Natalie Johnson, expecting her second child, parallels her pregnancy with the challenges of opening her second restaurant, Leon's, alongside her chef husband, Nick Anderer. Their experience with their first successful restaurant taught them the importance of preparation, prompting a strategy of simultaneous hiring and training for all meal services. Now, they are finding time to explore new dining experiences despite the demands of their new venture. Johnson humorously recalls discovering the perils of neglecting their home while working intensely on Leon's, highlighting the challenges of balancing personal and professional life.
We learned how difficult it is to start with six nights of dinner, and then work to add that seventh night and then to add daytime services.
It is an exponential increase in responsibility and because you're now juggling, there's no turnoff valve ever.
We took a major hiatus during the opening of Leon's - it was scary to step back into the house after that.
So our approach this time was, Let's hire everyone, train for everything all at once, and just go for it.
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