BE A BALLER -"Building a lifelong legacy"

Nate Baker, SAP Restaurant Group - Building a Legacy in Business and Serving the Community

• Coach Tim Brown, Uncommon Life • Season 3 • Episode 9

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When I flipped my first burger at McDonald's, little did I know it was the first step toward a journey of legacy building that I'd one day share with the world.  Nate Baker of SAP Restaurant Group, and I unwrap the layers of a life dedicated to crafting a legacy that stands on the pillars of character and community, rather than the accumulation  of wealth. 

Dive into our heartfelt conversation where Nate recounts his transformation from a curious teen in Mansfield to a culinary mastermind. We dig into the rich soil of mentorship that shaped his life, we talk about the power of community engagement, and why giving back sets the foundation for a legacy that endures. This episode isn't just about the recipes for success in the business world; it's about seasoning those recipes with the kind of wisdom that one generation passes down to the next. Join us for a narrative that redefines what it means to be a legacy builder.

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Speaker 1:

And for these kids to find hope in that and say, wow, they did it, I can do it.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to Be A Ballad Podcast where we discuss how to build a lifelong legacy. I'm your host, coach Tim Brown, today. I'm excited to have a studio with me successful local business. I'm in Nate Baker of SAP Restaurant Group Family Group. It's a family-owned and operated company here in Columbus area and today we'll talk about building a legacy in business. Today on the show, nate will share his decades of experience being a successful restaurant franchise owner operator. Nate is committed to using his resources to be a blessing to the community. Nate, welcome to the show.

Speaker 1:

Welcome my coach Thanks for having me.

Speaker 2:

You know, the word on the streets in Mansfield is that you were a good beatboxer back in the day. Can you drop a beat for us?

Speaker 1:

Well, my wife promised me I wouldn't do that.

Speaker 3:

But I mean just you know something real quick.

Speaker 2:

But yeah back in the day used to have some fun yeah. How was that growing up in Mansfield? I know you can Mansfield, ohio. How was that growing up in Mansfield?

Speaker 1:

Well, I'll tell you, mansfield in the 70s and 80s was a booming, hustling town of commerce. We had the train station, we had Tappan, westin House, general Motors, the Still Mill. So you know, I was part of something very, very special in the late 70s and you and I have talked numerous times about what it was like growing up. Now that we're old, now considered old. Everyone around you was working and so growing up, if you weren't working, it didn't seem natural. So I watched my parents get up every morning, leave for work and come home late in the evening time. If that meant riding a bike to work because we only had one car, then that's what my dad would do. So that was part of my childhood, was also in the neighborhood we grew up in. Neighbors looked out for you. Parents were parents to all the kids around in the streets and having fun and we'd play backyard football, backyard baseball. We were playing in creek beds, riding bikes up and down the streets and I've developed some lifelong friends and I'm still friends to this day with yeah.

Speaker 2:

As I look at you now being involved in business. Was that always an interest for you in high school? How did that come about?

Speaker 1:

Well, you know, I somewhat was lost in high school. To be honest, I wasn't very good academically. It wasn't until my senior year I went to a vocational public school and they offered culinary arts, and my senior year I enrolled in the program and the minute I decided to take that jump I instantly felt calmness because now I was learning things with my hands rather than having to memorize things in books. My mom always put me in a position to cook and to learn things because they were working parents. So if it was putting a pot roast in and setting the oven at 250 because we were going to let it go longer, that's when I was comfortable. So once I walked in that kitchen and knew that I was going to be now learning instead of memorizing, that was my shift towards food service.

Speaker 4:

Hey there Clark Kellogg here. Building a legacy usually involves meeting the unique needs of others and being part of something bigger than yourself. That's why I love First Merchants. But First Merchants believes that helping communities prosper means more than just providing banking services. It means offering accessible financial education, expanded access to home ownership and partnerships with local nonprofits to help raise up neighborhoods and lift families out of financial hardship. For resources and tools available to you, visit wwwfirstmerchantscom. Member FPIC Equal Housing Lenders.

Speaker 2:

Take me back to that experience. Who were some of those teachers that you remember, who encouraged you.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, my senior year, mrs Mock, she was my culinary instructor that let me into the program, because typically it's a two-year program. You have to do it your junior and senior year. They allowed me to come into it and she got me involved with a culinary competition and I entered that and I became one of the national finalists. My senior year flew to Rhode Island competed.

Speaker 2:

Top chef huh, we can see what a top chef in here.

