"After I graduated from college, I ran a bookstore on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and that is where I learned to love community-based retail. Running a local shop is special. It has heart. It is a place of continuity and communion. People know you, and you are not just a random person behind the cash register. The shop is you. You are always around, and you are as focused on building relationships in the community as you are on selling products."
"To figure out my next move, I asked myself, "What do I love to do?" And the answer was: I love to cook. Then I asked myself, "What do I have to leave the neighborhood to buy?" And the answer was: cooking supplies. That was the beginning of Hill's Kitchen. In the spring of 2006, I went to my first trade show."
After college, I ran a bookstore on Capitol Hill and discovered a love for community-based retail that prioritized relationships and continuity. After three years I left the book business but remained in local retail, choosing to open a kitchen supply shop because cooking supplies required leaving the neighborhood. After attending a trade show in 2006 and renovating a building, I opened Hill's Kitchen in spring 2008. The store evolved through experimentation with products, displays, and customer feedback, growing inventory to meet demand. The business was financially viable and served community needs, though staffing and employee commitment proved challenging.
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