Why Not Me?
How does Chef Beth Yohannes answer this question?
Why not me?
Depending on your mindset, the question can intimidate or inspire you, shut you down or energize you.
My own curiosity about this has led me to investigate how and when different entrepreneurs I admire were able to forge ahead with their ventures, despite the risks and vulnerability involved. I wanted to know how they tapped into their courage so they could move beyond thinking about taking action to actually take action.
In mid-January, I sat down for a conversation with Chef Beth Yohannes about how she came to own the Lemon Slice Café. Located in downtown Silver Spring, MD, Lemon Slice emphasizes great customer service and “food cooked with love.” Beth makes all of the dishes from scratch using fresh, healthy, seasonal ingredients.
She developed an early passion for cooking and the service industry, and when she was in her early 20’s, she opened her first restaurant in London.
The Silver Spring café is actually the third iteration of Lemon Slice. Previously, Beth had a café in Houston, Texas where she lived with her family before moving to Maryland for her husband’s job. After the move, she stayed home for a few years to focus on raising her children, but when the chef of her kids’ school lunch program was fired suddenly, she seized the opportunity to take over the role.
Beth catered and ran that program at St. John’s Episcopal School for five years. As her youngest child moved on to high school and was getting ready to leave for college, Beth realized she wanted something more. She opened the Lemon Slice Café in September 2019.
We spoke about the challenges she faces in her business, what she does to navigate them, and how she relies on her intuition to guide her.
Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Dani: You mentioned that you first opened a restaurant in London not long after finishing school. How did that happen?
Beth Yohannes: I used to live in a small city, and when I would go to London to visit my brothers, there were no good Ethiopian restaurants. I told my brothers, “We have to open a restaurant. We have to provide a better service than what everybody's getting right now.” It was not that I needed to open a restaurant. I had to open a restaurant.
My brothers found this tiny spot. We renovated it ourselves for three months…the floors…we did everything. And we just put “Coming Soon: Ethiopian Restaurant.” That was the advertising.
The day of the opening, we didn't have a penny. We borrowed 400 pounds from a friend to buy the drinks and whatever we needed to sell. And I remember it was just packed that night. There was no room. One person had to leave the place for another person to come in. It was just crazy, and it was like that for a long time because we concentrated on customer service.
My mission was service, period. When people came in, we greeted them with a smile and joy.
I didn’t want to get a job. I wanted to live my passion, to do what makes me happy. I knew it was not going to be easy. Nothing is easy, but if you have the love for it, that gives you the energy to sustain it.
Dani: When you were deciding to open Lemon Slice in Silver Spring, what would you say was your “why not me” moment?
Beth: That question is fascinating.
I knew I could do it. I just knew. I did it before, in London, when I had no wisdom, no experience, no knowledge, nothing. Being in the service industry is kind of a calling, not like a job. It wasn't so much why not me; it was solving a problem. And focusing on the impact I could have.
The London restaurant opened because I was solving a problem. There were no Ethiopian restaurants, and the customer service, I knew we could do it better. The one in Houston, I was bored. I needed something I could do for me. And then the school, St. John's, that was another problem. I figured I can fix this. It wasn't about the money. It was about finding something I love to do. And another way of being around my kid.
It was just perfect for me because, if there was no school, I was off. It was the perfect scenario for my life. And Naomi (her daughter) loved it.
Then, when Naomi was a senior in high school, I said to myself, I need more. I'm a little bored. Let me see what's out there. And the day I started Googling, I saw this place, and it was so nice and cute and small. And I can still close at 3:00!
Dani: You started this right before COVID. In what way did that impact you?
Beth: We opened, and then, within a few months, it was a lockdown. All of my business was supposed to be the people that came to work in the building, and there was nobody coming to work in the building.
The letters start coming in, you know? You have to pay the rent. You have to pay utility bills…the fridges are still working, and everything is still working, and I remember I came here and sat down… I started cleaning, and then I stopped. I walked around the block, and I thought, `people are not going to work. They’re in their apartments. They’re staying home. So maybe they'll start ordering online.’ That's when I did the website and online ordering with Grub Hub and Uber.
