Morgan | The Three

In this episode of At Home in Waterloo Region, Cher sits down with Morgan, the owner and operator of The Three, a health-focused eatery located in the Marsland Centre in uptown Waterloo. Morgan shares the journey behind her business, her passion for health, and how she integrates holistic nutrition into the meals she serves. The Three, established in 2021, offers health-conscious meals, a meal prep service, catering, and care packages. 

In this episode you will hear:

• [03:48] A discussion on Morgan’s favourite dishes at The Three that she brought, including the Spring Into It Salad and the Fiesta Bowl, and the importance of offering comfort food with a healthy twist. 
• [06:14] The story behind the name “The Three” and its connection to Morgan's hockey number and the philosophy of mind-body-spirit health.
• [08:31] Morgan’s approach to customer service and how she builds meaningful connections with customers, especially through personalized menu advice.
• [10:41] The concept of rotating and static menu items at The Three and Morgan’s favourites like the Harvest Crunch Salad and Pad Thai.
• [13:42] Local suppliers Morgan works with, including Eby Manor for their dairy products, Rogers Ranch for local beef, McIntosh Farms for pasture raised chicken and her efforts to support small, local businesses.
• [18:31] Morgan’s reflections on the challenges of owning a food business, especially navigating personal identity and managing a business through tough times.
• [23:09] The emotional toll of running a small business and the reality of balancing personal life with entrepreneurship.
• [27:03] Advice for aspiring food entrepreneurs on starting small and testing ideas before diving in.
• [30:11] Managing a team, the importance of leadership, and how Morgan nurtures her employees.
• [35:02] Morgan’s thoughts on personal growth, leadership, and creating a healthy business culture.
• [35:55] What Morgan loves about running The Three, including the beautiful food and the opportunity to learn and grow each day.
• [43:00] The challenges small business owners face with fluctuating costs, like the price of ingredients, and how it impacts the bottom line.
• [45:51] The community in Waterloo Region, what Morgan loves about the area, and how small businesses contribute so much heart and energy to the area
• [47:56] Morgan shares her favourite local businesses in the region such as Full Circle Foods, Legacy Greens, and why it’s so important to support local farmers

Special Offer: Use the code ATHOME33 to get 33% off your meal at The Three, available both online and in-store.

Connect with Morgan:

Instagram: @thethreekw

Website: https://www.thethreewellness.com/

Let's Connect:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/at.home.co
Website: www.athomecompany.ca
Email Community: https://athomeco.myflodesk.com/podcast
Contact: hello@athomecompany.ca

Thank you to our Sponsors:

• Amanda Walczyk, Mortgage Agent | Level 2 license at Dominion Lending Centres National Ltd, FSRA #12360
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saltboxmortgage_agent
Contact: Amanda@saltboxmortgages.com
519.497.9256

• Den1880
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Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Hello and welcome to the At Home in Wirley Region podcast. I'm your host, Cheryl Gatz. The purpose of this podcast is to shine a light on what makes this region special: the people. We will hear from inspiring locals and business owners, their stories and their goals. Whether you are born and raised here, are new to the area or something in between, join us as we get to know who is part of making our home in Waterloo Region so wonderful. Today on the podcast, we have Morgan, the owner and operator of the Three, a health-focused eatery often referred to as a hidden gem in the Marsland Center in Uptown Waterloo. Morgan graduated as a registered holistic nutritionist from Canadian School of Natural Nutrition in 2018. Prior to that, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree while playing Division I hockey at RIT. Both of these experiences largely shaped her work and her perspectives today. The vision of the three came from a love for seeing people connect at coffee shops and breakfast diners back in university, and was further defined at CSNN as she was uncovering components of food as it relates to the food industry, sustainability, and every component of an individual's health and well-being. What she once thought would be a cool retirement gig was on her mind every single day. So she decided to stop talking about it and actually go for it. The three was established as a brick and mortar business in 2021, offering health-focused meals and a meal prep service, and has since expanded to catering and care packages. Welcome, Morgan.

unknown 1:34

Crushed it. Deep breath.

SPEAKER_03 1:37

Deep breath. Everybody celebrates me when I finish their bio. They're like, yeah, thanks for reading that thing.

SPEAKER_01 1:42

Yeah. It's actually funny when I was writing that bio and I looked on the website and I was like, oh, this kind of seems like outdated. Like I wrote it before I had the actual like brick and mortar business. Right. Some of the stuff I like wrote in the bio then. It was like graduated with honors. Blah, blah, blah. And I was like, that's not really relevant anymore. Nobody cares anymore. Nobody cares.

SPEAKER_03 2:02

Yeah. It's like that job at American Eagle that you had in high school that's still on your resume. Like, does that matter anymore? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:09

Like all the previous jobs ever.

SPEAKER_03 2:11

Yeah. Okay. So I have to get like two things out of the way. One is we have like some sort of broken wrist. What's happening? Is this from your Division I hockey?

SPEAKER_01 2:23

Well, I mean, it's me, I guess, maybe caring as much as I did in Division I hockey. No, I like blocked a shot. I play on a senior A hockey team. Okay. And we were in provincials this weekend. And it's actually my thumb, but it's like the most dramatic cast for my thumb.

SPEAKER_03 2:37

So dramatic. It's almost to the elbow, people.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

Yeah. I I am grateful for it because I think if um I didn't have it, then I would be using it far too much. I'm already doing that. So it's posed a challenge in work right now. But yeah. We're gonna trans this just happened. So two days with it.

SPEAKER_03 2:55

Oh wow. Yeah. Identity crisis perhaps. And how long is it gonna be on?

SPEAKER_01 2:59

I think six weeks. Oh man. Yeah. Okay. But we'll see. I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 3:03

I'm hopeful, but good thing it's keeping you in check.

SPEAKER_01 3:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:08

If I had like a splint or something, I'd just take it off.

