Mixing Business With Pleasure

ARTICLE FOR FOLKLIFE MAGAZINE

Like committing to a long-term relationship, building a business involves risk, imagination, and compromise. Solopreneurs must wear many hats—Artist, Marketer, Accountant, Web Designer, Social Media Schmoozer, to name a few. The time it takes to keep every aspect of a business in motion chalks up to the amount of time required to keep up a healthy romantic relationship, adding loneliness to the list of risk factors when starting your own venture.

The solution? Team up with your muse! The complementary skills that a couple can bring to managing a business make for a sure-fire shot at success. Doing what you love all day with the person you love fast-tracks intimacy, builds trust, and is a source of perpetual inspiration. Just ask these two big shot sweethearts—joining forces has made it possible for them to spearhead not just one but multiple businesses at the same time.

A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

WITH SHARON AND CHRIS HOOTON

“I always think life’s a bit like a Monopoly board,” says Sharon Hooton. “What square are you going to land on? What’s it going to deal you?” Each roll of the dice has led Sharon and her husband, Chris, to where they are now: owners of an award-winning restaurant and catering company, a spice company, and most recently, a food truck.

Though they’ve pulled their share of “Chance cards” that set them back, Chris and Sharon are quick to express gratitude for the journey. “We actually met in a restaurant, 35 million years ago,” says Chris with a self-deprecating grin, an homage to his British heritage. The two met upon returning home to England from travels, connecting over their shared post-trip blues. “From the very beginning we’ve shared the same mindset of where we wanted to be in life—where we wanted to go. We always knew we wanted to emigrate,” says Chris. After 10 years of back and forth between England and Canada, the couple managed to settle, swapping rolling green countryside dotted with quaint 17th-century pubs for the craggy inlets and briny air of the West Coast of Canada. Now, they sit beside each other in their island home, each cradling a cup of tea, their kinship palpable.

Culinary artistry has been a passion of Chris’s since he was a lad. Under the careful eye of his father, and after many years in fine dining, Chris developed his signature style, combining creativity and comfort. “I saw that creativity and passion in Chris right from the get-go,” says Sharon, who began her professional career as a video editor, camera operator, and sound technician, giving her the expertise needed to promote the restaurant.

Together with two other business partners, Sharon and Chris opened Woodfire Restaurant in 2010. They watched it evolve from a set of meticulous blueprints to its final completion: an open-concept industrial design, with buffed concrete floors and polished wood tabletops, pairing perfectly like a full-bodied Chianti and pepperoni pizza with the cozy and classy atmosphere.

Their first Chance card turned up when, 18 months in, their partners departed and the Hootons were left with full ownership of the restaurant. “Everything was on the line—our home, our livelihoods, everything,” Chris says. “Not knowing if our wages were going to get paid, if our staff were going to get paid, if the bank was going to knock on our door and ask what was happening with our mortgage. To survive that and come out on the other side has been an immense achievement.” Persistence, hard work, and passion are the main ingredients that have kept them afloat.

The years following the restaurant’s grand opening served up a recession, subsequent faltering economy, and later, pandemic lockdowns and restrictions that have taken their toll. “We just kept reinventing and thinking of new ways to make this business work,” Sharon says. From this mindset, the couple began catering custom-made weddings and events, started selling their spice mixes at markets and retail businesses all over the coast, and opened Fire Truck Grill, a food truck that serves flame-grilled meat and seafood.

“We’re both workaholics!” says Chris. “We’re always thinking about work. How can we improve it? How can we make it better for our staff? How can we refine the systems we’re developing? It’s constantly moving forward—none of this ‘treading water.’”

The final—and perhaps most important— ingredient in their endurance has been the communication between them, their favourite aspect being a lack of censorship. “It’s that we can be super honest,” says Sharon. “Of course, there’s sarcasm and humour—maybe because of our British heritage. Sometimes there will be a difference in opinion, but we put it all out on the table and work through it. We hash it out knowing we can be 100% truthful and that we trust each other.”

Chris notes that oftentimes between business partners there is tiptoeing around when making suggestions or disagreeing. “But with Sharon,” he laughs, “I can suggest something and she’ll go, ‘That’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever said.’”

Echoing the saying about raising a child, Sharon and Chris emphasizes that it takes a village to run multiple businesses. That when the patio needs to get up and running again, community members have been there, willing to put in the elbow grease. When one of their children was doing math homework in the corner of the restaurant, customers would sit down and guide them through algebra. And of course, having exceptional staff helps everything.