I couldn’t hire anybody. My mom was living with me then, and I didn't want to take the virus home. So, I told my mom, you're going to have to come and help me. And then it was me and my mom for a year and a half. We just did to-go orders online. We’d prepare it and give it to them. It was tough.
Dani: Did you get a lot of business from that?
Beth: It was enough to pay the rent. Maybe not enough some months. And then, when they said “you can open now,” it got busier. Eventually, I hired people and fired my mom. (laughing) Slowly, we built the business back. Now ninety percent of my customers are from outside, not from the building. The building is almost empty still.
People say the food is amazing, and that everyone who works here is nice. I think that’s our magic, you know?
We try and cook everything from scratch, with minimum processed food, very minimum. It makes me happy that it's also healthy. I think that's what differentiates us from a lot of other restaurants. If it's good food, it's usually upscale and expensive, or it’s McDonald's or Chick-fil-A, and people eat that and feel bad about it. But they come and grab something from here, and they enjoy it. I’m filling a gap.
Dani: Was there ever a time in the past couple of years, either during COVID, or any other time, where you felt stuck?
Beth: Oh, yeah.
You're tired, you know, after working seven days, month after month after month. And you want to take a longer vacation, but you can’t because everything is dependent on you. I’ll think, what did I do? Why?
Dani: What do you turn to in those times?
Beth: I think I just open the door, and I say, “Thank you, Lord, for this place. Thank you so much.”
I just love being here.
You give it so much, you know? We refinanced the house to get this, and my husband… I think he didn't think I was going to be working this hard. It drives him crazy how much I work.
There are those moments, but then I come back and see my customers, and I'm happy.
And that was yesterday.
Dani: It sounds like you turn to gratitude.
Beth: Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, that's it. Like I told you, I opened the door, and I knew how much joy this was going to bring me.
Gratitude. That's a huge part of my life. Gratitude to my staff…Every paycheck, I write almost a letter to them on the back of the envelope. I just write how much I appreciate them and what they did that week if they did something special, even if it's a challenging situation. I’ll write, “I know this was challenging, but I love the way you came out of it and what you learned from it,” and they love it. And I love it, too.
Every note is personal. If I don't do it, they get upset. Some of them collect them. It means something to them, and it's a way of practicing gratitude for me.
Dani: What's your measure of success and failure?
Beth: That's not something I think about a lot. I think about whether I’m serving my mission. My mission is to be happy, and to provide quality service. And, obviously, pay all my bills. That's my immediate mission. And then my long-term mission would be, can I grow this? Can I make it bigger than what it is now?
I think I'm successful because I raised two amazing kids. That's my measure of success. We have this unbelievable relationship. They're good kids, and I'm just so proud. That's my success story.
Lemon Slice is just something that is making me happy. And if something else comes out of it, like a franchise, or if I can open 10 more that would be with the same culture, with the same principles, with the same value system? It would be amazing, and I'm putting that into the universe. But the real success is my kids, and the fact that they want to spend time with me.
Dani: What would you say to anyone out there who wants to take a chance on themselves, like you did?
Beth: I see a lot of people doing things because somebody else did it. I think it has to be something that's in you, and if you're conflicted, it's for a reason. You have to learn your intuitions. You have to trust your intuitions. I always did trust my intuitions, and I can be spontaneous…
Dani: Like buying the restaurant the day you saw it?
Beth: Yeah(laughing).
If you override your own happiness to make everybody else happy, you can't sustain that, and then you will not make them happy, and you will not make yourself happy.
Follow your intuition, trust your intuition.
Each situation teaches you something. Every single day, every situation, every incident, teaches you something.
We're more intelligent than we think we are, than we are told we are. Practice learning your intuition, and follow it. I think, if you follow it, you can't go wrong.
Next Up: A conversation with Lenore Baker, co-owner of Grace, a yoga, Pilates, and strength-training studio…
If you have a story you’d like to share, or you know of someone you think I should talk to, write to me: dani@curiousmindopenheart.com