Behind the Bluff
Uncover best practices to participate in life on your terms. Every week, hosts Jeff Ford and Kendra Till guide listeners with short conversations on trending wellness topics and share interviews with passionate wellness professionals, our private club leaders, and additional subject matter experts offering valuable tips. Each episode conclusion includes Healthy Momentum, five minutes of inspiration to help you reflect and live differently. Subscribe now and discover the keys to living your greatest active lifestyle.
Behind the Bluff
The Riverhouse | Damien Olsen
Overlooking the May River and surrounded by sweeping oak trees, River House is an exclusive riverfront dining experience that is only found at Palmetto Bluff. In this week's episode, Jeff speaks with Damien Olsen, Restaurant General Manager who shares details of the River House experience and how you can ensure that you make memories at your next meal.
Are you ready to live an active lifestyle? Welcome to Behind the Bluff, where we believe every moment of your life is an opportunity to pursue wellness on your terms. I'm your host, jeff Ford, and I'm joined today with a very special guest, damian Olson. He is the general manager of the River House, a fine dining restaurant located at the Montage here on property at Palmetto Bluff. Damian is a six-year veteran of Montage Hotels and Resorts and he's played an integral role in the development, product sourcing, service and food logistics for Riverhouse. No joke, gang like I was over there yesterday and it is a pretty cool atmosphere which we'll dive into. I'd also like to add that he specializes in creating experiences that lead to lasting memories for guests who doesn't like that? And he's spent many years executing the Forbes standards for high-quality restaurants. Today we're going to discuss the River House, a celebration of the land's bounty and the experience that you could expect when you visit Damien and his team. Damien, welcome to the show.
Speaker 2:Thank you, jeff. I'm really excited to be here. I appreciate it. It's great to meet you officially. I listened to a few of the podcasts. I'm super excited, honored, to be here.
Speaker 1:Pumped to have you, man, and for listeners who don't know, we had some tech issues. We got Damien right back in here and we're so grateful for the opportunity to bring on more montage teammates, because they are a big part of what Palmetto Bluff is all about the hotel and the club. It's a combined experience which makes this property very, very cool. So, damian, before we talk about the River House this restaurant I've been hearing such good things about, let's let's allow listeners to get to know you a little bit better. So you started off as a beach club attendant in high school and you've come to love this rush of a busy dinner service. Could you please share with our listeners a little bit more about your professional development and growth?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely Funny enough. I'm from a small town called Inglewood, florida, southwest Florida, adjacent to this beach town. It's actually near a private island resort, a barrier island called the Boca Grande, and on it is the Gaspar Linen Club. It's a club that essentially looks just like Palmetto Bluff but it's more beach-centric. I actually got recruited out of high school, funny enough, by a gentleman named John Reeker and walked in there to a job fair, open interview. You know what do you say to a 16-year-old that has never had a job before? And he just asked me you know essentially what my favorite color was and you know I had a buddy a referral at the time. So I ended up getting a job there. I ended up spending the next six years there, on and off. I started there as a beach club attendant did valet basically was a yes man. I was just immersing myself in it. It was a great job at the time for when you're growing in that area.
Speaker 2:I ended up pursuing hospitality at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, florida. In the summertime I'd go back. I'd end up working at the sister restaurants on property and just kind of enjoying it. It was right 25 minutes away from my house. You know, once senior year hits. In college I actually worked at a few.
Speaker 2:Funny enough, I was an overnight audit at the Courtyard Marriott by the airport, which talk about a learning experience, it's. You know. I wanted to dive into rooms for a little bit, so I was there for about a year. I worked at a few standalone restaurants, a couple country clubs and then made my way back to the Gaspar Land my senior year to pursue a manager in training. Nine months after that I ended up being promoted to a manager, spent the next two years there and learned a lot. It's a boutique hotel. The caliber of service is very similar to what you're seeing over at Montage Very elaborate weddings that they have over there. You know. From there I ended up wanting to get out of Florida, so I ended up getting an opportunity to go to Kentucky Lexington, kentucky.
Speaker 1:No way, Florida to Kentucky, yeah, it's you know, for full transparency.
