Today we’d like to introduce you to Charles Tracy.
Hi Charles, 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.
Growing up in Brooklyn NY, I always worked part-time in the restaurant industry. Attended college at Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park NY. Where I was hired by Restaurant Associates, a large well-known restaurant group in Manhattan. Worked my way up and the company sent me to Las Vegas to be part of the team to open Star Trek-themed restaurant. After a few years in Vegas, I moved back to NY, which lead to working as corporate chef for designer Kenneth Cole. It was a learning and growing experience working for Kenneth Cole Productions. I was now in a corporate environment working in a 9 to 5 position, Monday thru Friday. Over the 16 years with Kenneth, I met many celebrities, organized breakfast meeting, luncheons, charity events, and managed the company cafe. Kenneth Cole owned the multi-million dollar building which we were in on 50th and 10th Avenue NYC. This building housed our corporate office, design, finance, HR, showrooms, etc. Over the years with cutbacks, less events and luncheons were going on and I started working on projects for KC Productions and became the Director of Facilities. Unfortunately, Kenneth Cole sold the building and most of his business. With that, I moved to Wilton Manors FL full-time and decided to bring all my knowledge and experience to opening my own business. During covid, my sister left her job as a bookkeeper at a NY Wall Street broker-dealer and moved to Florida to be a partner on this venture.
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 not been easy. We finally found a space that we loved and had a good feeling about the minute we walked in. It was an empty warehouse garage space. The build-out was a nightmare. No one shows up for work, which cost us time and money. We also started this project while covid was still going on, the end of 2021 and it was right before the holidays, which no one works around holiday time either. We originally wanted to become a small restaurant, but the state wanted extra changes to the space which we couldn’t afford. We still have an open restaurant permit, which we paid for. But started a new process with a license to bake. I guess the takeaway is: be prepared to PIVOT. You might have certain things in mind, but changes happen along the way.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a trained chef from the Culinary Institute of America. I have over 30+ years of experience in the food & beverage industry within a small business, a large restaurant chain, a large restaurant group, and in a corporate setting. I feel like I hit the entire gamut in my industry. Culinary is an art form and so is floral design, it has been a hobby and passion of mine since I was young. I am bringing this all together in a friendly, positive, fun, healthy environment in the midst of a new up-and-coming Ft Lauderdale neighborhood called Studio City.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Along the way, you meet a lot of people who may give you advice. Keep an open mind, listen to what people have to say. It might not all work for your style or business but to obtain different perspectives on a subject is a good thing. It makes you think more about your business and your professional self. It is not every day that you meet a smart, hardworking, good person that has consideration for others. I have a few people that I have met through the years that bring all of that to the table. I try to keep a circle of people around me, men and women, who embody just that.
Contact Info:
- Website: flowersandcoffeeFTL.com
- Instagram: FlowersAndCoffeeFTL
- Facebook: FlowersAndCoffeeFTL
Image Credits
Chris Pruna Productions