“There have been a few blips along the way, but we’ve been so lucky to have the staff we’ve had. The dedication, the professionalism, the loyalty they’ve shown. We couldn’t have done this on our own,” says Sharon. “And a lot of past staff have stayed friends and in contact,” Chris adds. “It feels like an extended family that you’ve created within the business.”

Sharon says one of her key takeaways from the whole experience has been the chance to be present with their three kids, Emma, Sam, and Ben. To have shown them, rather than having tried to tell them, what a good work ethic looks like. To demonstrate the power of kindness and good customer service. “For the customers who have been coming to the restaurant to see our kids grow up, it’s nice that they’ve all been a part of that—a lovely community experience for all involved.”

Any parting thoughts? “It’s been a journey!” says Sharon. “We’ve had our blessings and setbacks, and I’m grateful for where we’re at and what we’ve achieved. But every day is a new challenge.” Chris says: “We created this job so we can be here. This is our community, this is where we work. We created this for ourselves.”

TOGETHERNESS, HERITAGE, AND COMMUNITY BONDS

WITH MIRANDA CATERER AND DEB PEÑA

Two years of marriage and three businesses later, Miranda Caterer and Deb Peña

have found their footing as entrepreneurs. Their love for each other grounds

them, while their local and global values drive them forward.

Staying true to Deb’s Mexican heritage, their goals are to build businesses that improve their communities, promote ethical practices such as low-waste packaging, and offer enjoyable work environments, fair wages, and food sourced as locally as possible.

As a young, single queer person with big dreams, Miranda remembers it being difficult when she first moved to the island. “I knew I wanted to have a business,” she says. “But first I had to find out where the gaps were and how I could fill a need.”

She was working at a farm-to-table dinner as the kitchen manager when Deb’s striking brown eyes and flashy shoes captured her attention. Deb had just come from Vancouver to work in the kitchen. “The stars aligned,” Miranda says. “This chef from Mexico City somehow found herself on the same island farm I was on at the exact same time. We looked at each other with hearts in our eyes.” A year later, the two were married and starting Salty Hospitality, an events management business with Miranda as the planner and Deb as the culinary artist.

When COVID hit, they pivoted from event planning to taco kits—catering to a community stuck at home. It was an immediate success, and the two soon realized their dream of running a commercial kitchen. They opened Dos Amores Tortillería after also launching Salt Spring Goods, a one-stop online shop for Gulf Island-made goods. “But it all started with Salty Hospitality going down during the pandemic,” Miranda says, making the gesture of a plane crashing, a fading whistle emitting from her lips.

Deb works the window at Dos Amores—offering a taste of her Mexican heritage with every torta sold—and taps into her video and film production background to promote the business. Meanwhile, Miranda has run operations for all three companies.

“We’re so lucky to have each other,” Miranda says, “because together we can do almost everything we need to start and run a business. I design the websites; Deb takes and edits the photos. It’s such a gift to have a chef who understands the importance of making the food look good, and who presents it in a way that evokes the perfect feeling.”

Learning how to run a business and work together every day offers new experiences and challenges. “I don’t think you really know your partner until you work with them,” Deb says with a cheeky smile to Miranda, who adds, “Why I want to have a business with Deb is that I genuinely want to work with her—to spend time with her.”

Celebrating small wins, respecting boundaries, and knowing when to switch off are the key factors in balancing three businesses and their personal lives. “I’m the type of person who feels like I should be constantly working,” Miranda says, “but Deb is amazing at self-care, and she pulls me into her mindset.”

“But at the end of the day, we both just love hospitality. I love seeing people eating, enjoying, and experiencing my food,” say Deb. “We’ve popped a lot of bubbly,” says Miranda. “And mezcal!” adds Deb.

On top of it all, they say their success has been fueled by the community, both locally and across borders, as Latinx food producers makes up 5% of their business. “It’s come full circle,” Miranda says. “We had so many customers who supported us back when we had the taco kits. So for them to be introduced to Deb’s food through the taco kits, to now being able to come to our window at Dos Amores is really sweet. The community is amazing.”

ON BEING AN ENTREPRENEUR

Woodfire

"Have passion for what you’re doing and give it 110%. Do your research—know your clientele. It’s not about how much you’re profiting, what size car you drive, or how big your house is. It’s about doing what makes you happy. Loving what you do feeds into the longevity of waiting for the rewards to come."

—CHRIS AND SHARON HOOTON

Dos Amores Tortillería

"No matter what your idea is, just follow your dreams. Otherwise you’re always going to wonder, ‘What if?’ And share what you want to do with your community so people can help you."

—DEB PEÑA

"Start small and ask for help. The answers are out there as you’re not the first person to do it and you’re not the first person to have this problem. And never ignore the numbers. Financial literacy is so important."

—MIRANDA CATERER