SPEAKER_03 3:10

Right. It's busy. I have to pop a Tylenols and power through. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So it's all good. So the second thing I need to address is that I'm salivating because my favorite food is in front of me right now. So let's just talk about what you brought today to show off. Um a lot of people listen, obviously, um, but we do share some video clips too. Um so we'll make sure to include those so people can see how beautiful the food is, but also just like talk us through what you brought and what you love about each dish, like why you made it.

SPEAKER_01 3:46

Okay. Um we'll start with the uh this is a spring into it salad. It is a uh I would say a rotating menu item. So we have both rotating menu items and we have static menu items. Spring Intuit salad is actually my favorite. It's got like tangy um pickled red onions, which we do in-house. Um, the lemon zesty dressing. So it's like we zest a couple lemons um in each batch. So that's really tasty. And then there's a crunch of uh salted roasted almonds, so that's really delicious. It has green peas, tomatoes, just like a fresh spring salad. Um you can add chicken and tofu and harboiled egg and all the proteins, but um, that's an option. And then this one is the opposite. It's uh the static menu item. It's a fiesta bowl. I would say what I love about this one, besides the berries, asparagus chips on top that everyone loves and people often ask for extra, is just that it's like a classic menu item. So when people come in, it's really nice to have like a safe option for people, um, especially if they're I wouldn't say necessarily like new, but a little more timid to like the healthy eating space or like eating a lot of vegetables and variety and that type of thing. Um that one and the burger bowl are like classics. I was gonna say, I feel like the deconstructed burger bowl is the perfect thing for that person as well.

SPEAKER_03 4:58

It's like a safe entry point for a lot of people. Yeah. I'm gonna eat something green today. Yes. But I need it to be covered in things that taste like a burger. Yes.

unknown 5:06

Yes, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 5:07

Yeah. And I think like because we are in an office building, um, there's a lot of people that would come in that wouldn't necessarily like seek us out if we were in a different location. Right. So it's nice to have some of those options for them.

SPEAKER_03 5:19

Love that. Yeah. Okay. And then my favorite is baked goods, as everybody knows. I we were out of chocolate chip cookies or else I would have brought you one of those.

SPEAKER_01 5:27

Those chocolate chip cookie obsessions for you. But I got a muffin, a peanut butter cookie, there's an almond, a piece of uh our almond cake, and then we have protein breakfast cookies. So we do those freshly baked, baked every Tuesday, and then we have muffins and protein cookies every day.

SPEAKER_03 5:43

Yep. Yep, yeah, yummy. And then uh we've got energy bites.

SPEAKER_01 5:48

Energy bites, we have those in the fridge for pickup in a 12-pack. And then we have like some frozen soups and some frozen muffins and a few like takeout options to make things a little simpler for people.

SPEAKER_03 6:01

I love that. Love that fridge. Okay, now that we got that out of the way, that I just needed to address right off the hop, I would love to know why your business is called the three.

SPEAKER_01 6:12

Um so back to hockey. It was my hockey number growing up. I just absolutely love the number. I don't know what it was about it, but every chance I got to wear the jersey, I did, including at RAT, which is like a very special place in my heart. And then I just like you said in the bio when I was in university and I would be at like these diners or coffee shops. I um yeah, I was like, I'm gonna have a business one day, it's gonna be called the three. And so it was just like always in the back of my head, regardless of like what happened between university and and kind of the actual creation of the business. Um so that's one part, and then the other part of that is mind-body spirit. So when you think of somebody's well-being, um, and this is kind of what I hope for when people walk into the space, is that they feel nourished not only by the food, but the environment and the people so that they can come in and be who they are in the space. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 7:05

Okay, so we're gonna walk through what people can expect from your business, but I'm gonna start on the street because your business can be tricky to find. And when once you find it, you never forget. Okay, so I am at Herb and King.

SPEAKER_01 7:23

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 7:23

And I walk down Herb and I turn right. I this is so bad, I forget what street that's called.

SPEAKER_01 7:28

Uh I forget it all the time, but that is Albert, I believe. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 7:31

Um it's like on the same street, side of that street as the library. Like you're not too far from the library.

SPEAKER_01 7:37

Well, that one is DuPont.

SPEAKER_03 7:38

DuPont. Yes. So you're on DuPont, there's this huge building with B mo on it, right? Little parking lot beside it. And then you go through two sets of doors, and right in front of you is one door, and you always have your sandwich board. So I'm like, okay, she's open. I just took a chance. And uh and then you go downstairs and you're the door right in front.

SPEAKER_01 8:01

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 8:02

And then what can we expect from your business from there?

SPEAKER_01 8:06

Um I I think like in terms of like what I hope for is that it's a cozy welcoming space for people. That we say hi when you walk in, that we care about not just what you're ordering and that you pay for your meal, but you know, how you are that day and you know, anything that people need to share with us. Obviously, we have a business to run, but that's like such a big part of it. And I think like the hospitality and service aspect is just increasingly important to me. Um as I'm a consumer myself and a customer of other places. I just I don't know, you see it lacking a little bit of um care and attention for people. Um and I get it, like food business is hard, small business is hard. Um but that's ultimate ultimately what creates a community and a strong community and a business that people want to go back to, really.

SPEAKER_03 8:57

So yeah, you definitely create a f an environment that people want to go back to. And I love how open like you and your staff are to also like talking through menu items. Because I'm like, hey, look at this smoothie sounds good, but like I don't like this. And they're like, that's okay. It's like, or I'll say, I'll say, I want a green smoothie, but I don't want it to taste like a green smoothie. Like, what do you what do you think I should get? Um, or sometimes you're making my smoothie and you're like, you want an extra hit of this? Like everything just feels so like personal and and considerate. And I love that.

unknown 9:31

Thanks.

