An Interview With Martita Mestey
Never give up. This would be the hardest business that Gocha could have gotten involved in but also the most rewarding when it comes to her soul. She has had several businesses, but Gocha never could have imagined the gratitude of being a restaurateur. Seeing people happy and enjoying themselves, celebrating birthdays, and special occasions at her restaurants has been one of the best feelings.
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 Gocha Hawkins.
Gocha Hawkins is the visionary celebrity chef, entrepreneur, and the creative force behind Gocha’s Restaurant Group, including the renowned Gocha’s Breakfast Bars and Gocha’s Tapas Bar. Gocha’s entrepreneurial journey started in the world of cosmetology, working for A-list celebrities and as an image consultant for the Orlando Magic cheerleading team. Today, she’s famous for her transformative influence on Southern cuisine, something she achieved with unbridled tenacity, bold creativity, and a passion for bringing people together through food.
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?
Gocha’s inspiration came from when she moved to a community that had a major influential impact on the city. It was at a disadvantage by not offering major shopping, local eateries and so many other opportunities that other communities offer as normal community living.
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?
Gocha focuses on progressive Southern comfort cuisine.
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?
The funniest story would be when a lady told Gocha that she should be ashamed of herself for how good her food was, and she ended up visiting the restaurant every day! From this, Gocha learned that she has a fantastic brand!
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?
Hard times were the growing pains she experienced while learning the business. Gocha had to learn her business by working through trial and error.
In your experience, what is the key to creating a dish that customers are crazy about?
The key to creating a great dish is making sure the recipe is consistent while using fresh quality ingredients.
Personally, what is the ‘perfect meal for you’?
The perfect meal for Gocha is the Silver Dollar pancakes and a fried hard egg with a side of jalapeño cheese grits.
Where does your inspiration for creating come from? Is there something that you turn to for a daily creativity boost?
Gocha’s inspiration comes from her family. Her mom comes from a family of nine siblings and on her father’s side, her mom was a chef. Gocha’s inspiration was a love that was inspired by her family.
Are you working on any new or exciting projects now? What impact do you think this will have?
Right now, Gocha is working on a cookbook and that’s extremely exciting to her.
What advice would you give to other restaurateurs to thrive and avoid burnout?
Gocha’s advice would be to take many small vacations. Take time to focus on yourself, although it’s not something restaurateurs do very often, it is so needed. Also, get massages, as they are healthy for the soul.
What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started as a Restaurateur” and why?
- The first thing Gocha wished someone told her when she became a restaurateur was that people are people. Some people have bad days while others have great days, and you never know what someone is dealing with when they enter the restaurant.
- Gocha recommends learning how to deal with this type of person. You won’t be able to please everyone. Once you understand that, you will be a better restaurateur. Stay the course, stay focused, stay consistent. You are going to have bad days, but don’t let anyone knock you off of your vision.
- Never give up. This would be the hardest business that Gocha could have gotten involved in but also the most rewarding when it comes to her soul. She has had several businesses, but Gocha never could have imagined the gratitude of being a restaurateur. Seeing people happy and enjoying themselves, celebrating birthdays, and special occasions at her restaurants has been one of the best feelings.
- When she first became a restaurateur, Gocha wished she was told about the turnover rate. The revolving door of people working in this industry doesn’t have to be a bad thing, but the turnover of people working in this industry can be challenging at times.
- There is a difference between working in the business and working on the business. It’s challenging when you work in an on-site position versus working on the overall business as a whole.
What’s the one dish people have to try if they visit your establishment?
The Trio–it’s sweet and savory. It has a small taste in some of our most popular items.
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.
A collaborative network of restaurant owners sharing insights about former employees to provide character reviews, identifying exceptional candidates, and advising against hiring those who don’t meet standards. This way, employees would not be able to continue to run around the hospitality world making poor decisions. We would be able to weed out the employees who do not take this profession seriously. You never know what your idea can trigger.
Thank you so much for these insights. This was very inspirational!
Gocha Hawkins: 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became a Restaurateur was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.