Joanie’s In Murfreesboro, Tennessee: Meet The Chef

We sat down with Executive Chef Jason Day of Joanie’s in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Joanie's offers an impressive selection of gourmet coffee along with an extensive menu of delectable, scratch-made breakfast, lunch, and dinner options. Since all of their dishes are prepared from scratch, they serve a complete menu around the clock, day and night. Additionally, they provide a diverse array of beverages, including craft beer, wine, and mimosas available in six signature flavors.

Joanie’s In Murfreesboro, Tennessee: Meet The Chef

Joanie’s In Murfreesboro, Tennessee: Meet The Chef

Where did you grow up and where have you traveled to that contributed to you opening your own restaurant?

I grew up in the north suburbs of Chicago (Northbrook, IL) and, from there, I moved out to Scottsdale, AZ for high school and stayed out there for college as well (Arizona State University). After college I moved to San Diego where I was working in Healthcare. But I have traveled all over the country and I would always pay attention to things I liked and disliked about every restaurant/coIee shop I’d visit. I took all of that into account when I decided to take my life savings, quit my job, and move to Tennessee to open my 1st restaurant.

Tell our readers an interesting fact or two about yourself that reflects your management style?

Fortunately for me I’ve been working since I was 12 years old. I used to caddy at the local golf course down the street from us in Illinois and then, when I was 16, I got my first job at Arby’s and have been working ever since. Throughout college I supported myself as a bellman at a beautiful 5-star resort that really taught me a lot about the customer service side of business. I attribute my management style to that of empathy, as again, I’ve worked my entire life doing jobs just like the ones I now manage. I’ve also had the fortune of having some great bosses throughout my career, as well as some not-so-great ones. And you learn from both. About what you like and what you don’ t like. So that’s what I’ve tried to apply in my management style. Hire great, high-quality people and empower them to do their job well and never put them in a position to fail. Also make sure they’re recognized for their contributions and feel a part of what we do. Because they are. Joanie’s is all of ours. We all contribute to its success and my amazing employees are a big part of that.

Tell us about your absolute favorite food and why readers should try it if they haven’t already?

I personally love our burgers. I think we have the best burgers in town and they are some of the best I’ve ever had in my life. For me, specifically, I love our Tombstone burger. I named that one after one of my favorite movies and it’s a 1/2lb Angus beef patty (hand pressed and never frozen), tons of cheddar jack cheese, applewood smoked bacon, fried onion straws and BBQ sauce served on fresh Brioche bun or Pretzel Bun (my preference). We also oIer all our burgers with a gluten-free bun as well. We take so much pride in our food and the attention to detail on each one we make come through when you taste it. From the seasoning to the little details in the presentation. You know when you order something from us – we’re making that specifically for you and we’re putting our heart and soul in it to make sure it’s going to taste amazing.

Can you walk us through your experience in developing and maintaining a“strong team dynamic” among your restaurant? 

Sure. As I alluded to earlier it all starts with hiring great people who love to make others happy. All the other stuff can be taught but personality and work ethic cannot. We’re very picky about who we hire wanting to ensure we hire people who will mesh well with our current staI and create an environment where they’re all helping each other and having one another’s back. The culture obviously starts at the top and laying out the expectations of what it means to work here. Joanie’s is named after my late mother and, for me, it’s a very special place so I want to make sure the staI understands that and gives our beloved customers the experience they deserve when they come see us. From there it then comes down to great managers and I’m incredibly blessed to have 2 great ones. Kylie at the Square is a special young lady and has been with me almost 3 years. Autumn at our St. Andrews location is one of the kindest people you’ll ever meet, and both were promoted to their positions because of their work ethic and kindness. They set the example and if your bosses are the hardest workers in the room, the employees see that example and tend to follow it.

In your opinion, what factors contribute to excellent customer service?  

It’s a great question. And with what we do it’s all about customer service and how we make people feel when they come to see us. You’ve heard the adage people will forget things that are said but they’ll always remember how you made them feel. And we take that very seriously at Joanie’s. I want people that come to see us leaving happier than they were when they walked in. We’re going to work hard to give them a great meal and coIee but, more so, if you read our reviews you’ll see that almost everyone mentions the kindness of our staI. And that’s because of the culture we’ve set. It’s a gift to be able to make someone smile and we get to do that every single day. And as I mentioned earlier it all starts with hiring quality people who genuinely enjoy people and making people smile.