SPEAKER_01 9:31

Yeah. I hope that too. I think it's it is a big part of even in training and our our manual too. Like we have a service guide where it's like you put the questions back on the customer, right? It's like they're like, oh, what's your favorite? I'm like, okay, well, what do you feel like? Do you feel like hot or do you feel like cold, right? Do you want something cozy or do you want something light? Um, so really just trying to figure out like what it is that they want. And I think a lot of people, especially when they come into that space, they they think of like health first, which is obviously like a huge value of mine. Yeah, but it's also understanding like that person and like what their needs are in that moment. It's like, oh, if you want a cozy sandwich, like go for the cozy sandwich. Like you don't have to go for the salad just because you like think it's the best thing for you, right?

SPEAKER_03 10:12

Like get the sandwich with a cookie on the side. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:15

Get that chocolate chip cookie. If Cher doesn't get them all before you, no, she gets one at a time.

SPEAKER_03 10:20

I get one at a time. I've been limited. Okay. Um, you mentioned a little bit about rotating items and static items. What is your favorite, your favorite static item? And then what is your new favorite rotating item? Because I think I just saw a new spring menu. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_01 10:40

Yeah, in March. And then we'll have some new ones at the end of April, actually. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 10:44

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 10:45

Yes. Um, my favorite static menu item, I would say the Harvest Crunch salad. It's just uh, it's got quinoa, spring mix, and it's like crunchy cabbage, carrots, beets, apples, pecans, dried cranberries, feta if you want it, or avocado. Um, and a balsamic dressing. So that to me is I just love that combination of flavors. Uh and then the pad thai, because I don't really make it for myself all that much. It takes a little bit more time. So, of course, when I'm like eating lunch, I'm like, whatever's the fastest, whatever's left over, I'll eat. Um so yeah, the pad thai is a classic. The cool thing about those menu items is customers kind of created that menu, like whatever people kept asking for. I used to rotate it more often and I would rotate everything off the menu, and then people would tell their friends about the burger bowl. And they'd come in and I'm like, ah shoot, I don't have that today, and I feel like I'm disappointing them. So then it became like I need to have those static menu items, so then they can, you know. I love that. That's so cool. Which is really cool. Yeah, really cool. Um, based on what was like what's been popular all the time. Like the cob salad used to be a rotating menu item, now it's a static menu item. So yeah, it's a bit of like having safe options and then also what is the most popular.

SPEAKER_03 12:00

And what are you excited about as the new rotating item?

SPEAKER_01 12:04

I mean, I love the spring or the spring intuitive salad. There's also a boota bowl right now with a carrot ginger dressing that will be on for at least a few more months, too. But it's yeah, carrot ginger, pickled red onions. I just love pickled red onions, I guess. Uh sweet potato, roasted broccoli, kale, romaine. Um but that's also like one of my favorite ones. It's just different, I think, like to have a creamier dressing versus a vinaigrette.

SPEAKER_03 12:35

Yeah. Sounds delicious. Yeah. If if you're listening to this and you're like, that just sounds like a bunch of health food, I promise you there's something to do with these combinations that it actually tastes good. I promise you.

SPEAKER_01 12:46

And that's the intention too. Like, I think when I explain it to people, and to some people, they're like, oh, that sounds really healthy. I'm like, don't be afraid. Like the whole goal here is like to make you come back. So the thing about, you know, the dressing, it's like, yeah, you could do a uh lemon vinaigrette dressing with just lemon juice and oil and you know, the standard things, but like adding the zest in there makes all the difference. It's just like this huge punch of flavor. So it's like getting creative with the little pieces of a menu. And yeah, kind of like wow people a little bit.

SPEAKER_03 13:16

We're trying we are making it taste good. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:19

I have to, or else I don't exist. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:22

Okay. So it isn't just the food, but it is all of the suppliers that you work with that make the food, um, which has been really cool to like little bit by little bit, as I've been visiting you, like learn more about. Um, so who are some of your favorite local suppliers?

SPEAKER_01 13:41

Um, I will start with E B Manor. So we use their cheese, which is the best aged cheddar I've ever had. Um, they are in Conestogo. Uh we use their dairy as well for the drinks and for smoothies, if that's an option, or if yeah, if that's an option that people want. Um I am just so grateful for them. I think they they support small businesses in our area like so well. Even from the beginning, like their minimum order was like six bottles of milk. And I was like, I can do that. Like I started in 2021 when the building was locked to the public. So I needed people that had like the smallest minimum orders and just people who care about what they're doing. I think that's really important too, is like not only supporting local and small businesses, but I mean people who truly care about what they're doing and the people that they serve. So that's important to me. Um Rogers Ranch, I've been using uh his name's Dave. He is a farmer out in Paris, and I've been using his ground beef since the beginning. He used to be at the kitchen or market, he's no longer there. Um so that's another supplier. We just got started getting uh chicken from Macintosh Farms, which is enlistable. So that's a huge thing for me. That was a challenge, is just trying to find like suppliers who are like small enough with strong values and like large enough to meet your needs. It's like a very delicate balance. Um, so I was really grateful. And obviously, like the price point has to work for a business too, and so yeah, we figured that one out. And yeah, so we have local pasteurized chicken that we use too, which is a hard thing for a for a small business. Um trying to think of any. I mean, we sell Lake and Oak tea and Alex Muirhead, she used to live in Kitchener as well, so those are some like more functional teas. And Beck's broth we have in store. Oh, Bears Asparagus, obviously the chips. Yeah, uh, they're out in kind of like New Dundee. Uh, we use their pickles for the burger bowl and the chips and the salsa. And yeah, I would say like if anything, like the goal with that is to continue to increase the local suppliers that we have. Obviously, there's a lot of variables that go into choosing who we work for or work with and um what we can do with what we have close to us. But um yeah, it's again constantly reevaluating like where are we at as business, what options exist for us. Um, minimum orders can be difficult and logistics are really challenging.

