IV. Nichole Frazer of Black Rooster Bistro Defining: A Life Well Lived
A life well lived is a life spent building each other up, supporting your neighbor and building a community. Life is short. Every decision you make, every day, impacts others.
After years in the restaurant industry working long hours for little personal growth or satisfaction my husband Rick and I decided to do something different. Black Rooster Bistro opened the end of March 2022 in Hudson, Wisconsin with nothing more than our life savings and a dream. Our goal? To support as many local businesses as possible with our local business.
Opening in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic we knew we could avoid a lot of supply chain issues and distribution woes buy keeping it local. You won’t find big name booze or beer behind our bar but come in with an open mind and I bet you’ll be as blown away as I was at the quality of products coming from Minnesota and Wisconsin. Our kitchen is no different. The menu changes seasonally to keep the products local. We also run a 5-day work week not only to keep our family intact but to allow our employees to do the same. Our weekend might not be Saturday and Sunday, but it is Monday and Tuesday. We can run full-time staff Wednesday - Sunday and we all get two days off in a row. It might take a few more years to feel the benefit of these changes as right now we are working long hours trying to get our dream off the ground. Opening a new restaurant amidst a group of long-standing favorites in place of a long-standing favorite is proving difficult.
Change is hard and new things are scary but each decision we make, every day can make a difference. We can make a difference. We can build each other up, support our local businesses and build a strong and loving community.