Joanie’s In Murfreesboro, Tennessee: Meet The Chef

Joanie’s In Murfreesboro, Tennessee: Meet The Chef

What are 3 key characteristics you look for when hiring staff?

For me, personally, I look for their ability to communicate eIectively. Are they looking you in the eye when they answer questions? Do they smile and have a pleasant demeanor? Do they seem eager to want to work here and have they done any research on our place? From a resume standpoint I tend to look at loyalty. Do they have 10 jobs on the last year on their resume? That’s usually a red flag. So loyalty, pleasant demeanor, and a work ethic would be those 3 characteristics I look for.

What is one of your greatest accomplishments or recent awards you've earned?

I think, for me, the greatest accomplishment was simply getting my 1st location open to be honest. Everything went over budget and time and I honestly didn’t think I’d make it. I was flat broke the day we opened having spent all the money I had saved the previous 20 years of working and in debt to contractors. I remember breaking down when the Health Department signed oI and said we could open up. It was such a massive struggle to get that 1st location open and that was before we even sold 1 cup of coIee. From there, 4 months into being open, COVID hit and we didn’t even have so much as a sign on the building in a new neighborhood center without any other businesses around. Getting through that was one of the greatest accomplishments of my life as well. I had some great people with me, and we worked our tails oI getting very creative and trying anything that would work. It made us a much better restaurant coming out of it and, for that, I’m so proud. As for awards, we’ve been blessed with some cool stuI. We’ve been featured on America’s Best Restaurants, Tennessee Crossroads, and have won multiple local awards, including Best Breakfast and runner-up for Best Overall Restaurant. We also have the highest reviews and are the most ordered restaurant on both Doordash and Uber Eats for all of Murfreesboro and that means so much to us. We work very hard so for the community to support us the way they have means so much. We just want to keep working hard to make sure we’re giving them a great place to come enjoy with their friends and family.

What are some of the latest trends you’re seeing in the hospitality industry?

The biggest trend has definitely been the delivery services. It’s funny because when I 1st opened and COVID hit, I was so stubborn by not signing up with any delivery services because we were so new and I didn’t want people’s 1st impression of our food to be delivery. Also I built our place to be a spot where friends and family could meet and enjoy one another’s company. But as we’ve evolved and established ourselves, the trend of delivery services like Doordash and Uber Eats have taken up such a huge part of the market share that we eventually had to acquiesce and join up. Then it became a challenge to us to try to become the best at that side of the business and, as previously mentioned, we’ve done very well with both Doordash and Uber and that’s a testament to my amazing kitchen staI and staI up front ensuring that we get those orders right and are giving our customers always fresh, scratch made food that we make specifically for them.

Joanie’s In Murfreesboro, Tennessee: Meet The Chef

Joanie’s In Murfreesboro, Tennessee: Meet The Chef

What do you love most about being the owner of Joanie’s in Murfreesboro, Tennessee?

That’s a great question. With a few different answers. 1st and foremost I LOVE the ability to make people happy. I worked in healthcare for 12 years prior to this dealing with end-of-life scenarios daily and working with families at their most stressed. And anyone who knows me knows I like to make people smile. That was the main reason I left a very comfortable job and took on this risk. I wanted to do something where, every day, I could make people smile. Going out to eat, getting coffee with loved ones is something we all enjoy doing and I wanted to create a space where people can come, get great food and drinks, and have a good time with their loved ones. And if we can make their day a little better then that’s a gift we don’t take for granted. Also, for me personally, I get to see my Mom’s name every day and think about her and how much she’d love this if she was alive. My Mom passed away as I was building the 2nd location and I re-named the restaurants to honor her. I didn’t have much time to grieve her death, as I had to come right back and finish building our 2nd location (as she would’ve wanted me to do) but now I get to see her name on coIee sleeves and on these TV shows we’ve been featured on and it gives me so much pride and happiness knowing I get to honor this amazing woman every day. My Mom was everything to me. I am who I am because of her. And I’ve put everything I am into these places, so it just made sense to name them after her.

Previous
Previous

Big Shanty Smokehouse In Kennesaw, Georgia: Meet The Chef

Next
Next

Butchers & Bakers In Farmington, Connecticut: Meet The Chef