Last month, Feed Co. Table & Tavern celebrated their 11th year of serving customers Southern comfort staples in a laid-back restaurant.
Part of the celebration included an announcement by the restaurant that longtime Feed managers, Michael Erhardt and Adam Bentley officially became partners alongside co-owners Dustin Choate and Miguel Morales.
Both men were hired off the street when the restaurant was still in the design phase and began their careers behind the bar on opening day.
“We helped decorate the bar,” Michael said. “We were hanging up stuff and putting the tables together.”
Michael and Adam kept working diligently and soon they were promoted to the management team.
“I took over someone's position that stepped down in management,” Michael said. “Then I was the Front of House Manager and then moved up to General Manager.”
The duo created a system for the restaurant to have two General Managers. The co-owners embraced the idea embraced, and Adam and Michael said that provided a better balance of work and personal life.
“We're blessed that Miguel and Dustin kind of taught us what they taught us and then afforded us the opportunity to create a schedule and a team and giving us the support we needed,” Michael said.
Michael and Adam said the owners allowed them to keep taking on more responsibilities, allowing Dustin and Miguel to focus on their other venues and businesses. Miguel is currently overseeing the build-out of the 1885 Grill he plans to open in Chickamauga.
Feed Co. Table & Tavern is a combination of Dustin Choate’s Tremont Tavern and Miguel Morales’ 1885 Grill.
“You have a sports bar side with a tavern entrance, and the bar looks a lot like Tremont Tavern,” Michael said. “But you also have the low top 1885 side with more casual fine dining featuring comfort food with our own unique twists.”
It’s the type of restaurant where you can watch your favorite sports team at the bar, enjoy trivia night, experience live musicians or be seated in the dining section to enjoy a 12-ounce New York Strip served with smoked tomato risotto and grilled squash when it’s offered during a weekly special.
The interior pays tribute to the historic Chattanooga Feed and Seed Supply Co. building it occupies. The venue blends industrial, rustic, and modern elements, and the largest covered outdoor patio in Chattanooga. They recently added an event venue in the back of the building with a private entrance for parties and wedding receptions.
More importantly Adam and Michael said they’ve collaborated with their staff to cultivate an environment and culture that slowly evolved after everyone took a step back during the COVID pandemic.
Michael said prior to COVID they stayed open until 1 a.m. on weekends. The pandemic forced them to think about the type of establishment they wanted to be.
“We realized that it might not be our vibe to stay open late,” Michael said. “I think that our culture and our identity evolved from that slowdown that we were afforded in 2020.”
The duo said they didn’t want a culture that fostered burned out workers. They focused on new hours, focused on the menu, and developed a system that supported their employees.
“We have more sales now than we did when we were open an additional three hours a night or a day,” Michael said adding their employee turnover ratio is extremely low.
Adam and Michael display their leadership while working alongside their staff busing tables, serving customers, and communicating with the kitchen staff. The two men said that when they do need to hire someone, they take the time to get to know the potential candidate to make sure it’s the job they want and to ensure they will work well with their current staff.
“Again, that speaks to a culture that took us a while to develop and cultivate,” Michael said. “It took us a while to get here. We had previous management that we've had to cycle through. Also, if you can't keep good employees, you're doing something wrong and that starts with management and ownership.”
“Culture is the hardest thing to build and the easiest thing to lose,” Adam added.
Michael and Adam said they feel blessed that Miguel and Dustin mentored them. Michael said they learned a lot about how to professionally manage a restaurant and all the complexities that goes into running a dinner service. He said things are much harder than they sometimes seem.
“People open restaurants and they have great ideas and concepts but executing them is different,” Michael said. “Having a good plan and a good idea is one thing, but you have to understand there's a bookkeeping and financial side of things you need to understand to achieve your financial goals.”
Michael said they have two kitchen managers that create the menu with them, offering weekly specials that are constantly changing based on the seasonal fruits and vegetables available. They source most of their produce from local farms and seek out the best quality meats and seafood.
“Brandon and Terrence have taken over the kitchen, and they've taken us to new heights,” Michael said. I think the quality of our food has never been better.”
Adam said the pot roast and their smashburgers are the most requested menu items.
“We sold over 15,000 smash burgers last year,” Adam said. “And we're on track to either beat or match that.”
Their Blueberry Mule cocktail recently became their most requested drink. It’s made with their in-house made ginger beer. Their Sloshed Housewife made with Moscato, mango passionfruit, vodka, fresh orange juice and cranberry juice is another popular cocktail.
Stop in for a fabulous meal at Feed Co. Table & Tavern and be sure to congratulate Adam and Michael.
Feed Co. Table & Tavern
- 201 W Main Street, Chattanooga, TN
- (423) 708-8500
- www.feedtableandtavern.com