Hi Matt, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
I believe that hard work is what defines all great things in this world. My father worked full time as a firefighter in Philadelphia and he also had a side hustle of painting houses when we were growing up. He always instilled in me a “work for your family and the people you love in this world” type of attitude. He never was lazy or even gave a slight notion of giving up when faced with challenges such as raising 3 boys. My mother went back to school after having the 3 of us and obtained her nursing degree to further pursue her interests. Both of my parents influenced me in a way that encourages me to always work hard, but also work smart. They encouraged me to go to college, even though neither of them had when they got out of high school. They did both get their degrees later in life however. Which showed me that they were willing to take the extra step in life even when they didn’t necessarily need to. By the time they received their degrees, they had already almost paid off their house and had decent cars. So they didn’t necessarily need the money. I believe it was the drive to experience life & different perspectives that drove them to continue pushing through earning their degrees in higher education. I too enjoyed learning at St. Edward’s University, where I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Communications. They have a heavy focus on seeing both sides of the table, they always wanted us to argue a point in the thousands of papers we had to write, but they also wanted us to explore the other side of the argument. It is at this point where you realize there is almost always good reason to stand on one side of the table, but it’s even better to be able to stand on your opponent’s side and reason with them from their perspective. When we can meet each other on the other’s side, beautiful things start to happen. Perspective is just that.
I always thought I was going to work in Radio, hence why I pursued Communications. Upon graduating, I realized that I didn’t really enjoy working in Radio after pursuing that for about a year, so I moved on. I have never felt the necessity to stay in a particular career just because that was what I set myself up to do. My happiness is when I’m following that voice inside of me telling me to do this or don’t do that. I always listen to my gut feeling. And it usually means I end up working harder for the things I want. But I never regret it, hard work is a part of life that usually results in great experiences.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I currently am the owner of Walnut Creek Pub & Smokin Beauty Catering. I worked in restaurants all my life. In 2013 my best friend & I decided to open a bbq food truck in Austin. We were regularly smokin meats in my backyard, so we spoke about it leaving our full time jobs to go down the small business avenue together. We created Wunder Pig Barbecue Co. in 2014.
After learning everything about Bbq, I decided to branch out and start my own food truck in 2018. I had just gotten married earlier this year. My wife, Thao Hanh Roth, & I opened Ted’s Farm Food Truck. This was texas bbq fusion with Vietnamese foods.
About a year later, Nov. 2019 to be exact, we signed our first lease for a brick & mortar in North Austin. The city was busting at the seams with creativity and we were happy to continue our path of unique fusion foods in an actual brick & mortar location. Shortly after signing, Covid hit the world. We still hadn’t opened our brick & mortar due to delays in permitting. Which was a blessing in disguise at this point.
Eventually the city started coming out to complete the final inspections & on Aug. 29th, 2020, we opened our restaurant amid the worst time ever to open a restaurant. It was terrifying, not gonna lie. However, we had lines out the door for 4 days straight. So this gave us a lot of encouragement that we were on the right path.
When we first signed the lease to this brick & mortar, our intention was to open a bar. The building used to be a bar called “Mickey’s Thirsty I”. So we knew this location was perfect for a bar with bar snacks. But because of Covid, the city didn’t allow us to open as a bar. They had tight restrictions still in place at this moment in time where bars still couldn’t open their doors for business. So we had to make it seem like a restaurant. And thus, we opened a restaurant concept called “Smokin Beauty.” This was great, however after running a restaurant for a few years, we decided we wanted to go back to our original concept of running a bar. So in January of 2023, we re-branded “Smokin Beauty” to Walnut Creek Pub.
We’re currently in our 7th month as a bar and the neighborhood is extremely responsive to the re-brand as they were to “Smokin Beauty.” We’re really happy to still be serving the North Austin community. The food changed a little bit upon rebranding, now we’re focused on delivering really great Chicken Sandwiches, Amazing Wings & other Shareable / Appetizer types of foods. The Korean Chicken Sandwich is my personal favorite! We do still occasionally serve bbq, but you have to be on our text list to find out about the special bbq days. You can join that list on our website under the “Friends with Benefits” page. And we’ll even give ya 50 Cent Wings just for joining.
We’re also still catering bbq under the Smokin Beauty name. You can check out our offerings at smokinbeautyatx.com
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Dedication
Optimism
Believing in Yourself
Surround yourself with people who have these 3 qualities and you will be more likely to succeed in your own aspirations.
Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?
The Greatest Salesman in the World:
I read this a long time ago and I reflect on it quite often. My favorite principle is not bringing my work home to my wife or family. Even though we do have things we need to discuss from time to time, we try to leave work at work. We commonly find ourselves talking about the business at home, but I always do notice that the times that we just talk about normal things in our lives & leaving business out of the conversation, the happier we are. Work can be stressful. Running a business sometimes feels like you’re always working. But it’s the times when I can release the business from my mind that I’m truly present, whether that be hanging out with Thao, friends or other family members.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.walnutcreekpub.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/walnutcreekpub
- Facebook: facebook.com/walnutcreekpub
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-roth-1b342329/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnT_OqaRhWwT0PIhyU8QVUw
- Yelp: Walnut Creek Pub
Image Credits
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