Today we’d like to introduce you to John Secretan.
Hi John, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
Started 36 years ago with a small 500 sq ft breakfast cafe in Laguna Beach, CA. Many aspects of the business was inspired from the food movement taking place in The Bay Area in the early 80’s. Farm to table, organic, quality of quantity, the dining experience, etc…
Once our small cafe took root, we leased the adjacent property and opened a market with take-out salads, packaged foods retail, and catering abilities. We were then known as Zinc Cafe & Market.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has been a relatively smooth road with a lot of hard work and an occasional financial hardship to struggle through. Obviously, Covid was a challenge, but with the up program and a lot of dodging bullets, we pulled through. However, we have found different economics on the other side of Covid. Customer flow is different, labor force is challenging, inflation is terrible, and minimum wage increases are tough. We’re in a growing phase so capitalization is always necessary and never easy.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We are known for having very accessible, great-quality food at an affordable price.
We are a vegetarian restaurant, but we never push that for fear of alienating customers who think vegetarian restaurants will have nothing for them to eat. Our food is very normal, tasty, hearty, original, and satisfying, making the customers not aware that they are eating a vegetarian meal.
We put a lot of emphasis on taking care of the employees and providing them with great benefits.
We put a lot of time and effort into our environments to make the places feel very comfortable that the customers can take pride in.
How do you think about luck?
We began when vegetarian restaurants were more extreme and off-putting. Our concept was one of the first restaurants to offer quick service with a full-service experience and be vegetarian in a non-invasive way. Our luck was the timing when we opened and the openness of our communities to be excited for something new and artisanal.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.zinccafe.com
- Instagram: @zinccafeandmarket