Speaker 1:

Out of 100 entries. I got second, which got me a scholarship to college to Johnson Wells University in Charleston, south Carolina.

Speaker 2:

So you left Mansfield with the Charleston South.

Speaker 1:

Carolina. I was in Charleston four years and that's where my heart is now. Hopefully someday we get back to there.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I think, always share this. Sometimes people see our glory but they don't know the story. That's a great story because I know those programs are two-year programs just for you to be able to get in the program and then you find that thing that you really enjoy doing and the rest is history, so to speak. It is so you got into the food business. Who was from this business side? Who were some mentors in business for you? Who were some of those mentors?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so through college there are a lot of people that were instrumental in making me who I am today. But after college I got recruited by a restaurant company here in Columbus, the Cooker Bar and Grill, so I moved back from Charleston. Back home there was three gentlemen Tim Keer, bob Zadar and Brett Hadley where they taught me what it was to be a restaurant manager. So you can take a degree but now you have to go work in an environment that's fast-paced and long hours, managing people At that time I'm 21, 22 years old now managing people that are 40, getting them to be on your side, part of your team. And the Cooker was really good at that. They made you believe in their philosophy care about the others around you and it was a well-oiled machine and I opened five Cookers in the short time that I was with them and it taught me a lot and that's where I met my wife.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, not Rachel there yet. So how are some of those skills that you learned from that early experience help you today?

Speaker 1:

Well, I think the biggest thing is that the Cooker taught is. What I learned from the Cooker is be accountable and show up. Show up for your team, whether you're in the kitchen or in front of the house, making sure that you're visible, that you're not only doing the table visits but you're back there making sure the dishwashers is good to go. Does he need a break? Is he overwhelmed? Fill in on saute if they're short of man and you don't want to talk to empathy, right, and you care about somebody that's around you and you develop that family sense. It makes you want to be a part of something greater than earning a paycheck.

Speaker 2:

You know, yeah, you know it leads us to our next question about family. You know, since you're a part of a family business, the South Restaurant Group with Popeyes Chickens, q-dobo Mexican Eats opened their first store in 1999, and then 13 stores and all. Can you talk about this family business?

Speaker 1:

Yeah. So you know, luckily enough I'm. You know, when I met Rachel just so happened her father was in the. My father-in-law was in the food service industry True Rags, the Richest story and you know he opened this first restaurant with nothing. You know, his backstory was he was an area supervisor for Ponderosa for many years, had that dream and ambition to have his own store of some sort and the franchise world lent itself at that time for him to kind of get into that segment. And they opened Mr Heroes originally, and then now in the Popeyes and now in the Q-Doba. But that passion of you know, working hard for something that you own, and the stories of his trials and tribulations of getting to where he was.

Speaker 1:

And then now my wife, myself, my brother and sister-in-law, we, you know, we work to try to, you know, carry on that sap name in the business that we do day to day. My mother and father-in-law are still very involved. My brother-in-law, casey, builds all of our stores. We have our own construction company that does that. My wife and I handle a lot of the operations and my sister-in-law's instrumental in HR and payroll and making sure that we create this company now that accepts everyone. You know we have a foundation that we have up and running where our employees can apply for hardship compensation. You know, now we're 401k, so we've grown from this. Mom and pop, my wife and sister-in-law were standing on milk crates to take orders to now.

Speaker 2:

You know, most companies or businesses have a certain culture. What would you say is the culture of the sap family restaurant?

Speaker 1:

So our culture, you know when culture can be defined many, many ways, and I think with us is being involved.

Speaker 1:

You know my mother-in-law still goes in and helps butter the biscuits if needed. You know my father-in-law makes sure that we have the most current POS available out there. And you know our culture is family. It's amazing to see, you know, companies get so large right and you don't know who this manager is at this store or that store, and we pride ourselves on just that, knowing a little bit about each employee going in, and we try to be in each store daily, whether it's just a pop in and say hi, my wife and my sister-in-law are really big on making sure that they're seen too. And you know so our culture for our company is creating that sense of family. You know we, if somebody's car's broke down and they genuinely want to get to work, we partnered up with Lyft and we have a program we'll help you get to and from work. You know, if needed, so a lot of big companies. You know they wouldn't do that kind of stuff.

Speaker 2:

You know, I have a lot of we have a lot of young entrepreneurs that listen to the podcast. What advice would you give them?

