Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamie Daskalis.
Hi Jamie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Restaurants have been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I grew up in my father’s diners in New York, so hospitality wasn’t really something I chose at first. It was simply the world I knew.
Eventually, I realized I wanted to make food my own career. I attended the Culinary Institute of America, where I studied Baking & Pastry and began developing my own identity as a chef. I loved the creativity of food and the idea that even something as familiar as breakfast could become an experience people remembered.
When my father and I came to Myrtle Beach, we built Johnny D’s Waffles & Benedicts together. In the beginning, nobody knew who we were. We worked constantly, learned every position, made plenty of mistakes, and slowly built a following. Over time, Johnny D’s grew from one restaurant into three locations, and I found my own voice within the business through the food, branding, marketing, and guest experience.
Then my father became sick, and within six months he was gone. Suddenly, I wasn’t building the business beside him anymore. I was responsible for carrying forward what we had created together. That changed me tremendously. I had to learn to trust myself while figuring out how to honor his legacy without being afraid to continue evolving it.
Today, Johnny D’s is still at the center of what I do, but my work has expanded through Making It Delicious, my line of seasonings, sauces and other products, my cookbook, speaking engagements, media, and community involvement.
Looking back, there wasn’t one big moment that got me here. It has been thousands of small ones, some exciting, some incredibly difficult, and plenty that required figuring things out as I went. I’m still doing that today, and I think that willingness to keep learning, adapting, and showing up has shaped me more than anything else.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. I think one of the biggest misconceptions about owning a successful business is that once you reach a certain point, things somehow become easier. In reality, the challenges just change.
In the early years, there was very little cash flow, and my father and I worked constantly because we had to. As we grew, the challenges became different: finding and keeping the right people, learning how to lead larger teams, managing multiple locations, protecting consistency, and making decisions that affect far more people than just yourself.
There have also been difficult personal seasons happening at the same time as the business. Losing my father was obviously the biggest, but there have been financial pressures, relationships, raising a family, and moments when I was simply exhausted. One of the hardest lessons has been realizing that life doesn’t stop because you own a business, and the business doesn’t stop because life gets hard.
I’ve made mistakes, trusted the wrong people, made decisions I would make differently today, and learned plenty of lessons the hard way. But I also think those experiences have made me a much stronger leader. I’ve learned to adapt, trust my instincts, and understand that struggling doesn’t necessarily mean you’re failing. Sometimes it’s simply part of building something that lasts.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Johnny D’s Waffles & Benedicts is a chef-driven breakfast and lunch restaurant with three locations along the Grand Strand. We’re probably best known for our creative waffles and Benedicts, but the brand has grown into much more than that. Our menus combine the comfort of a classic breakfast restaurant with unexpected flavors, seasonal creations, craft cocktails, and a lunch menu that receives just as much attention as breakfast.
What sets us apart, in my opinion, is that we’re very intentional about the entire experience. I’m constantly thinking about the food, how the menu is designed, how the restaurant feels, how our team interacts with guests, and all the little details that make someone want to come back. Our goal has always been simple: we want every guest to leave saying, “I can’t wait to come back.”
One of the things I’m most proud of is that we’ve continued to evolve without losing our identity. We’ve also worked hard to make Johnny D’s an autism-friendly restaurant and create a more comfortable dining experience for families who may otherwise find eating out difficult. That part of our brand is especially meaningful to me.
The Johnny D’s experience has also expanded beyond the restaurants through Making It Delicious, my collection of seasonings, sauces, mixes, and cookbook. It gives me another creative outlet and allows people to bring some of the flavors and philosophy behind our food into their own kitchens.
More than anything, I want people to know that Johnny D’s is still a family business that genuinely cares about what we put on the plate and how people feel when they’re with us. After more than a decade, I think that combination of creativity, consistency, and genuine hospitality is still what defines us.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
My biggest advice is to stay curious and never assume you know everything. Ask questions, pay attention, learn every part of your business, and don’t be afraid to admit when you don’t know something. Some of my most valuable lessons came from mistakes, and I’ve learned far more by being willing to adjust than I ever would have by trying to be perfect.
I also wish I had understood earlier that struggling doesn’t necessarily mean you’re doing something wrong. Building anything worthwhile is going to have difficult seasons. There will be moments when you question yourself, make the wrong decision, or have to completely change direction. That’s part of it.
And finally, don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s success. What looks effortless from the outside usually has years of work, mistakes, sacrifice, and uncertainty behind it. Focus on building something you believe in, stay consistent, and give yourself permission to figure things out along the way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.JohnnyDsWaffles.com
- Instagram: @chefjamiedaskalis
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnnydswaffles
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ChefJamieDaskalis
