Owner, COLT Grill
Q: What brought you to Prescott?
A: We have restaurants in other cool northern Arizona towns, and believed Prescott would be a nice fit for our casual, affordable, western style BBQ grill. I love the kind people, the rodeo activities, Courthouse Plaza, and the emphasis on Prescott’s western heritage. I aim to have the restaurant help out wherever it can.
Q: How did you become interested in your career field?
A: I am actually an interior designer by trade. I’ve enjoyed designing hospitality projects, hotels and restaurants, in particular. This skill naturally flowed into opening restaurants.
Q: What is the biggest challenge of your job?
A: Restaurants are a lot of hard work, long hours and pressure in many directions — government bureaucracy, pandemic impacts such as food shortages, higher pricing, smaller labor pool, regulations to name a few. When we make mistakes, we can’t let discouragement set in, we have to just keep pushing and believe in why we started the dream in the first place.
Q: What is the greatest reward of your job?
A: Working hard with my family to create something that makes people happy. Also, the ability to fundraise for great causes and honor others is very rewarding. Life is difficult, and we’re all here to lighten the load for others, right?
Q: If you could have dinner with any three-five people (dead or alive) who would it be?
A: First would be Louie Zamperini, the subject of Laura Hillenbrand’s amazing and fabulous book Unbroken. Second would be the owner of the famous race horse Seabiscuit, Charles Howard, and my Grandma Helen after whom I am named and miss.
Q: What is the last book you read; what did you enjoy about it most?
A: For fun I’m re-reading Because of Winn-Dixie; a gift I received at Christmas from my daughter. In the car, I am listening to the audio versions of the business books Good to Great by Jim Collins and How to Have Difficult Conversations by Henry Townsend. First though, I read a passage out of the Bible every morning.
Q: What is your favorite Prescott activity?
A: I have three! Attending the rodeo with family; taking my grandson for a walk around court house square while the autumn leaves are falling; sipping good whisky with friends over great conversation at any of the great bars and restaurants downtown.
