Restaurant Hoppen

Deena and Josh opened a coffee shop in 2018, despite the fact that they knew very little about coffee. They learned on the fly and eventually grew it into a Bennington restaurant, Hay Jay Cafe. But as cool as the story is, the meaning is even greater: Hay Jay Cafe is named for Hazel Jane, the infant daughter they lost several years ago. Now their restaurant not only serves wonderful food and coffee, but helps provide healing for families who experienced similar tragedies.

☕ Visit Hay Jay Cafe:
https://www.hayjaycoffee.com/

Subscribe to Restaurant Hoppen for more stories about the people, passion, and purpose behind the food.

This is a Hurrdat ONE Production. Hurrdat ONE is a podcast network and digital media production company based in Omaha, NE. Find more podcasts on the Hurrdat ONE Network by going to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hurrdat ONE Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hurrdat ONE YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! 

Timestamps:

00:00 – Opening a Coffee Shop Without Knowing Coffee

01:43 – The Story Behind Hazel Jane & the Name Hay Jay

06:41 – How Sharing Their Story Became a Connection for Other Families

09:50 – From Drive-Thru Coffee to a Full Cafe in Bennington

18:07 – Building the Menu & Creating the Signature Hey J Cakes

27:25 – The Family Story Behind Hay Jay's Cinnamon Rolls

33:53 – Josh's Leap Into Coffee With No Experience

38:20 – Starting a Business One Month Before Their Wedding

40:24 – Growing Beyond the Cafe With a Coffee Trailer & Catering

45:14 – Rebranding to Honor Hazel Jane & What's Next for Hay Jay

50:41 – Why Giving Back to Bennington Became a Mission

52:25 – Teaching Their Daughters to Ask "How Can We?"

57:36 – What Restaurant Guests Don't Always See

1:00:34 – The Best Part of Being in the Restaurant Business

#RestaurantHoppen #HayJayCafe #BenningtonNebraska #OmahaFood #CoffeeShop #SmallBusinessStory #Community #BreakfastAndBrunch #NebraskaRestaurants #DanHoppen

Jodi Jefferson wasn't sure where her life was headed after she retired following 21 years in the Air Force. But she knew she loved to bake, and what began as a fine side hustle has evolved into a thriving baking business! Hear the origin story of Busy Bee Baking Company in my fun conversation with Jodi!

Restaurant Hoppen is hosted by Dan Hoppen.

🐝 Follow Busy Bee Baking Company:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/busybeebakingcompany/?hl=en

Follow Jodi Jefferson:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jodi.jefferson.3/?hl=en

To inquire about placing an order, Jodi recommends contacting Busy Bee Baking Company LLC through Facebook Messenger.

Subscribe to Restaurant Hoppen for more stories about the people, passion, and purpose behind the food.

This is a Hurrdat ONE Production. Hurrdat ONE is a podcast network and digital media production company based in Omaha, NE. Find more podcasts on the Hurrdat ONE Network by going to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hurrdat ONE Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hurrdat ONE YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! 

Timestamps:

00:00 – “I Don’t Want to Be Everyone’s Favorite Baker”

00:44 – From 21 Years in the Air Force to Busy Bee Baking Co.

01:37 – Why Jodi Has No Set Menu

05:02 – Recreating Grandma’s Recipes—and the Memories Behind Them

12:32 – Baking to Give Back, Not to Get Rich

17:38 – The Air Force One Standard: Making Every Customer Feel Special

28:05 – The Cakes She Made for the Bushes and Obamas

30:44 – Finding Purpose After Military Retirement

36:53 – Why Jodi Is Happy Staying a Cottage Baker

41:41 – Supporting Local Veterans Through the Fifty Mile March

43:45 – The Thanksgiving Bake Sale That Has Raised $75,000+

47:57 – This Year’s Bake Sale Supports the Christopher Bramer Foundation

53:34 – Balancing Business, Family, and Retirement

55:41 – How to Order from Busy Bee Baking Company

#RestaurantHoppen #BusyBeeBakingCompany #OmahaBaker #CottageBaker #VeteranOwned #OmahaFood #PapillionNebraska #ThanksgivingBakeSale #FiftyMileMarch #CommunityFirst

Mercredi Market has been busy from the moment it opened in Omaha in early June despite a minimal social media presence. What's led to its instant success? How about baking its own bread, carefully curating its small sandwich menu, and being created with community at its core? Owner Nathan Ma joined me to discuss all that and more, chatting about sandwiches, service, and how Mercredi brings something the Old Market has long needed.