Speaker 2:I had a relationship that was going back up that way. So I was following her up there and trying to test the waters. See what I liked One of my best friends at the time, who I've known since six. He's a nomadic server, so he was kind of flying around the country just following the seasons. Nomadic server, that's a term.
Speaker 1:It's a term, yeah, and you just fly around, work at different restaurants, experience different cities, exactly.
Speaker 2:It's a term and you just fly around work at different restaurants, experience different cities. Exactly Follow the seasons. So he was at the Quasset in Boston, a little outside of Boston, for the summer and he was making his way to Utah and at the time he was stopping by to visit us. He comes in and he's like, damien, I'm going to Park City, utah.
Speaker 1:And I was like what is Park City and what is Utah?
Speaker 2:And our brain. Growing up in Florida, we were like tourism only happens in Florida, man, you know and uh. So I did some research and at the time I was like really looking forward to, I just needed a change.
Speaker 2:And you know, I wanted the change originally to move out of Florida, and then I was like I'm going to try this out. I applied. I applied to a few places, uh, one of which was Montage, deer Valley. Uh had no, I'd never been there, I had no ski experience, I knew nothing about the ski industry. I'm like this will be fun, right. And uh applied, not thinking I was going to get a call back. I got a call back by someone who now is a mentor to me. Um, go through this interview process. I applied to be like a server bartender any of the positions that were open.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I was just here we go. You just wanted to be in Utah and work in a similar uh environment that. It sounds like you grew up like learning, just enjoying, right?
Speaker 2:So uh, you know, funny enough, like I go through the interview process and it was so bad. The interview was so bad that she actually stopped me in the middle of it and was like Damien, you look like somebody kicked your dog, what's?
Speaker 1:going on and I was like hey, I uh, you know. I.
Speaker 2:I'm typically a hard worker and I'm really good at this and I don't know what's going on.
Speaker 1:So like were you wearing like the wrong clothing, or you're having a bad hair day or something.
Speaker 2:Cara Cordray, I love you. Uh she is one of the most intimidating ladies I had ever met and I don't know why I just wasn't. It was just not there, Not your day, but she, some act of God. She was like I believe in this guy, and so we went to. Like three days later I interviewed with two other people and she gave me the offer, and then that just became real.
Speaker 1:And what was your first position at Deer Valley, montage?
Speaker 2:Assistant manager. Assistant manager. Cool, and it was seasonal too, which was interesting, so I was only supposed to be there for like three months.
Speaker 1:Oh, and I assume seasonal in Utah is like when there's not snow there, no, it's the wintertime. Oh, they shut it down, yeah.
Speaker 2:So from December to March is like the most active season for them because of the ski weather. And then they close in April. So basically, offer comes in. I was like, okay, here we go. I drove my truck back home to Florida, grabbed two suitcases no joke and a plane ticket. I flew out there and I did mores our orientation the next day.
Speaker 1:And mores. Is the montage orientation Correct? Yeah, it's about two days long. I've heard good things.
Speaker 2:Yeah, lots of information and in a place that I had never been and experiencing things I've never experienced. I was like it was exhilarating. It was probably the easiest term to go about it and from there I was only supposed to be there three months, ended up there for almost three years and my first season there I actually had the ability to come over here on task force. What's a task force? So essentially, you as a manager, you can come in, salary managers can go to different hotels to support them If they're going through transitions or just need staffing assistance during certain periods of time some of us will go into like carry the baton.
Speaker 2:We all use the same systems and processes. So I came over here for about 30 days and went back. We're two more years at Deer Valley than transferred here in May 2021.
Speaker 1:So when you were here on task force, were you like I've got to work at Palmetto Bluff because this property is just amazing?
Speaker 2:It was literally. This is how I talk, to talk about Palmetto Bluff. When I get here, it's like you you walk, you drive up to the front gate and it's, it's literally before you even turn. It looks like Huckleberry Finn painted Palmetto Bluff on the on the sign.
Speaker 1:That's a great image.
Speaker 2:And I'm like like, okay, all right, here we go. And I was at this point I'm riding in a suburban, so I'm already feeling really good and showing up like this is gonna be a vacation, I'm not working. And once you get through the gate and you just like it becomes an oasis and like it's just that's the best way to put it is you start driving through and you're going so deep into the low country that you're like oh, this is what it's all about and what's gonna happen to happen.
