Here's my story (and I'm sticking to it...for now).
To be quite honest, I'd never been to the Midwest until I met my husband. Truly. Those "flyover" states were something I had memorized in the 5th or 6th grade, but never had any intention of visiting -- let alone living in!
My husband and I met during Christmas break of our respective third year of law school at a mutual friend's party. I was finishing up at Seattle University School of Law (my dad told me to go to school where I intended to practice), and Brian was similarly in his third year at Marquette Law School, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
We met, we fell in love and we dated long distance. After deciding to date exclusively in January of 2000, I went to visit Brian in Milwaukee in February. *Yes, there is a LOT wrong with that sentence -- especially deciding to visit a new boyfriend in Milwaukee in February!!! So...never having been to the Midwest, I literally had to pull out the map. I'm not ashamed. Most of my friends had to double check where Milwaukee was too (and they were law school students). I flew into Chicago that first trip, and we drove from Chicago to Milwaukee. Oh.My.Goodness. It was flat. It was cold. Flat and cold. Flat and cold. Unless you grew up on an Island in the Pacific Northwest and were use to seeing mountains and water everyday, you really can't explain the shock. The utter shock of the immense FLATNESS one encounters from Chicago to Milwaukee.
Anyway. As chances have had it in my life, I wound up living in Wisconsin for nearly a year, and then after a brief reprieve in Washington State, we were back to the Midwest. This time...in Peoria (yup...I had to google Peoria and pull the map out again!).
Don't get me wrong. I've come to love and appreciate the Midwest and feel like I've been given an "insiders sneak peek" at our country's best kept secrets. Wisconsin has heart like no other state I've ever visited. The people are passionate about their state, their teams, their cheese/food and alcohol! I learned early on, that nearly every ailment could be cured by a type of alcoholic beverage. The Justice I use to work for, would say: "Sounds like you have a cold...you need a Brandy!" Okie dokie! While the rest of the country mother hens pregnant women when they order a regular latte, the folks in Wisconsin leave you alone! Truly, they don't blink and EYE if a pregnant lady orders a beer. Gotta love that. Libertarian views at work!
Illinois lacks Wisconsin's charm and heart. I do have to say, that Chicago is my favorite big city town (I like it better than Seattle...sorry!), but Chicago is Chicago. It's not really Illinois. Chicago has great food. Peoria does not!
So back to Peoria. I love the schools, I love the community, I love the Midwestern hospitality etc. but I do NOT love the food. With every "problem" comes an opportunity, so my purgatory in Peoria has led me to be a good cook. Necessity breeds greatness. But...I don't always want to cook, so we have discovered a few places that we do LOVE to eat at in this town. So, when a new pizza place opened up in Junction City, we had to to try it!!! We loved it!! Wood fired Pizza! It was great!! A cute, fun place to take the boys on a Friday night!!! The pizza place is Brienzos.
Brienzos. We frequent the pizza place about once a week. Mainly on Fridays after school. My boys call it the: "Subway pizza place" because you can make your own pizzas! The owner and his wife are beyond sweet (and tolerant of my boys). Most of the time it is just the boys and me, because Brian is either traveling or working late. But it's always the same. The boys and me and pizza on Friday nights!!! Tradition!
Fast forward several months later. The owners are sweet and usually let us try their dessert pizzas etc. "on the house." So I was musing out loud to my oldest one time and said: "I wonder why it's called Brienzos? You should ask the owner. I bet there is a story!" Boy. Was I right!! It was Grandma Brienzo, whom the pizza place was named after. But...the REAL story was how the owner lost his pharmaceutical sales job 4-5 years ago. He didn't know what to do, so he talked to his Grandma and she gave him the family recipe for pizzas. They sold off everything they owned, bought a wood-fired oven, and traveled from festival to festival for two years. As he said: "we lived like Carnis (carnival people). They built up a clientele, and word of mouth, then finally they had enough money to buy the place in Junction City. WOW. WOW. I loved the pizza already, but now, knowing the STORY, I loved the pizza even MORE and wanted to give them my business ALL the time!!
So back to Friday night date night with Peoria's three most eligible bachelors -- my sons. We go early, and chat with the husband/wife owners. I use this time to show my sons how hard working people create and maintain a business and customer base. I love Fridays. I love Brienzos. I love their Story.
Tonight, for the first time in well over a year, I gave the owners MY card, and shared MY story. It was funny. She had been considering lash extensions, and had recently been invited to a mascara party that she couldn't make. I shared about our company's mission to uplift, inspire and validate women. I gave her a mascara. She was so excited!!! It was so much more fun to share and swap with someone whom I had built a RELATIONSHIP with. I felt ok sharing my story, since I knew their story!!!
My boys are learning a valuable lesson right along with me: FACTS tell...but STORIES sell. When we let down our guard, when we allow ourselves to be human -- imperfections and all -- that's how we connect. That's how we engage. That's how businesses GROW. It's network and relationships!
I hope my boys always seek out the "story.: There is ALWAYS a story. We just have to ask and listen! What's YOUR story? Inspirational video for your viewing pleasure: http://flipagram.com/f/R2SnMyMZsj
Cheers!!! Happy Weekend!!!
Leslie
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