Today we’d like to introduce you to Michele Sedgwick.
Hi Michele, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Growing up in Wisconsin, I discovered my passion for food paging through Better Homes and Gardens Magazines at my Grandmother’s house.
This quickly advanced to my own subscription to Gourmet, and I soon began cooking for friends and family on every possible occasion.
After graduating from culinary school in Providence RI, I ended up in Atlanta and met my ex on my first day cooking in Virginia Highlands at Indigo Coastal Grill (an old Atlanta classic).
A few short years after leaving Indigo, we opened our first restaurant in 1991 (Van Gogh’s), and from there we went on to open Vinnys on Windward, Aspens Signature Steaks, and Theos’ Brothers bakery (namesake for TBB acronym).
When we opened Pure Taqueria in Alpharetta, we were both smitten with the 1850’s house next door and the special property surrounding it.
The opportunity finally presented itself for purchase before Covid and we jumped on it. During Covid, however, Chris decided he no longer wanted to proceed with the project, so I moved forward with my daughter Peyton. She shared my vision from many years of travel together (and growing up in the business) as well as the opportunity to produce something a little more intentional than any of our previous restaurants.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I think any restauranteur would tell you if this business was tough before Covid; it’s a multiple of that today.
It has been a bit of a rough road staffing; I was on GM, pastry chef, and exec chef #2 before opening and that has sort of stayed the trend through our first year. (save my exec chef) That said, The chef role is probably the single most challenging and crucial position to find, especially someone who shares the same visions, goals, and ethos.
My chef (JR Bearden) has for sure played such a significant part of helping us stay on course and has been a Godsend to me and TBB. While we see how far we have come, we both have a clear idea on how much work we have yet to do.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I checked creative /artist because I consider that such a huge part of what I do, but it is of course in direct correlation with my restaurants/businesses.
From the chef’s perspective (Savory as well as pastry), food of course is very much a creative and artistic expression. It has been a part of me and shown a hospitality gene in my teens cooking for friends, family, and teammates. I was early in my wanting to share and cultivate experiences through food.
From a design perspective, we have always done our design work in-house. Our concepts have been very personal; usually filling a void we feel needs filling in the neighborhood. As they say, the devil is in the details and a restaurant is a million little ones, both operationally and aesthetically. This is both a blessing and a curse for me!
Each restaurant has had its own special details over the years. TBB 122, however, has given me my own platform so to speak; a restaurant inspired by travel, both architecture and food. Again, I wanted to create a space and experience unique to Alpharetta / Atlanta. I have enjoyed having full autonomy with this project and therefore it is the fullest expression of me. It’s my hope that my guests feel that authenticity the moment they walk in the door and throughout their experience.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I think my partner in SRG (Chris Sedgwick) continues to be someone whom I seek out on business advice. Although we don’t agree on all things design and conceptual, we have had great collaboration over the years. Even with TBB, I inquired for insight on things both build-out and business.
Working with him has allowed me to grow on my own and have the confidence to see my own concept to fruition.
More recently, developing relationships with loyal guests has been another dimension of this. It’s great to have guests sincerely vying for the success of the restaurant.
Contact Info:
- Website: tbb122.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tbb_122/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TBB122/
Image Credits
Peyton Jessica Photography