SPEAKER_03 16:08

So yeah, I can't imagine that's like a lot of a lot of balls in the air for managing, you know, because you have to like take all of these suppliers separately and make them all work together, and it has to work for them, and it also has to work for you. So it definitely takes a lot of work that nobody else sees. Yeah. I love how when you start peeling back the layers on local, like what I've been doing with the podcast, is there is so much beautiful overlap. Like I learned about uh Eevee from my interview with uh the owner of Forall ice cream. And I was like, that is so cool. Like how their dairy doesn't necessarily affect your stomach, like other people's dairy. It's the certain type of cow, right?

SPEAKER_01 16:55

Yeah, the green seeds.

SPEAKER_03 16:56

Yeah. Yeah. And then I saw it in your in your um in your sh uh refrigerators, and I thought that was so cool. And then when I get my smoothies there, I I don't do like the almond or anything like that. I just do that milk, and I'm I'm fine.

SPEAKER_01 17:11

Yeah. I usually do recommend, like if people can, if they feel comfortable or like safe with dairy, obviously it's a great option. Um and I my favorite is when people will, you know, I'll ask, like, do you want dairy oat or almond milk in your smoothie or your latte? And they're like, Do you use E B manor? Yeah. Yeah, I do. Okay, yeah. That's the one. Then that one. Right? It's like it's so meaningful to people too. Like they care about the items that they consume as well and who they're supporting. So yeah.

SPEAKER_03 17:37

Yeah.

unknown 17:38

Cool.

SPEAKER_03 17:39

So you mentioned that when you started the business, the doors were locked to the public. Um I like to ask some business owners like what are some challenges that you've overcome. It ha it can be to do with that time. It also can have nothing to do with that time. But um it's lovely to shed some light on it. I think it gains empathy from the public that they might not know even happens, right? Um, but then I we also have lots of fellow small business owners that listen to this and will like are feel feel very seen when my guests just share some challenges, you know, just like drop the shield and be vulnerable and and share the real deal.

SPEAKER_01 18:20

Yeah. I mean, there's a lot. Food business is hard, small business is hard. I will I commend anyone who attempts it, you know, works at it, succeeds at it. It's it's just really hard work. Um I would say, yeah, the first challenge, obviously, with COVID, we didn't we didn't open when COVID happened. So I obviously like knew what I was getting into. Um, but you know, the location that we're at, the maze to get there, and then you combine that with you actually can't even really get in unless you call down and there's no service down there. We're in a basement. Um, so that I had to like keep my phone in a certain area, just like let people in because they could call down for the doors to open. Anyway, so that was a challenge too, and the building obviously wasn't busy, so that you didn't have as much foot traffic just from that group of people. Um, so that at that point it was really just about trying to create relationships and like maintain those relationships. And a lot of those regulars still come today, like five years later, which is really cool. Um and then yeah, the location too is obviously a challenge, but I think there's pros and cons to that space too. Um and again, it's just like trying to create experiences that people don't want to come back to or experiences that people want to share with others, and then they bring their friends back and really creating this like organic growth. We have really not done much marketing, we've done like pop-ups and stuff like that. Um, but so much of it has come from you know, people telling people, which is really cool. Um, and then I would say like obviously the the biggest one for any small business owner is just like personal identity. It's so hard. You're trying to live your own life at the same time that you're establishing a business, and there's so much overlap, but then you're also like trying to separate, like keep it separate too. So I mean, I've had many like crying sessions, you know. Like I don't know. And you just like expect yourself. I expect myself to be good at it at the beginning, right? I'm like, no, I'm good at things, like I'm capable of this. And then you just realize it's like such a steep learning curve. Like I didn't have much experience in food, or even like I was a leader on the hockey team, but that's very much like lead by example, and it's a very different environment of that. You're dealing with customers too, like face to face and what I find. Like my brain processes, like I'm very intentional. It's like my brain process is slow compared to a lot of people. And so then when people are like you're faced with questions from customers, and you're like, uh, I don't know how to respond to this in a way that like feels good to me and like will feel good to them. So that's been such a steep learning curve. It's like, how do you navigate those things in like real time? How do you make like the best decisions for your team, for the business, for yourself, for the customer, like all in a split second moment. It could be, right? Um, so that's challenging. And I think, yeah, just from like a values value standpoint, it just I don't know, it kind of like rocks you a little bit at the beginning, but at the end of the day, like you come through the other side. Like so many lessons learned constantly every day, every week, every season. Um yeah, I think just being comfortable with the uncomfortable is something I've had to learn over and over again. Um yeah, I had a lot of resentment at the beginning. Like I mean, if other people, if I was doing meal prep on a weekend and like other people were taking a break because that's you know, they legally have to take a break. Like and then I would feel like resentful that other people were like my employees were taking a break. I'm like, why am I feeling this way? It's like, well, I'm not getting my needs met, therefore, like I'm thinking about that for other people. So that was a big one. I am proud to say that I don't, I rar rarely have that anymore. Um so I think that's yeah, an important thing. Cause I I think that'll all All that stuff is just so normal. It's part of the process and the experience. Um, and you don't really know that until you're on the other side of it.

SPEAKER_03 22:06

So there is no better personal development like teachings you could do other than start a business. Like it just brings a mirror to every single insecurity. It puts you in situations that are so uncomfortable that like you have to completely flip your mindset. You have to be so self-aware of how you're feeling and why you're feeling it. And yeah, it's it's tough. I had a cry session three days ago to my mom. And I said, I'm not kidding you. I said, I don't want a big girl job anymore. I want to be a barista. Like I want to quit this, burn it all down, and just be a barista. I don't want to handle people's like homes anymore. Like it feels heavy sometimes. Like some days are so exciting. And some days it feels so heavy and you feel so responsible for really outcomes you don't have a lot of control over, honestly. Like I can only do what I can do and then you know, hope for the best, right? Um, but yeah, I totally get with you. The cry sessions, like they're real. They have been.