Find Mercredi Market:
https://www.instagram.com/mercredimrkt/

Restaurant Hoppen is hosted by Dan Hoppen.

This is a Hurrdat ONE Production. Hurrdat ONE is a podcast network and digital media production company based in Omaha, NE. Find more podcasts on the Hurrdat ONE Network by going to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hurrdat ONE Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hurrdat ONE YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! 

Timestamps:

00:00 - What Makes Mercredi Market Different?

01:19 - A Sandwich Shop Built Around Downtown Walkability

05:27 - Why Nathan Wanted to Create a Neighborhood Market

09:52 - Why Focaccia Is the Foundation of the Menu

13:58 - Why Mercredi Market Keeps Its Menu Small

17:40 - How Nathan Built a Menu of Sandwich Classics

24:25 - Bringing Breakfast to the Old Market

26:18 - The Family Recipe Behind Mercredi's Milk Bread

29:23 - How Music Influences Nathan's Approach to Food

37:03 - Growing Up Around Family Restaurants

42:22 - Opening Day, Early Sellouts & Learning on the Fly

46:28 - Why Mercredi Doesn't Chase Social Media Trends

51:26 - The People Behind the Food & the Power of Community

#RestaurantHoppen #MercrediMarket #OmahaSandwiches #OmahaFood #OldMarketOmaha #SandwichShop #Focaccia #DowntownOmaha #OmahaEats #DanHoppen

Bella never set out to start a business. She just wanted a gluten-free bread that tasted and felt like traditional bread and didn't upset her body. So she made it herself, and her gluten-free sourdough bread is all the rage now. You'll not only find it in local coffee shops, but in Hy-Vee grocery stores all over the Midwest! Hear how Bella unlocked the code to gluten-free bread and what her journey to get to this point has been like!

Shop Bella Bread and find retailers:
https://bellabread.co/

This is a Hurrdat ONE Production. Hurrdat ONE is a podcast network and digital media production company based in Omaha, NE. Find more podcasts on the Hurrdat ONE Network by going to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hurrdat ONE Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hurrdat ONE YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! 

Timestamps:

#RestaurantHoppen #BellaBread #GlutenFree #GlutenFreeBread #GlutenFreeSourdough #OmahaFood #OmahaBusiness #SourdoughBread #HyVee #DanHoppen

Chef Rachel McGill of Dish in Lincoln, Nebraska joins Dan Hoppen for an in-depth conversation about creative cooking, vegetable-forward cuisine, restaurant ownership, young chefs, the Lincoln dining scene and her experience competing on Food Network's Chopped.

Rachel explains why vegetables are at the center of her cooking, how her backyard garden supplies produce for Dish, how she works with local Nebraska farmers, and how she develops dishes around seasonal ingredients.

She also breaks down her signature Carrots, Carrots, Carrots dish, her approach to minimizing food waste, the evolution of Dish over the past decade, the challenge of changing an established restaurant, and what it took to convince Lincoln diners to embrace a different kind of upscale dining.

The conversation also covers Rachel's James Beard Best Chef Midwest nomination, her self-taught path into cooking, learning to work on a line, mentoring young cooks and the lessons she learned from Dish's original owner, Travis Green.

Then Rachel goes behind the scenes of Chopped, including the stress of cooking for cameras, creating dishes from mystery ingredients, judging, the differences between television competition and restaurant cooking, and how the experience made her more confident as a chef.

Dish Lincoln
https://www.dishdowntown.com/

This is a Hurrdat ONE Production. Hurrdat ONE is a podcast network and digital media production company based in Omaha, NE. Find more podcasts on the Hurrdat ONE Network by going to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hurrdat ONE Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hurrdat ONE YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! 

