Special & Unique: Jenn Walker
"I grew up in Vermont, so I guess I could say I'm a 'woods girl,'" starts Jenn Walker in a laugh, still one would indisputably describe her as a Wonder Woman. Her career, almost literally, started in the family kitchen, helping her mother ("she's a self-taught chef") to prepare the large family reunions. "My family has always been big on using any sort of excuse to get together and celebrate. That's how I learned, early on, the importance and the cultural implications of food and beverages, as well as how to bring people together. I remember my mother, an accountant by day, cooking these lavish meals using produces from our huge garden." Inevitably, Jenn's mom opened her own bed and breakfast and 40 seat restaurant, so it's not hard to guess how Jenn got her knack for entrepreneurship within the food and beverages industry. "Also, my grandfather was one of the cofounders of Woodchuck Cider, so it's safe to say that the restaurant industry was my destiny. I don't think I had an option in terms of anything else looking merely as attractive and easily accessible as the hospitality industry."
From restaurants to restaurants, she ended up in Boston: "That's where I met my husband, almost fourteen years ago, at Via Matta (yes, a restaurant!). We moved from Boston to Connecticut, where the bulk of my family resides. There, of course, I worked in a restaurant (because, you know… why not?!). My daughter was close to 6 years old, and my husband and I were talking about having another child when Barteca opened that position as the COO's right hand. Not keen to work until 4 am managing operations anymore, I jumped on the opportunity. That's how I opened 29 Bartaco restaurants across the country. It was amazing to see my organizer and planner skills at work as I was developing projects from a 30 thousand feet perspective."
Monotony kicked in after a couple dozen openings. "I don't want to sound ungrateful, but after opening 30 restaurants, you can only learn so much, so, inevitably, I was starting to run in circles. At the same time, I was missing what I have always loved within the food industry, that proclivity to make people feel special by creating happy memories. The leopard can't change its spots, they say.
In Montauk's clear skies, the stars aligned: "After leaving the recently acquired Bartaco in 2018 and right before the pandemic, I took shifts at Gurney's. Coincidence or not, Patrick Forbes, a very good friend I met in Boston 11 years ago, was working there. Driving around after shifts, we would analyze the restaurant situation here and saw a niche for us to develop a project based on our forte: making something special and unique."
The food truck path was obvious when looking at the demographic. Everything was coming together really well, and then the pandemic hit. "It was a decisive moment. Ultimately, we decided on pushing forward because everyone was in this weird spot where they didn't know the fate of their business. Even the most seasoned businesses had to restart from scratch. For us, it was a way to test our ideas and stay flexible. After all, people needed to get out to buy food regardless of the form. Dove straight into the social distancing and take out or delivery… which was essentially our business model anyway. That's how DumbDumb Food Truck was born.
We did pretty well right away, and we were able to grow our name and create a presence here. Thanks to this early success, we were offered to take over the restaurant space at Breakers Resort. The obvious would have been to do a brick-and-mortar version of DumbDumb, but… no. Adam Greenberg, a fantastic chef known nationwide for his collaboration with Food Network, had just closed the still young Coconut Club in Washington DC because of the pandemic. I asked him if there was a way to make a spinoff of his restaurant to bring the essence of Coconut Club to Montauk. That's how Hello Coco was born! Adam tweaked his menu, and we bought a lot of stuff from Coconut Club. We are so happy Adam helped. Our Hawaiian style is unusual and exotic here, so we have nothing but positive reviews and feedback so far."
Montauk is a special place. Before becoming the favorite destination for trendy hip people, it was a fishermen's town. The Hamptons themselves obviously are stretching from the West Hamptons Dunes all the way to Montauk. Over the last 10 to 12 years, we have seen this eastbound push making the whole coast popular and cool. The growth is inevitable.
Growth. A word Jenn keeps in the back of her mind. "I'm open to the idea of other iterations of Hello Coco or DumbDumb or anything else, really, if it makes sense." A chain of franchises in the making? "Probably not to that extent, but… who knows???" She emphasizes in that Wonder Woman kind of smile. Definitely a Dahlia Crush.