SPEAKER_01 23:16

And you just never know really when they're gonna come on either.

SPEAKER_03 23:19

And I've seen it coming.

SPEAKER_01 23:20

Yeah. You just like it takes one hug and you're like, like, what's wrong? I don't know. Everyone customer says, What are you doing today? And then you're like, yeah, don't know. I haven't really cried at work. I mean, I have, but probably not really about work itself. I try to like keep my composure. But um, I think that's the other thing too, is like when people come in, like I it is like I try not to put my problems on other people, but at the same time, like, like I'm a human too. Like, I had a rough day at work, like this is a shitty day at work or whatever. Like, there's a lot going on. Like, I don't know. It's just a normal part of the human experience, and I think it's important to share that with people.

SPEAKER_03 24:01

We have a cast right now. Yeah. Like, how do you make a salad with a cast?

SPEAKER_01 24:04

Yeah, so personal identity is like, I said, crisis mode right now.

SPEAKER_03 24:09

Do you think hockey is helping with that? Like, create like having an identity outside of your business.

SPEAKER_01 24:18

Yeah, I I would say actually that's probably like a big challenge at the beginning, too. Is like I was so consumed by it. And it's funny I told you, I was like, I don't really, I can't think of any funny stories because I'm like I took business so seriously. For I was like, This, I everything has to be perfect. I'm not doing good and like I'm not good enough. And like that was like the constant message, and you just realize like if that's the messaging you're telling yourself over and over again, of course it's gonna like be hard to get out of that, right? So I don't know, I think I am in a healthy place now in terms of like my identity. If the business for whatever reason got like ripped away from me or it wasn't working out or something, like I would be okay. And I think that's a healthy thing, right? To be like, okay, this isn't working for me anymore. I'm gonna shelf it, and maybe I'll come back to it, maybe I won't, but I am still who I am with or without the business. Whereas at the beginning, it was like all my values just like in a ball together, all wrapped up into one. And that was me, that was my business, that was my life. I worked on the weekends. So being able to separate that, and again, it's like it takes time, it takes experience, but you also have to work at that too. Like you have to put effort into separating those two.

SPEAKER_03 25:29

Just a quick break to thank the sponsors that make this podcast possible. Amanda Walchuk, also known as Saltbox Mortgage Agent, with a level two license at Dominion Lending Center's National Limited, FISRA 12360. Amanda is a passionate mortgage professional on a mission to educate clients about mortgages. She ensures her clients benefit from trust, confidence, and the security of knowing that they are getting the best mortgage for their needs. If you've got mortgage questions, Amanda's got the answers. Be sure to check the show notes for her contact information. Welcome to Den 1880, Uptown Waterloo's premier, boutique, coworking, and event space. Step into a workspace that fuels ambition and sparks connection. Den 1880 offers a variety of memberships with everything from hot desks to private offices. They've got the perfect setup for freelancers, entrepreneurs, and growing teams. Think beautifully designed spaces, curated programming, and all the amenities you need, including unlimited coffee. Need to host? Den 1880 sets the stage for meetings, workshops, and unforgettable events. They even have a fully equipped podcast studio in a vault. Come see the benefits of working in a community. Explore the memberships or book a tour at den1880.co today. What advice like looking back now would you give someone who is just starting in the food business or is in it and struggling or is thinking of getting into the food business?

SPEAKER_01 27:02

I mean, I would always go back to starting small. Uh everyone can go about it in their own way, of course. There's a lot of different avenues, but um, with food, it's just risky. The overhead's really high, the margins are really small. Um, so kind of figuring out your idea and testing that idea before you have all the like other risks involved, whether that's like overhead. So, as an example, like I did meal prep for a few people, and then I expanded that, and I did meal prep for like friends and family. Um, I did it out of a friend's basement for a while, just you know, figuring it out. And that's essentially like how the business started is like I had enough clientele as soon as those doors opened that even through COVID, that was like probably 80% of my revenue. So just kind of having proof in your own idea and your own work ethic, you gotta grind it out. As much like sure, grind culture, like I don't want to opt into that either, but food requires it for sure. And you have to be able to kind of be able like opt in and opt out, opt in and opt out a little bit.

SPEAKER_03 28:12

I find as humans, like we have a pendulum problem. Like we are so on one side of the pendulum talking about like hustle, hustle, hustle. And then people get burnt out. And so all of society goes over here to be like, we're living the soft, slow life. And I'm like, can we not be in the middle? Can we not have seasons where we're hustling and seasons where we need to slow down? Can we not have like days where you're hustling for eight hours and then you're intentionally slow for two? Like, can we not just recognize that things still take hustle and life still needs slow? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:51

You need rest. Right? Yeah. And you're capable of both. I think it's like the storyline of both of those, like they sell better, right? When you think of like oh, you can live this gorgeous, beautiful, slow life, and you could also like in terms of the hustle, like oh, have a successful business. Like, you know, they both see like great things, but you need neither negative, you need both neutral, but both needed. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Hustle's fine, guys. Hustle's fine. It's important. And you yeah, especially if that's like what your goals are. Like you gotta work for them, but you just can't do it forever at the same pace. Yeah. I think that's the thing with hockey, is like what I played hockey in university, is like you obviously care so much about your craft and your school and hockey and everything, but there were seasons, right? Whereas like as soon as you own a business, you don't exactly have those seasons. There's no off-switch necessarily, there's no off-season. It's like the to-do list will continue. Yes. Yes. It is never ending.

SPEAKER_03 29:45

Yes, the to-do list. And you just wanted to make food, but now you also have to like be a lawyer and be a social media marketer and all the things. Yes. And an accountant.