Speaker 1:Yeah, where are we?
Speaker 2:going? Where are we going?
Speaker 1:Because they don't put that in pictures and it's hard to describe if you've never been through the gates of Palmetto Bluff. And what's great is you know public can come in here, I believe at Riverhouse Public can access your restaurant too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so that's another thing is everybody's always like blown me by surprise. And then when I got back full time, I ended up just kind of being a floating manager and then from there, uh, it took the river house job. December, christmas day, 2021. Nice, so just over three years ago. Now you're doing a podcast and now I'm doing a podcast.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Uh, tell us what you like most about working at Palmetto bluff. Of course it's beautiful. What, what other aspects of this property do you enjoy?
Speaker 2:You know, overall, I would say the people piece. You know, I was thinking about this earlier and I was like I've been super blessed to meet some amazing members and you know I've been able to meet them over the course of three years and they're always very welcoming, right, and even the staff that we work with. Obviously, even meeting you, I was like, wow, everybody here has the same energy and that, to me, is super important, because that's what it's contagious, it's infectious, and I think that's we can have the most beautiful asset and the most beautiful buildings on the planet. But it's the human connection that bring everybody to life and I think that we have a really good. Is it perfect? Probably not, but at the end of the day, people are happy here and that, to me, is that's. That's the drive that I think I get out of it most is we are. I mean, it's hard to be in a bad mood when it's a 75 degree day and it's sunny out and you're staring at the river.
Speaker 1:You got this nice breeze and May River's right there in front of you, right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I just want to key in for our listeners just that human connection piece. It's so incredible to hear you bring that up. We barely know each other, but that's kind of the essence of Palmetto Bluff. It's something that you can't necessarily describe, but you feel it when you're on this property and so I'm glad your team has that same connection. So let's dive into the River House and what it's all about. Could you for listeners who maybe aren't members here, maybe haven't visited Palmetto Bluff before, like where is it located? What's kind of the setup like over there?
Speaker 2:Right. So Riverhouse is at One Village Park Square. It's right across the street from Buffalo's. It is located in Wilson Village. It used to be the old check-in desk for the hotels and the cottages. So the situation we're still navigating the parking, but overall you can kind of see it as you make your way. The best place to put it is you go through the gate, follow the gate all the way to the stop sign, cross the bridge and You're there.
Speaker 1:The yellow brick road.
Speaker 2:There you are, but overall it's taken a few shapes over the course of the last few years, but it's. It's definitely a work in progress, but it's a gorgeous building and it has a lot of history attached to it.
Speaker 1:So yeah, and what I noticed I was just in there the other day is just the panoramic windows all around the restaurant. That essentially what is. It's about three fourths of the restaurant is just windows, so you see the May River right out there. I understand your team did some small reservations. Reservations You've done a lot of reservations, not a small number lately, Renovations Could you describe, listeners, what you've done?
Speaker 2:a lot of reservations not a small number lately. Um, renovations, uh, could you describe, listeners, what you've done? And then I I heard there's like some bigger plans in the works. Yes, so, uh, overall, um, I would say 2020, we concepted this plan to have, essentially, to give you the backstory, the place used to be the check-in desk for the cottages that are located behind, uh, the river river house, so they used to have a front desk there. When you walk in, we have buzz coffee shop on the right hand side. That used to actually be a little library and they transformed that into buzz coffee shop, which is a long awaited arrival for a coffee shop on the property. And then, when you walk in, you kind of have the lobby area and when you walk past the lobby, you have River House restaurants which, to your point, it used to be a wraparound porch.
Speaker 1:Oh, screened-in porch.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that's so essentially. Before the building took its shape this time around, it used to lay vacant as banquet space. Prior to that, it was a white tablecloth restaurant when the building was called the Inn at Palmetto Blah.
Speaker 1:I think that's when I ate there. I've never eaten at the River House, so you used to have a four-seat bar.
Speaker 2:It had a little table on the screened-in porch that still exists today. That's where a lot of our members that have been here for a while have cherished. They wanted that rich history from what they experienced then to at least carry over to what's new. We really try to honor that by modifying and modernizing what it is to be in there.
Speaker 1:And still keeping the integrity of the atmosphere.
