Meet Nathaniel Armstrong of Big Oak Tavern

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nathaniel Armstrong.

Hi Nathaniel, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’ve always been passionate about food since I was a young kid spending time with my grandmother in the kitchen baking cakes. I took every food and culinary arts class in high school. I am a graduate of Johnson and Wales University with a degree in Culinary Arts. I have now been in the restaurant business for over 20 years working for three large corporate restaurants groups. I spent 9 1/2 years with the last group and finally decided to get outside of the four walls of a restaurant and see what life had to offer. I started working for a foodservice distributor as a marketing associate. My job was to teach small business owners pretty much what I have learned over the years having the corporate experience. I was having so much fun helping my customers grow and develop that I started to think that I could own my very own restaurant. A few months later I did just that. After creating the name “Big Oak Tavern” I spent six weeks writing the menu and testing each menu item to make sure it all flowed. We had our grand opening February 5th of 2020.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
We had an amazing grand opening with so much support from local businesses in the area including Carl Black GMC, Gate City Brewing, and Variant Brewing to name a few. Even the mayor came out to support Big Oak Tavern opening in Roswell. Things were going well for and we started booking events for the Kentucky Derby and graduations. Things took a turn for the worst after Covid-19 started to spread like wildflowers and we were shut down faster than we had opened. It was the most devastating thing that had ever happened to me. I was lost and sick not knowing what my next moves were going to be. We were such a new restaurant and the first week we were shut down I worked from 8:30am-10:00pm. I was the cook, dishwasher, server, bartender, and handyman. I almost gave up until I was approached by Mike Thomas who headed the school meal program which helped feed underprivileged kids in the community and at the same time help support the restaurant by bringing in additional funds to help bring back employees.

One day I was outside talking with my sister and she stated that she had picked up a family meal and that I should do something like that. I started thinking that I could make some pretty great meals that are super affordable for a family of 4 and the meals ranged from $25-$35 and they fed a family of 4.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We specialize in American cuisine. Our goal is to plant our roots in the community and help do our part to help the community grow. Throughout Covid we have been able to feed over 1250 meals to the school meal program, help feed over 600 meals toys front line heroes of Covid, we sponsored a 2-day blood drive where we were able to collect 127 pints of blood, we sponsored countless golf tournaments and other Roswell High School activities.

I am excited to announce that our Big Oak Seasoning will be available to purchase in a few different places in the area. You can literally put it on everything.

We are known for our lobster Mac and cheese which is a four-cheese macaroni that is topped with a fried warm water lobster tail. Our shrimp and grits and baby back ribs are also signature items that are a must try.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I am determined to give back to the community that has helped me become the business owner I am today.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: Www.big oak tavern.com
• Instagram: @bigoaktavern
• Facebook: Www.Facebook.com/bigoaktavern

Image Credits
Big Oak Tavern