SPEAKER_01 29:56

I don't do a ton of social media. It's like a goal of mine. But yes. I can't do everything. That's what it comes down to.

SPEAKER_03 30:02

Exactly. Um, what have you learned with building the team? Like you have employees now. Managing people is so hard.

unknown 30:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:16

It's so hard. But I think everything that is hard is because you care. Or at least every like that's what I have to remind myself. I'm like, this is hard because I give a shit. Like, and that's a good reminder for myself. And I think it is it's a delicate balance of um being mindful of their needs and being a flexible employer and caring about them as people. But what I have learned is that the business has needs too. I have needs too, and there's thinking about all of that in the same conversation, right? Um so I I think it's very easy for me to be like understanding and compassionate and like care about the people that are in my space, and I want them to love the environment too, right? Like I want them to have a good time and to learn things and feel good about the job that they have and also their requirements of the business. So that's just I would say that's my current work in the business right now is managing people and and not only managing, but but like leading people and kind of leaning into like how can I create better people regardless of if they're here for one year, that's amazing. But eventually they're not gonna be here. And like what can I show them or how can we work together on, you know, learning things about themselves that they can carry on with them. And I mean with food business, there's just gonna be turnover. That's just the reality of it.

SPEAKER_03 31:45

So that's such a unique perspective, though, to look at it as like how can even if they're just with me for a year, first of all, you're grateful for that. Where we hear like a lot of employers annoyed with something like that. And it sounds like you're grateful even if they're there for just a year. And then I love also your perspective of how can I leave this person better than when they came to me, because again, you don't hear a lot of employers talk like that.

SPEAKER_02 32:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:10

You have like, what can I get from these people? Yeah you know, and then they're resentful, like if they leave. So that's a beautiful, beautiful perspective. Thanks. Yeah, that's very unique.

SPEAKER_01 32:20

I don't really agree when people say, like, oh, there's no good workers, you know, like younger people. Like it's just I just I actually think there's not as many good leaders as there needs to be. Like, I think that's a part of it. And of course, like people are different. Like the high school employee is gonna be different than who I was as an employee in high school. Like, that's just the reality, that's how things change. But you have to take time to understand like how are they different, what are their needs, and at the same time, like how can I challenge them or push them in a way that maybe they haven't been challenged yet before, right? And like that takes effort, like that's the thing. It requires more effort. And I would say you've met Allison before, she's the assistant manager at the three, and it's been very, very helpful to have another person, another voice, another opinion, and like we can talk things out. She's done coaching before, so she and she has kids, like she just has a different experience and different perspectives, but we have a lot of the same values, so we can kind of work through some of the things that before I would just ruminate about. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 33:21

Yeah. You can be so black and white a hundred percent on something, and then you have one conversation with one person that has a different perspective, and you're like, oh my God, I'm an idiot. Right? Because you're like, I never thought of it like that. But we all have such different learning experiences. And I love that you said people complain, you know, about not good workers, but what you know, you flip it and it's like, well, are we lacking good leadership then? And I love that accountability because you know, people are people were talking about millennials in a certain way, which I'm part of. I'm an elder millennial, I believe it's called. And then people are talking about, I think it's called Gen Z or something in a certain way. And I'm just like, okay, but didn't you raise them? You know what I mean? Like I just always am like, can you guys not speak amongst yourselves as peers and be like, we created these humans? Yeah. We raised them. What did we do or not? Yeah. Like they've just been impressionable for the last 20 years. So like look in the mirror. Like, what did we do? What could we do differently? You know, and like now we're doing that. Like we have littles. Um, so and my husband's a high school teacher. So we're like, how can we avoid them turning out like him? You know?

unknown 34:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 34:49

Like this child in this your class. Um, so yeah, I think it's really, I love that you that you turned it on, like, okay, but what about the leadership?

SPEAKER_01 34:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 34:59

That's huge.

SPEAKER_01 35:00

Yeah. I think just communication is hard. Like that's what I feel like it comes down to, right? It's like figuring out how do you communicate and like I'm gonna communicate to this employee differently than I'm gonna communicate to this employee. And it's up to me to figure out like what that is, right? Or you're working together with that person and understanding, like you're building a relationship with them. And once you have like that trust and that relationship, then you're able to figure out how to best communicate and best support them. But I'm not, I mean, it's not easy by any means, and I don't feel good at it, but it's something I'm working on. So Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 35:33

A mentor of mine yesterday, I was at an event of hers, and she said nothing's ever blown up from overcommunication. But the opposite is always true.

SPEAKER_01 35:41

Yeah. Yeah. So true.

SPEAKER_03 35:43

Yeah. So it's huge, huge skill that people are lacking on for sure. Yeah. Let's flip the script. Okay. What are we absolutely loving about running the business?

SPEAKER_01 35:54

Um the thing. Okay, I'll say two things that have kept me going. Yeah. Uh no, three, actually. The first is the personal development, like the process of learning about myself uh and looking in the mirror and being like, okay, like gotta work on that, gotta work on that. Like that I love. Um, and it never ends. So that's kept me going. Um the I would say oh, this is not actually answering your question now. But the other things that have kept me going, one, beautiful food. Like I have hard days, but when I like make a meal, then I'm like, oh, that looks gorgeous. And like you get to deliver it to people and they feel enthusiastic about it, that's kept me going on hard days. And the fact that there's not a lot of health-focused places in Kitchener Waterloo. I'm like, I gotta be the one. There's gotta be somewhere for a big juicy salad for me to go to too. Yeah. So um, yeah, I love learning and the personal growth. Um, both I would say as an individual, but then also as a leader. So as we kind of talked about. Yeah. I love the beautiful food. Yeah. Yeah. It keeps me going. It is important. Like there's so many pieces too where it's like you don't put the dressing on top of the feta. You put the feta on top of the dressing. Like there's components to the way we make the meals.