Speaker 2:So we added a 10-seat bar in the center of the dining room. There's about 120 seats in that dining room, which is a little more than what it used to have. Two private dining rooms, one called the veranda room and one called the bourbon room. The bourbon room sits 10, one. The bourbon room sits 10. Veranda sits about 16,. Uh, bourbon room, I think is probably the coolest one.
Speaker 1:Uh, so cool yeah.
Speaker 2:It's got the wraparound mural. Um, we just actually some of our leadership team went to Tennessee to pick up a barrel of dickle, uh yeah.
Speaker 1:What is that? Bourbon, bourbon, you can tell I'm in the wellness department and not as familiar with liqueurs.
Speaker 2:So we got to collaborate with the distillery and they actually basically got us a barrel dedicated to Montage and now we have a barreled bourbon from Dickel with essentially our partnership on it.
Speaker 1:That's wicked cool.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they sent the barrel to us as well, which is cool.
Speaker 1:The distillery you're referring to is Burnt church distillery in downtown Blufftown. No, this is Dickle, and that the actual distillery, wow, okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it's pretty cool. We, um we were able to, uh, take the barrel. We just, we actually just put in the bourbon room in in a, in the actual corner of it and then from there you have the bourbon wall, where we showcase a lot of the bourbons that we have. So there's been talks about putting a dry-ager in there to have meat as you walk in, which I thought was pretty cool.
Speaker 1:That is kind of cool.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so there's a lot of ideas flowing for progressive innovation for the entire building, but in the basement it used to be banquet space as well. Now it's a speakeasy.
Speaker 1:Cool, yeah, yeah, I think, um, just the evolution of of all the montage restaurants has come a long way. I mean, I used to live here eight plus years ago and it's completely night and day different. And well, let's uh dive into a little bit more uh about some fun stories you might have around the river house, anything that's come up for you and your team and your years of operating there.
Speaker 2:I would say opening. You know, fortunately I have a pretty heavy emotional connection to it because we sought out the opening of the restaurant. So, you know, shout out to Rachel Solano, who's currently with us but she's in a different department, but she and I unboxed about 120 planters. There's 127 live plants in the building and they're all maintained by a third-party company, but we unboxed all those. All the tables, the chairs, everything that you see in there has probably been done by a select handful of people. That's really fun. We got to see, we got to see it take shape, which I think overall is is probably the funnest experience that I've had to date in my career, because you get to see a restaurant concept, literally.
Speaker 1:From start to finish.
Speaker 2:Right, and from that point then you start working into. What I'm supposed to be doing is the operational side, and you don't think about things like how do you get a drink from the bar to the table in a certain period of time?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Logistics right, and so your mindset changes aggressively. But overall, I think the funnest story to be had is that I've had the same, I'd say 95% of my team has been there since day one. Above anything else, all the guests coming in is amazing. We've been able to celebrate 75th birthdays, 50th wedding anniversaries, 12 to 15 celebrations on a weekend night, because it's because it's what we've cultivated over there. So and people trust that and I'm not I haven't gotten to the point to celebrate a 50th wedding anniversary, but I know how I'd feel and what I'd expect and I think that's like very impactful for the most part, and I think that's the funnest part of our job when it comes to Riverhouse.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it sounds like providing that experience isn't isn't an afterthought for y'all.
Speaker 2:It's trying not to be yeah, the bar is high, so we're just trying to meet it every day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I love you speaking to the fact that, like your entire team, from start to finish, has been there. You know that's culture creation in itself and it's such an important aspect of bringing positivity into a place where people do make memories when you think about kind of the vision and the overall concept for the restaurant. I know Chef Dan is that the current executive chef there.
Speaker 2:Chef Daniel Vesey. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, maybe just high level today. I'd love to give those who haven't eaten there what's the concept, what's it all about? What do you all try to strive for? And then we'll come back to talking about the experience a little bit more.
Speaker 2:I all try to strive for, and then we'll come back to talking about the experience a little bit more. I would say in a sentence it's a family-friendly steakhouse with an innovative twist. You know we don't want to be a, we're not trying to be a traditional steakhouse by any means. We don't have white tablecloths in there. We don't have white glove service. We want it to be approachable. We do have a dress code. It is a special occasion restaurant but I think it what's working is in a steakhouse menu you have to have items like cream, spinach and a tomahawk and the classics right, that's that you have to and that's that's kind of what sets the bar and sets the tone for you being a steakhouse.
