ground up. Today, the company revenues $25 million and are steadily growing.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to ‘get to know’ you a bit. Can you share with our readers a story about what inspired you to become a restaurateur?
I started working for my uncle’s restaurant “Anna Maria Oyster Bar” when I was 14 years old. I fell in love with the business from day one. I always knew I wanted to own a restaurant. I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was very young and in fast paced and challenging environments really work for me. It is where I feel most comfortable, and the chaos of restaurants were perfect for me.
Do you have a specific type of food that you focus on? What was it that first drew you to cooking that type of food? Can you share a story about that with us?
We have three concepts, Calaveras Cantina (Mexican), Voodoo Bayou (Southern Cajun) and Roka Hula (Modern Asian). Learning all of these cuisines was and is fascinating. I love the history and anthropological aspect of learning about different origins and developments of different food segments. It is not only an honor, but an exciting process to bring this to life in the restaurants and to see how it is received by guests.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that happened to you since you became a restaurateur? What was the lesson or take away you took out of that story?
We opened our second restaurant in March of 2020, after going through a year of construction and developing the concept. Within two weeks of opening, we were shut down due to covid. The biggest take away is that I always perform best with my back against the wall. You can never give up, you have to be continuing to follow your vision. We were able to run a takeout only option to sustain for a bit and I am proud to say that not only did our team step up, our fried chicken became a staple for community members and we won the award for Best Fried Chicken!
Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey? How did you overcome this obstacle?
In order to start my business, I moved my wife and two kids into my parent’s house. We tried to save every dollar to focus on getting those doors open. I called over 300 banks and was turned down each time. I finally found a bank that would give me a loan. The rest of the funds came from friends and family investors. It motivated me even more to do the best that I possibly could.
In your experience, what is the key to creating a dish that customers are crazy about?
My wife Carolina Sanchez (Director of Interior Design) and I both spend a lot of time in the kitchen with our chefs. It is very important to have great taste and high standards. The restaurant business is very difficult if you settle on “Good” and not “Great”. There have been occasions we may tweak a dish 40–50 times before we are finally satisfied with the recipe. My advice to anyone is to take your time. Adjust your ingredients. Experiment until you are happy.
Personally, what is the ‘perfect meal for you’? I grew up in Florida and one of my greatest passions is fishing. To me, there is nothing better than catching fish and cooking it fresh the same day. Plus, fish is versatile and light. Sushi, ceviche and fish taco are my personal favorites.
Where does your inspiration for creating come from?
Is there something that you turn to for a daily creativity boost? My wife and I both love traveling. Most of our trips involve an “R&D” aspect. Our best and most inspirational trips are New Orleans, Kentucky, Mexico, South America, New Mexico, New York and California.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? What impact do you think this will have?
Our newest project is building our modern Asian concept Roka Hula on Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach. South Florida is a melting pot and we are excited to have locations in multiple locations to add fun and excitement to the area.
What advice would you give to other restaurateurs to thrive and avoid burnout?
Learn how to prioritize and organize your day. You must also reflect on what you’ve actually accomplished at the end of the day and not what you did not get done. Small achievements and checklists have a bigger impact than you imagine If you’re not careful, you can spend your whole day spinning your wheels without accomplishing any meaningful progress.
Thank you for all that. Now we are ready for the main question of the interview. What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started as a Restaurateur” and why?
1) So many people will tell you that 90% of restaurants fail. This is not true. Sure, many do fail, but there are so many that succeed.
2) Find a mentor that can help you when you hit roadblocks.
3) The more you focus your time on finding the right people, the easier your business will be.
4) Hire for attitude more than experience.
5) Above all, make sure you surround yourself with people with high levels of integrity. Make sure you keep yourself on a path of the straight and narrow. There are many restaurateurs that fall into the trap of partying and alcoholism. I see this being a big reason for failure.
What’s the one dish people have to try if they visit your establishment?
At Calaveras Cantina, our tableside guacamole is our number one selling item. At Voodoo Bayou, our fried chicken and waffles are wildly popular. At Roka Hula, our Hamachi tiradito is my personal favorites.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I quote Elon Musk, “People show through business opening showers, similar to Baby Showers before a new baby is born”. Entrepreneurs and small business owners are the backbone of our economy. I would like to see communities uphold and celebrate business owners and entrepreneurs. I would like to see more local and federal government programs to help more people start businesses. “
Thank you so much for these insights. This was very inspirational!