SPEAKER_03 37:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:13

So then like the contrast is there, or it's like we call them like toppers. Like the chips, if you there's an odd time that we like run out of chips. It just happened a couple weeks ago. And if you don't have the fiesta bowl with the chips on top, it just doesn't look as appetizing. Right. It's just like there's purpose behind that.

SPEAKER_03 37:28

So purpose behind everything. Yeah. And something else unique is you also make all your own dressings, which is super rare. Yes. But I also love because in my health journey, I'm learning about all these secret ingredients that are in dressings, especially quote unquote healthy dressings. Yes. So I love that you make all of your own and there's no garbage in them. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 37:51

The whole thing is good. We do make um, I mean, in terms of what we have on site, it's olive oil, which most of like I would say all of the vinaigretts are made out of olive oil. We do have sesame oil in, I think, that carrot ginger dressing. Um but yeah, mostly olive oil. I'm trying to think if there's anything else. Um we would use like coconut oil in some of our baking. So in terms of like oils, um, that's what we use. It's I mean, olive oil has been on a uh it's been very high and low in terms of pricing. And there are many times where it's like, ugh, I don't want to pay$250 for like 20 liters of olive oil, but I'll do it, you know. So we've got through that and now it's come back down in price, which is wonderful. Um but yeah, everything pretty much is made in-house, I would say. Trying to think of anything besides the chips or like the things that we get from people.

SPEAKER_03 38:44

Such a nice touch.

SPEAKER_01 38:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 38:46

Such a nice touch. What are you most excited for in the next like one to five years for yourself and for your business?

SPEAKER_00 38:59

What am I most excited about?

SPEAKER_01 39:02

I I think I I'm most excited about taking all the experiences of the last five years. So we just celebrated, well, we barely celebrated. Um we just hit the five-year mark we will celebrate in the summer of existing as a brick and mortar space. And I think the the way I kind of describe it as the first, you know, few years was really like figuring out myself in that business. It was very much like my work that was put into it. Obviously, I had like employees and stuff, but um it was yeah, just like building that foundation. And then it now it's kind of like this team aspect and like really focusing on the team, working with Allison to um yeah, get the most out of people and like create a really incredible workplace for people. Um, so that's kind of like step two. And then step three is the next phase, which I mean, I I've started talking about it now, is just like maybe there's an opportunity to have another location in the future. Um yeah. So that I mean, for me, that takes more leadership, that takes more understanding of the business as a whole and like the numbers and um yeah, rebranding. Uh I was I've been in uh early conversations with Bree. Oh yeah. Yeah. So that I'm excited about because I I just think there has been so much so many lessons in the last five years, and I started out so scrappy. Like and I just want to be able to refine and elevate the whole experience. Um yeah, so I'll work with Allison on that. She's incredible. Um and yeah. I think that's it.

SPEAKER_03 40:40

I'm so glad that you said you're gonna actually celebrate this this summer. Because I was like, wait a second, we just made it to five years, you did not celebrate. So there's a celebration in the works, some sort of planning. Yeah. So that's exciting.

SPEAKER_01 40:54

Uh we can do maybe like an outdoor event. And I just want it to be an opportunity that everybody who has been who has played a role in the business in the first five years is able to come. And obviously it's it's their choice, but I have had meal prep clients that were, you know, weekly supporters of the three that don't live in the uptown area. Uh, so they don't necessarily come into the space now, but they were the backbone of the business for three years and just creating like an environment or an opportunity to celebrate them and celebrate the three. I was in Colorado for the three's third anniversary, so I celebrated by going on vacation. Yeah, yeah. So March 3rd was the fifth anniversary.

SPEAKER_03 41:39

That's exciting. It was funny because when you first came in, you said like today was really busy and really steady, and it was like, oh, I'm so glad for you. And I'm like, no, I'm glad for the business. Things are sometimes great for the business, not so great for you know, the person running it. My lunch. Yeah. Yeah. Is there anything that you wish the public knew about our community of small business owners? Like you even mentioned like the price of olive oil, like went up to$250, where it's like we would never know these things are happening. You know, and I find like those are the topics that you and I talk about. Like when I pop into the store, like when I say, How are you? Like you actually give me a real answer. Like you don't sort of say, like, I'm really great. You know, like you're just you actually say, like, I just bought$250 worth of olive oil. You know, things like that that the public just has no idea. Like I think so many of my listeners, especially, um, I would hope we all love local, we all support local, we all understand the value of buying local. And sometimes it can be more expensive and not as convenient as like a click on the phone. For sure. Um but for for other people, or maybe just to shed a light, enlighten them, you know, like what do you want them to know?

SPEAKER_01 42:59

Hmm. I mean, yeah, when it comes to specific items, like things are and food too, is so I find that very challenging. Like when I price something out, um, things are changing every single week, of like how much an avocado costs, right? Like that's been like a case of 12 avocados was up to like$45 at one point and now it's back down to$26. So it's just like it changes so much. Um, and that's not always something that like I'm even capable of keeping up with. And like I'm not gonna go and change the price of a meal. Um but you just kind of sometimes have to like eat the cost of that or um yeah, just hope for the best that it's gonna come back down. Yeah. Um trying to think of yeah, I I think another thing that I I see both sides of it. Some people would say it's like a cost of business, but in terms of like credit card fees for small businesses, yeah, it really comes down to and some people don't have a preference. Some people like their payment processing system doesn't, it's not a difference whether. whether it's debit credit or whether it's MasterCard or Amex, like it might be individual to that business. But I think too if that business is, you know, someone that you're like a consistent support of, just asking them and be like, oh, is there anything that would like, you know, make this easier on you? Like sometimes if it's a credit card payment, I I don't know exactly off the top of my head, but I want to say like even last year, like I'm a small operation compared to many places. And I think it was like$5,000 in credit card fees over the course of a year. Wow. So it just adds up. Like that type of stuff adds up for small business when again it's like I also don't want to put a that cost like back onto the customer. But that's also just the way it goes sometimes too.