Speaker 2:But aside from that, you can. I think culinary teams are usually most excited about the things that are not that, because they have to put their creativity to work. For example, we have a halibut dish that has veal jus on it.
Speaker 1:It's a veal sauce. Does it do well?
Speaker 2:It's the hottest seller right now. Wow, it's just interesting because that's the stuff that the culinary team really enjoys. There's some intentionality to it, which I think is what sets great restaurants away from good, because they're intentionally doing things, especially from the flavor profiles that the guests want right. So we don't want anything on our menu that's going to be. There's a term called culinary elitism. Culinary elitism describe that which essentially is. You have names and titles on a menu that people are too afraid to ask about.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And that's the point that we don't want to get to. And again, it's a family-friendly restaurant located in a hotel at the end of the day, so we want it to be approachable, we want them to know that when they sit down, they're getting taken care of.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I didn't expect you to say that the concept was family-friendly, so it's quite enlightening to learn more from that perspective With family from that perspective with with family, friendly and fine dining. How does that go hand in hand?
Speaker 2:It's. It's taken a few shapes over the last few years. So, above anything else, it is a special occasion restaurant and we want to. We want to make sure that we identify that and make sure that everybody feels welcome. But if we have, you know, for example, we've had a, a student graduating fifth grade coming to celebrate his fifth grade graduation. That's cool. That, to me, is empowering, it's empowering and it's you know. He dressed up to the nines, looking suit and tie, coming in, very respectful, and that, to me, it actually shapeshifted our thought process over the course of time. We actually had him come back to the kitchen. We were moved by it, right.
Speaker 1:You kind of walked him through the entire operation versus just being a diner.
Speaker 2:Right, and so we wanted to make sure that you know our. So, for example, the family-friendly piece is our kids' menu has an origami menu on it so you can have kids that come in there.
Speaker 2:They have their kids' menu and they're literally making origami and we have Etch-A-Sketches in there because we want the families to like the adults to live out nostalgia with their kids, and so that's the direction. It's been a motive for Montage's hotel brand for a while is that we've got to focus in on children and children's amenities and how to make them feel just as welcome as everybody else, right?
Speaker 1:Damian, that's so interesting to hear. Like origami, so they're at the table, they sit down and they can choose from like on the menu. Are they different menus with different types of origami, or is it just the?
Speaker 2:origami of the day, if you will. I got to shout out Christine Robel for this, because it was the greatest idea ever.
Speaker 2:Uh, and so there's, you have the. It's a book. So you open it. On the front page it's a very elegant, it looks just, it's similar to the menus that we have on our dinner menu. When you open it, you have origami paper. Then you have little how-to instructions on how to make origami. So there's anything from like a boat or a bird or something right there. That's six steps or less, I believe, and we're still trying to navigate how to make it perfectly.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I bet I tell you what that is a talent for anybody that does it. I have a server on my team that makes origami roses and gives them to staff, or I mean guests as well, and it probably doesn't take them very long. Yeah, it's actually. I'm like please stop doing that so fast because it's hurting my soul.
Speaker 1:And well, that's so unique and it reminds me of this book called the Power of Moments, and everything you've been sharing today comes back to that, where it's the intentionality behind the experience. We're getting close to the end of our time. Other unique ways that you've either worked with your team, like train them on to ensure that a member's experience, a guest experience, is different than when they attend another restaurant Absolutely.
Speaker 2:So, for example, we try to data mine as much as we can before you get there. We ask about special occasions, dietary preferences, any additional notes that we should know about.
Speaker 1:How's that done when they're taking the?
Speaker 2:reservation. Right so we do confirmations 24, 48 hours out, and that's when we ask you. We want to be able to deep dive as much as we can. We try to find out if you're a local, or we find out. We just ask questions, whether it be you're not even in the building yet, or when you're getting seated, or the host is intentionally trying to find things having conversations with that guest exactly, and biggest thing for us is you know, you hear, you hear dinner and dining versus experiences, and we're trying to really flush, flush out dining and more experiences.
