Today we’d like to introduce you to Torrey Glass.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
After a long career in marketing, sales, and general management of Fortune 500 companies, I left corporate life and began my next chapter as an entrepreneur. I’m involved in three other businesses besides the 60 Bull Café, but truth be told the café is my happy place.
I grew up cooking with my mother, a gourmet cook and my corporate life was with companies whose products were found primarily in the kitchen. Eight years ago, after serving as Chief Financial Officer for a large family-style seafood restaurant located on Hilton Head and opening another retail operation I decided to turn my attention to making my dream a reality. In May 2015, I signed a lease for the space which would eventually become 60 Bull Café. Six months, and countless inspections later we opened. My goal was to create a neighborhood café where the staff knows you and greets each guest as they enter.
Our motto was “you’re only your first visit away from becoming a regular.” As time progressed the neighborhood embraced us and 60 Bull Cafe became “their” place. We serve a diverse menu of fresh-made house, salads, sandwiches, and plated main courses so our patrons can enjoy anything from a simple burger to a plate of crispy duck over a vegetable hash in a relaxed friendly environment
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road is never straight not smooth so the key is to be as adaptable as possible. The struggle started once we signed the lease and began fitting out the space. What we thought would be a 90-day project turned into over six months as various government entities came in and put in their “2 cents.”
Sometimes the directions were in conflict with each other resulting in further delays as we attempted to figure out which one we were supposed to follow. When we opened, we opened as a quick-serve restaurant – the customer placed the order at the counter, paid for it and we brought their order to them. After about a year we realized that the quick-serve format was not what our customers wanted and we switched to full service. Help is always an issue and we went through quite a few front-of-house managers until we found the right one who has been with us for 2+ years and is constantly praised by our customers.
In fact, our entire front-of-house service staff has been commended for their friendly and efficient service. The only thing you can be sure of in hospitality is that every day there will be some sort of new challenge from broken equipment to no internet service to no show employees. One needs to be a jack of all trades and maintain a sense of humor
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
In addition to ownership of the café, I am also a licensed Senior Loan Officer for Mortgage Network, a four billion dollar private mortgage bank. I am in my 19th year with them. Furthermore, I manage real estate partnerships for various residential and commercial properties and also manage my own real estate portfolio.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
The ongoing shortage of employees is definitely impacting the hospitality industry, perhaps disproportionately so. I’m not sure at least in the short run, the next 2-3 years, that this situation will be resolved.
Restaurants will continue to adjust their operations and operating hours to ensure continued survival. Hospitality pay which has been historically low will increase in order to attract and retain employees and these costs will ultimately be passed on to the consumer. I believe moving forward, the restaurant business will split into two distinct sections.
Large national chains have the financial wherewithal to weather the storms and “boutique” operations addressing a distinct geographical area or unique cuisine.
Contact Info:
- Email: torrey@60bull.com
- Website: www.60bull.com
- Instagram: @60bullcafe
- Facebook: 60BullCafe
- Twitter: @60BullCafe
