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"THE SECRET SAUCE TO RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS!"
Join the Alpharetta Chamber of Commerce for our Coffee & Commerce breakfast and networking event at the Atlanta Marriott Alpharetta on Windward Parkway.
Breakfast and coffee will be provided as we network with other Alpharetta businesses, encourage economic growth and hear from our speaker. Our goal is to grow your business connections and keep you informed about important topics that affect our business community!
Our keynote speaker will be Louis Soon - restaurateur extraordinaire! Owner of South Main Kitchen and Butcher and Brew in Downtown Alpharetta. What is the "Secret Sauce" to running a successful restaurant? Louis Soon will share his success story with information that will benefit any business owner or entrepreneur. Also, learn what "cooking" with the newest restaurants coming "Soon"!
Excerpt from Atlanta Business Chronicle By Martin Sinderman – Contributing Writer
Oct 13, 2017, 1:00am
Soon, was born in Curacao and grew up in St. Maarten. Becoming a restaurateur was a late-career move. After stints as a manager at various companies and owner of a car rental business in St Maarten, Soon needed a change. “I had to make a decision about what I wanted to do in life,” he said. “I’ve always loved food, people and music, so I figured the best place to pull it all together was in the restaurant business.”
Soon moved to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., in 2006, where he enrolled in culinary school at The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale and earned a Diploma of Culinary Skills in September 2009. While there, he traveled to Atlanta and appreciated the food scene. “It was more chef-driven and food-driven [than Florida], and offered better opportunities,” Soon said.
He landed in Roswell, Ga., where he worked his way up from waiter to bartender to restaurant manager during the openings of Little Alley Steak, Street Food and Salt Factory Pub. Soon realized his skills were best suited to “front of the house” as general manager. So in 2012, he earned a bachelor’s degree in food and beverage management from the International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Atlanta. Degree in hand, he said, “I decided to do my own thing.”
In 2013, a series of meetings in North Fulton County left Soon impressed. “I’d seen the good things that had happened in downtown Roswell with Salt Factory and Little Alley,” said Soon, “and when I [learned] about what they wanted to do in downtown Alpharetta, I could tell the city would be super accommodating in helping businesses get started, and that this was a good place to start my new career.”
Soon opened South Main Kitchen in 2014. The restaurant is a casual space featuring an open kitchen, communal seating and a rooftop bar. Its success lead Soon to open nearby Butcher & Brew in 2016, a gastro sports bar. That restaurant, too, has become popular.
How does he do it? Join us at Coffee and Commerce to hear his inspirational story!