Speaker 2:Is is our, our intentional motive, and you know anywhere from. We are priding ourselves on doing things that you don't think you need but you want now that you saw it so. So, whether it be coat check at the front gate or the front door, rather, and then you move into, you sit down and we hand you a purse hook that goes right on the table and to set your purse on, so you're not having to set it on the ground.
Speaker 1:That'd be so helpful for my purse.
Speaker 2:Next time I visit you. I'm totally utilizing that.
Speaker 1:I hear what you're saying though, joking aside, it's like just these small little things that you integrate into the experience that when someone attends a different restaurant to dine, they see the difference with your setup and your kind of way of going about, it being more of an experience where you're thinking of each moment that how the person would experience it.
Speaker 2:We intentionally want to do everything in there and I keep saying that word and I got it, I experience it we intentionally want to do everything in there and I keep saying that word and I gotta, I love it.
Speaker 2:It was said to said to me by my lead barista, and I literally have not stopped thinking about it, because every move that happens in there is is crucial, right, and so, above anything else, we want you to feel really good. I think to just wrap this entire question up in a bow is I want you to feel like you're walking into my house and my entire team love them to death. They all feel the same way is the minute you cross the bounds of the host stand. We want you to feel really good and that means we throw these little Easter eggs at you throughout it and sometimes they change, like we talk about changing things on the fly all the time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and you got to be adaptable depending on how the night goes, cause I'm sure not every service goes exactly the way you all anticipate.
Speaker 2:That service goes exactly the way you all anticipate. That's why we love it. Yeah, everything's the rush.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think Cole, our producer, who's also our wellness coordinator him and I can say the same thing about our wellness classes and everything we got going on. Man Damien, well, I know we could dig deeper. We'll definitely not only have more of your team on, but with your execution today, I mean, man, we're going to have to get you back here too. Let's go ahead and get into the action steps. You've listened to past episodes of Behind the Bluff and we like to leave our listeners with specifics like not only just listening today, but what can they do the next time they sit down for a meal, regardless of if it's at the River House or not? How can they ensure they get the most out of that experience?
Speaker 2:My advice you know, our job as hospitality professionals is to get to know you and vice versa. If you're the guest, get to know your staff, and I think you'll get a heavier return on investment for that. Also, try something you haven't tried before. You know all too often we're creatures of habit when we dine. I'll go to the same restaurant every weekend.
Speaker 1:Order the same thing.
Speaker 2:Order the same thing and I'm like I'm not this kind of person, but I just don't want to make a decision At the end of the day. It's about decision-making. We make decisions in our day-to-day, every day, all day long, so when we get home or we go out, we crucial to create more of a just betterment for you is try something right. If there's a choice between a filet mignon or a venison, take the venison at the end of the day if you didn't like it.
Speaker 2:Now you know you don't like venison, right so and above that, and especially if you're celebrating something like let let the servers or the staff guide you. A lot of times, we're training these caliber restaurants. They're training these caliber restaurants. They're training their staff to drive the bus, so to speak. So, whether it be wine pairings, you don't realize how much your taste buds will change when you start pairing wine with steak or what have you right A certain thing and you're giving passionate people the ability to tell a story. And when you have people that are passionate about wine or passionate 95 of the time, the people that work at these upper high-end restaurants, they're there, yes, to make money, but ultimately they're because they love food and beverage in a nutshell.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, I mean just kind of reflecting on what you're saying. It's like number one get to know your, your staff when you sit down at a restaurant. Uh, the second piece of that is they will guide you if they're being intentional about the experience. I mean, the worst thing is when you sit down, you ask questions to the server and they have to go back to the back figure out the questions or they just don't want to answer what's going on. But the second piece I was really picking up on is try something new. No big deal, especially if it's a memorable experience. I mean, that's going to allow you to branch out and experience something different.
Speaker 2:Right, and you may learn something about yourself, which is great yeah, and it's kind of the point of living.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, it's kind of what life should be all about, right? Well, I know you listened to at least a couple episodes. Final question we know food and beverage can specifically get a bad rap. For wellness I mean long hours, you know you're, you know people first. It can be, you know, tough to put yourself first. That's what I pick up on most with folks who are in caring professions. What does wellness mean to you?