SPEAKER_03 44:44

Yeah. So you can definitely see it both ways. And like, you know, I would see it as a cost of of doing business, but also like how do you remain competitive like with your pricing. Sure. And nothing needs to be done about it, but just enlightening people that that is something that, you know, you have to muddle with, you have to have brain capacity for, you know, what should I do here? It's great for people to learn. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 45:11

Great for people to know. I think I have a little sign at the at the cash and it just says like we prefer cash or debit, but we accept credit card too, right? So it's like it's like you still have the choice. I I'm not going to have hard feelings if you decide to pay credit card, but some people will ask like oh if it's better for you or less these assignment and they'll select their different card which I people just choose to pay in different ways. And so I think you just give them the information and they make the best decision based on that.

SPEAKER_03 45:38

But nice. Okay. We uh I have a couple more questions. What do you love about being based in Waterloo region?

SPEAKER_01 45:49

Um I I mean I live in Kitchener and I work in Waterloo. So I I love it feels kind of like a two in one a little bit. It's very connected in a lot of ways by the trails it's very close uh but at the same time they have very different um what would you call that like uh like different environment different energy about them different vibes yeah different vibes DTK and Uptown Waterloo. But I yeah I mean I love both and I'd say I do feel like there's a lot of heart in small business um and that feels really good. I don't always like I'm working you know nine to three like I don't always go to the all the places that I like feel that from but it's I think it's important. I know that you know hustle and flow for example it's like I don't go there all the time but I know that there's like so much heart and energy and like they've had so much challenge with COVID and so many other gyms too right um but the persistence and the resilience of I think small business owners like really exists in uh Kitchen Waterloo. And I think at the same time like there's also like an intersection of so many different like types of work. So you have like the tech, you have the universities like the it's like vibrant in a lot of different ways which I love. And I didn't grow up in Kitchen Waterloo but I grew up out in the country in Drumbo, Ontario. And so it feels like a small city. Like I have access and resources and like walkability and at the same time it's like not super overwhelming.

SPEAKER_03 47:23

So yeah I really love that too a small city. That's a great way to describe it.

SPEAKER_01 47:27

Yeah and people know like it still feels like a community right walk to places or you're like going to different businesses or different spaces and you still run into people but maybe not everybody. Which is like nice combinations like you feel welcomed but not overwhelmed with small talk.

unknown 47:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 47:45

Everyone knows everybody all the time.

SPEAKER_01 47:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 47:48

Yeah. And then what are some of your fellow favorite local businesses? We'll give them a shout out.

SPEAKER_01 47:55

I like full circle foods there in uh Kitchener. Uh I am uh I try to be as sustainable as possible. I just moved into a condo recently too and I've devastatingly learned that there's not recycling it's just cardboard and garbage. So I'm gonna be frequenting there more often to try to reduce my impact as well. Legacy Greens, I actually worked there for a year. I just think not only does Jordan have a great business there, but she's such a champion for other local businesses too and entrepreneurs and she's just always always available to like bounce ideas off of each other like provide feedback or advice or yeah she's just she's been in it for over 10 years now I believe. So I love Legacy Greens. And then I did I wanted to shout out I don't have like specific farms but when it comes to supporting like a local food system and like just better quality food like local um independently run like Wayward Farm, Bree and Mike, Alexandra's Farm is out in air there's Milky Way farms out I think closer to Woodstock but they've done CSA programs this way as well and I just think yeah if there's one thing you can do to support like a stronger food system it's supporting those independent farmers.

SPEAKER_03 49:17

I love that. Yeah yeah and lastly you have something special for our listeners. Right?

SPEAKER_01 49:24

Yes confidently yes um I will do an online code um we can think of the code we'll do like at home at home okay we'll do at home 33 so 33% off a meal online or same thing if you walk in which we do love walk in traffic we love dine in um traffic okay and uh same thing if you mention it then we'll just give you 33% off the meal.

SPEAKER_03 49:52

Okay so at home 33 I'm gonna write it down we're gonna do that code online. That is so generous. I think that's our biggest biggest code to date.

SPEAKER_01 50:02

Perfect to have that role title.

SPEAKER_03 50:06

I'm gonna use my own code. Yeah my chocolate chip cookie obsession okay that's amazing so uh people know from the top of our episode now where to find you in a very specific manner. Um also online uh the 3 kw is that our Instagram account?

SPEAKER_01 50:25

The 3 kw is Instagram yeah and then website is the3wellness.com.

SPEAKER_03 50:30

And I love the website because it lets me go on there and order my lunch with a timestamp for when I want to go pick it up. So that's a hot tip for anybody.

SPEAKER_01 50:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 50:40

And now they can use at home33. Yeah I love it. Thank you so much Morgan. Thank you. It was so nice to have you here and I really appreciate your time.

SPEAKER_01 50:49

Yeah well you're a great podcaster I've listened to most of them so yeah I've binge binge them so just binge them and it is great to just learn about yeah other local businesses and other local entrepreneurs it's it's a unique um energy requirement so it's nice to be able to relate how to some people.

SPEAKER_03 51:08

Yeah for sure. Thank you. Thank you for tuning in to the At Home in Waterloo Region podcast. It's been a pleasure sharing another incredible story with you. If you've enjoyed this episode be sure to subscribe and leave a review. It helps us reach even more people who love this community as much as we do. To stay up to date on new episodes and everything Waterloo Region from the housing market to community events follow at Homeco on Instagram and join our email newsletter community both linked in the show notes. Until next time take care of each other and let's keep celebrating the stories that make this region home.