Today we’d like to introduce you to Jarrett Stieber.
Jarrett, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started cooking professionally when I was 15 and never looked back. After cooking in Atlanta for a decade at fine dining restaurants, I fell into running a pop up restaurant called ‘Eat Me Speak Me’ and kept it going for just over six years. During the time EMSM was in operation, plans for Little Bear started coming together and the hunt for the right space and investors started. All in all, Little Bear itself has been about five and a half years in the making and as a lost dream in general, nearly decades.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has most certainly not been a smooth road but this industry rarely ever is. I worked my ass off in fine dining kitchen for crappy pay, crappier treatment and little time off to build a career and parlayed it into this crazy pop up restaurant running around from place to place sharing space, balancing wild logistics and fighting from week to week to keep things going. Now, for my troubles, I get to endure the process of building out a restaurant haha… but, as stressful and difficult an endeavor as opening a restaurant is, I couldn’t be more excited to get this restaurant open and share it with everyone!
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Little Bear – what should we know?
Little Bear, like Eat Me Speak Me before it, will be sourcing 100% of our fresh product (produce & proteins) from small, local farms and will be constantly changing its menu on a daily basis to reflect the hyper seasonal approach we guide ourselves with. Our beverage program will focus on transparency, showcasing small production wineries, distilleries and breweries that operate under the same ideals as us. We want this tiny restaurant to be a little neighborhood gem like you’d find in bigger cities (San Francisco, D.C., NYC, etc.)…. those little corner lot spots with warm, casual atmospheres and food too good for how relaxed they are. If you want to come throw down on a big, fancy meal with us, you totally can, or you can just drop by on your way home from work a few times a week for a couple of bites and a glass or two of wine for $30. Chose your own adventure! The goal is to make fine dining more approachable by making it more affordable, comfortable and inviting at Little Bear.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
The most important quality is to be true to ourselves. We want Little Bear to be full of the personalities of the people who run the place on a daily basis, for the amazing local product we source to be the stars of the show and for us to always treat our colleagues and guests with the respect they deserve. Our employees will all be given healthcare, reasonable hours each week, paid vacation and a chance to contribute to our menus and style of service at all times.
Pricing:
- Small plates ranging from $7-15
- Two tasting menu formats (six course individual size for $50 or family style one-of-everything for larger groups at a 10% to the full price of the entire menu)
- Wines by the glass from $6-13, by the bottle mostly in the $30-60 range, cocktails in the $10 range and beer ranging from $4-8 a glass
Contact Info:
- Address: Little Bear
71 Georgia Avenue
Unit A
Atlanta, GA 30312 - Website: www.littlebearatl.com
- Email: littlebear@littlebearatl.com
- Instagram: @littlebearatl
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/littlebearatl
- Twitter: @littlebearatl
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/little-bear-atlanta
Image Credit:
@littlebearatl
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