Speaker 2:I love that you led with that point. By the way, wellness in my mind is essentially mind, body and soul clarity, and what I mean by that is it's how you show up and to tie it into our profession. There's a stigma in this industry that says, hey, don't do it. It's long hours, holidays, weekends, and we never look at the good. Selfishly speaking, it is a very healthy wellness practice for me to be in this industry because I'm impacting people, and that, to me, is a selfish act if you really want to look at it at the deepest roots, but I have the ability to celebrate somebody's 50th anniversary, and so, when it comes to internals, wellness for our team is our, our culture, and our building is meant to take care of each other, like I want my team in the in the coffee shop to be taken care of. And specifically those two words, three words taking care of each other, right. And so it's when you start feeling that and you feel the care that's amongst each other, all that's going to do is radiate out to everybody else who's in your building or in your reach, and that, to me, is what wellness is all about.
Speaker 2:You know a lot, long, long time ago it was. It was like leave your, leave your problems at the door. Uh, I guarantee you, if we called half my team right now, there would be a different answer coming out of their mouths. Because I asked them to bring it in Uh, not because I want it to affect them, but I need to feel it so that way we can fix it.
Speaker 2:And you know, I don't I want to know people's personal things when they're on my team, because I need to know how we can solve it, because two minds are better than one, and I think that's that's the clarity piece I'm talking about is because when you have, you have the support system and you mentioned it earlier with Chef Rye saying like mental clarity, mental health, mental health is massive. Right, your mind is that the, that is the, that is the root of all the outcomes that happen, and whether you believe in something, it's your brain is what stops you from reaching that goal at the end of the day. And, uh, that to me, is super empowering because I want everyone to know that, like they are cared for. Sometimes it's the expense of my own wellbeing, but-being, but for the most part, I know that we're putting good out into the world, which I think is super important.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what great final perspective. Damien, I really appreciate your time today, patience with our difficulties earlier this week and very grateful for you and your team, what you're doing over there. I know the members speak very highly of their experience when they go to Riverhouse and, yeah, upward and onward for your culture and your team.
Speaker 2:Thank you, jeff Cool. You guys have been great, appreciate it.
Speaker 1:Listeners, feel free, hang around. If that wasn't inspiring enough for you, it was for me. We will give you a little more healthy momentum for the rest of your week. What have you missed out on because you were in the wrong place? I had this question posed to me just this last weekend and it hit me in my core, my gut. It makes so much sense. We miss out on so many things in life because we are simply in the wrong place or coming from the wrong place. You see, we all find ourselves in unexpected places and unwanted places, would you agree? It's happened to you. But why does this happen? It's because at times, we lack vision.
Speaker 1:The leader I was connecting with, who spoke into me on this concept, used the example of filling up a balloon. He blew the balloon up, didn't tie it, and then released the balloon in the room. There was no way of predicting where the balloon was going to end up and, if you think about it, if he were to repeat the process, the balloon would have ended up in a completely different spot, a different place would have ended up in a completely different spot, a different place. I'll ask again what have you missed out on because you were in the wrong place. We're all guilty of filling up balloons and letting them go. Just like you, I don't always connect with my vision.
Speaker 1:And to pause here to really take a moment this week, let's pose the question what is a vision? Well, it's simple. It's where you want to go. It's where you are called to go. When we are connected to a vision, when we're not connected excuse me to a vision, we end up flying through life like a balloon. We end up in unexpected and unwanted places.
Speaker 1:So for this week, I want you to take a break, pause and connect with where you are trying to go. Pause and connect with where you are trying to go. Pause and connect with where you are called to go. We've all been given a vision, but we have to take part in it. We have a responsibility to connect with it and pursue it, for this is the only way that anyone is able to move forward in life. Anyone is able to move forward in life.
Speaker 1:Man, that's deep stuff and a lot of homework. For this week, please take your time with it. Maybe grab someone in your life who can be supportive and help you connect deeper to your vision, to your purpose. I'm looking forward to a lot of our upcoming episodes because, for the first time ever, I'm looking forward to a lot of our upcoming episodes because, for the first time ever, we will be bringing on a few of our Palmetto Bluff Club members who will be able to speak into different topics a lot of the things that are, in fact, behind the bluff until next Wednesday. Hope you take care, thank you.