Speaker 1:

Well, as we spoke on earlier, is if you feel lost, especially if it's in high school. Early on in your life, find something that you're passionate about. For me it was food, and without culinary arts I always joke around with my friends. I'm not sure what I would be doing. You know, and Sometimes it's uncomfortable to put yourself in a space that maybe you dream of or you want, and I would say, put yourself in that position to feel uncomfortable. Work the weekends, figure out what you want to be Early on.

Speaker 1:

My first job I worked at McDonald's and that family is still in operation in Mansfield. The sons now, larry and Jeff Monica they have taken over the company from the peasant parents have now deceased, but they put me in a situation at 16 to think outside the box, to learn different stations. So I would tell these young kids that might be listening make sure that you're pushing yourself. And one thing that was taught to me is never wait for someone to make you great. You have to go out there and find that and then, once you find that, you can soar.

Speaker 2:

That's a good word. I know you and your company and the family come to always support in the community. Why is that so important to you?

Speaker 1:

I think, coming from a small community in Mansfield, we've seen that growing up right, how communities really thrive with togetherness, and I've been very fortunate to partner with Ohio State and a lot of these things and also with you, Coach. We met through the football program. But doing these things whether it's over the holidays or just you and I partnered up a couple of weeks ago is there are a lot of young adults out there and families that are in need, and a good friend of mine, Jason Kiley, who owns a title company. He said what I can offer is great. I can offer food. Food brings together right, and so being able to go into homes, organizations and actually provide a meal whether it's the people that's cleaning clothes and getting ready to donate them, or on a weekend, showing up on a site where maybe somebody's rehabbing a home and providing that meal for them, is something that has been dear to me because I've seen it growing up, what that can do and how that can change someone.

Speaker 5:

The team at the Financial Solutions Network is proud to partner with Tim Brown and bring you this episode of Be a Baller. Our mission is to share generously of our time, talent and financial resources to help our clients develop financial plans and wealth management strategies that allow them to live the lives they imagine, while connecting them with experiences and people that enhance their quality of life. Fca is one of those organizations, by helping young men and women through the development of their personal faith. The Financial Solutions Network is an independently owned and managed wealth advisory firm based in Worthington, Ohio. We are a multi-generational professional team of advisors with a combined 83 years of experience teaching and managing financial strategies for individuals, families, businesses and institutions. We will be honored to help you plan your financial journey. Contact us at 614-505-3025 or visit our website at TFSNnet.

Speaker 2:

You know we talked about this before and you kind of hit on a little bit and it really struck me when you talked about how food brings families together. You know that meal, yes, that meal. What did you see growing up at your house? That?

Speaker 1:

kind of yeah, whether it was with my parents. You know, we always had family dinner. We tried having a family dinner and a lot of times it wasn't, you know, a classy, high priced meal, but we never went. We seldom went out to eat. A lot of our meals were at home and if it wasn't at home, it was at a friend's house and they were having dinner. I think that having meals together makes it's a baseline for families, like when you know we're having dinner at home. You know, ask the kids how their day is. You know what happened at school. I think that a lot of times when you have that, you have a connection that you create and that's how our restaurants are. You know, you see people come in and you know, from two people to eight people, but it's a community, right? They're sitting around each other, they're having dinner and we can provide, you know, food for thought to talk about it. You know, yes.

Speaker 2:

Yes, you know as a, this is a legacy podcast. We talk about building a lifelong legacy on the show. Can you talk about? What does the word legacy mean to you?

Speaker 1:

Well, that's a tough question and you and I talked about it earlier and, because I think Gene stole my answer, he stole my answer. No, so I have my son, ian works for me and he's learning the ropes and he's 20 years old. We opened our kidoba when he was one and now he's 20. And you know, something happened to him last week that that ties into the legacy is this this lady came into our new store and she was asking where Ian was. Well, at the age of 20, he just had to have a partial knee replacement. He has degenerative knees and it's something that you know we can't help. But this lady noticed he hadn't been there, so she came in and I told her what had happened and she showed up yesterday with a card letting Ian know that he's going to be coming back to work. She missed him, but she goes to the south for the winter and, not to worry, she'll be back. And I told my son you've created, you've created something there, a relationship, and I think with legacy.

Speaker 1:

You know people talk about generational wealth. The one thing that I would hope that that I leave behind is generational knowledge Teaching my son to, to grow into a person that people want to remember, not because of the car they drove or the money they may have, but the person they are. And Gene said it, everyone that's listening should want to be remembered for who they are, as a, as a person, for what they give back, and I think that as our company grows, we're in a position to do that. And having a legacy of wow. That guy used to walk in the room and light it up with whether it's conversation, and it may seem very generic, but I think my son's starting to get that now. Just from that little moment of of he made an impact on someone's life. So maybe someone down the road is is listening and they're like you know. Nate told me to take that, that leap of faith. I want to try it today, yeah.

Speaker 2:

That's what legacy is. Yeah, you want to leave behind and put the next generation, and really legacy is in that is, picking it up and running with it.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, pick it up and run. And what your son has done, he didn't just do that the way he, the way he relates to cause, he saw that.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely, he saw it in you and the staff and just the people there, cause I always tell us that's for boys. A lot of things that boys learn is not taught as caught. Yep, or they just watch us yeah, think about your son and then they are watching day and they are watching what we do and obviously he's caught that and that's truly a blessing. Yes, you know, as we kind of come around the corner, or something I don't want to leave out is a you and your family sponsor a holiday community event for families in your, in your hometown. Yes, can you tell us why this event is so, so important to you first of all, but why is it so personal to you?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so you know we talked earlier about the neighborhood I grew up in and arguably my closest friend in the world, I get you know it makes me think of my childhood at Mike Osgar clearly my best friend in the world owns a, a body shop up at Mansfield and he stayed up there. His father, they were our neighbor. His dad started Osgar's auto body at a young age and Mike took over that company and he's grown it into something really, really big. But he is at the footsteps of our neighborhood and we have seen that neighborhood decline over the years and so two years ago he had this idea hey, why don't we go back into that neighborhood, our neighborhood, my backyard now? And we changed some lives and we helped some, some families that are in need.

Speaker 1:

So there's a trailer park that just sits right off of the same woods that we ran in and played in and these young kids now are playing in those woods and he loads up the back of his pickup truck and he brings a Santa Claus and and we go into that neighborhood and this was our second year and we provide gifts, we sing Christmas carols, we give hot cocoa and Sean Stonework this year with Schneider's Bakery he donated all the cookies, and those are the kind of things we talk about, right? How do you network and how do people jump on the bandwagon and we spend a few hours in that community and these little kids wait in line and they're holding my hand and they're waiting to talk to Santa, and this year Santa just so happened to be another childhood friend that said I want to be involved and he dressed up and we had another friend come and help him out gifts.

Speaker 1:

So Mike has created now this sense of community and everybody from his shop is on board. They bring their families and we sit there. And the second year these two kids came up and said you remember us from last year? And I said I sure do, he goes well.

Speaker 1:

I wanted to tell you my grades are better this year and so why it's so dear to me, tim, is because I used to run in those streets and for these kids to find hope in that and say, wow, they did it, I can do it. And also to have that parent shake your hands both Mike and I, and pull us to a side and his wife Tiffany and my wife Rachel, and say, hey, you've made a difference. And Mike's kids, kyle and Hannah, they wrap all the presents and it's just not going and picking a toy out. They're wrapped and they're like what would you want from Santa this year? So it's dear to me because we have the capabilities to do it, but we actually act on it too and we do it and I see this really gaining trend year after year and where it can take us, yeah, Boy, when you talked about legacy, you just summed it up right there, and the key about what you guys are doing is something that will continue on.

Speaker 1:

Yes.

Speaker 2:

They won't end. They won't end those that will still happen every year. What a blessing that is. So I want to thank you for being a part of the show today and talking about businesses and building a legacy and a community service, but also I want to thank you for answering the call. Thank for your heart, yes, and what I mean by that is your heart to serve. God has placed you in a position to serve my wife says this because we can, because of the position to bless others. God has placed that position and we're intentional about it. So I want to thank you for your heart and the family for their heart.

Speaker 1:

Yes, absolutely.

Speaker 2:

And the serve. So I want to thank you for that, Nate, and for your heart to enrich the lives of others. I want to thank everyone for joining us doing this informative and discussion on building a legacy in business. Hope this episode was beneficial to you, as always. Thanks for listening to Be A Baller podcast. Thanks for being on the show.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for having me and Matt alive.

Speaker 3:

If you enjoyed our show, please share this podcast with family and friends. Be A Baller podcast is available on all major podcast stations. Be sure to come back next week as we continue to discuss on how to build a lifelong legacy. Until then, don't forget to be a baller. This podcast was created by coach Tim Brown and produced and edited by the video production class of Worthington Christian High School.