Timestamps:

00:00 – Why Dan Finally Made the Drive to Dish in Lincoln
01:28 – What Makes Dish Different From Other Restaurants?
04:03 – Why Vegetables Became Rachel's Passion
12:12 – Inside Rachel McGill's Rapid-Fire Culinary Brain
19:03 – Why Lincoln Needs More Independent Restaurants
31:10 – How a 21-Year-Old Became a Chef
38:33 – How Rachel Ended Up Buying Dish
42:52 – What Really Happens on Food Network's Chopped
51:22 – Rachel's Second Business: The Sitch
55:16 – Rachel's One Rule for Dining at Dish

#RestaurantHoppen #DishLincoln #RachelMcGill #LincolnRestaurants #LincolnNebraska #NebraskaFood #OmahaFood #Chopped #VegetableForward #FarmToTable

The Antony family has been bringing Indian Cuisine to Omaha for more than a decade at several locations and restaurants, and now they've landed at Little India in Blackstone. Joshy, Agnes, and Christian discuss what it's like to work with family, the wonders of Indian cuisine, how they're surviving the streetcar construction, and more!

Visit Little India:

https://littleindiaomaha.com/

This is a Hurrdat ONE Production. Hurrdat ONE is a podcast network and digital media production company based in Omaha, NE. Find more podcasts on the Hurrdat ONE Network by going to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hurrdat ONE Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hurrdat ONE YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! 

Timestamps:

00:00 – What Little India Wants You to Experience About Indian Culture
03:21 – From Indian Grocery Store to Omaha Restaurant
04:48 – Why Little India's New Kitchen Changed Everything
08:07 – The Kerala Dishes They Still Want to Bring to Omaha
10:49 – The Indian Sandwiches Coming to Little India
19:20 – How Taj Kebab & Curry Became Part of Their Story
21:44 – The Chef Who Taught Joshy Indian Cooking
29:19 – How a Bigger Kitchen Changed the Menu
32:13 – Little India's Secret Menu
34:10 – Why Christian Learned the History Behind Every Dish
37:07 – Exploring the Different Regions of Indian Cuisine
39:08 – Spiced, Not Spicy: The Biggest Indian Food Misconception
41:35 – Why Little India's Handmade Samosas Are So Special
52:34 – Why Little India Still Doesn't Serve Dosa
59:39 – Dan's Little India Recommendations

#RestaurantHoppen #LittleIndiaOmaha #IndianFood #OmahaFood #OmahaRestaurants #IndianCuisine #OmahaEats #IndianFoodOmaha #BlackstoneOmaha #DanHoppen

What is it like to start a bakery business out of your home? How do you balance being a parent and having a family when your work takes over your home kitchen? Three of Omaha's favorite cottage bakers—Kelsay Cosgrove (KCC Bakery), Hailey Vinter (crumb coat & chill), & Corinne Honan (Sweet Earth Delights) joined Restaurant Hoppen for a panel discussion on the highs, lows, and everything in between when it comes to cottage baking!

Guests:

Kelsay Cosgrove — KCC Bakery
https://www.kccbakery.com/

Hailey Vinter — crumb coat & chill
https://www.crumbcoatomaha.com/

Corinne Honan — Sweet Earth Delights
https://sweetearthdelights.com/

Restaurant Hoppen — Hosted by Dan Hoppen

This is a Hurrdat ONE Production. Hurrdat ONE is a podcast network and digital media production company based in Omaha, NE. Find more podcasts on the Hurrdat ONE Network by going to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hurrdat ONE Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hurrdat ONE YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! 

Timestamps:

00:00 – What Does It Actually Take to Become a Cottage Baker?
03:13 – When Cottage Baking Turns Into a Brick-and-Mortar Bakery
11:06 – The Reality of 4 AM Wakeups & 20-Hour Workdays
13:32 – Nebraska Cottage Baking Rules Explained
16:35 – What a Home Bakery Really Looks Like
22:18 – What Happens When Baking Becomes Your Job
33:34 – Cottage Baking Disaster Stories
37:21 – The Best Advice for Starting a Cottage Bakery
38:57 – Why You Should Grow Your Baking Business Slowly
41:38 – Becoming a Business Owner, Not Just a Baker
56:59 – Quick Hits: What Should You Try First?
59:49 – “Organized Chaos” at Midnight

#RestaurantHoppen #OmahaFood #CottageBaking #OmahaBakers #OmahaBakery #KCCBakery #CrumbCoatAndChill #SweetEarthDelights #OmahaEats #Hurrdat

Few people in Omaha's restaurant scene are more fun to chat with than Tim Maides, the co-owner of Dolomiti, and unpacking his brain on pizza is a true delight. We nerd out on ovens a dough a bit, but we also talk a lot about Dolomiti's approach to treating guests and how expectations, from both restaurant and guest, can affect a dining experience. This is a fun one, and very educational!

🍕 Dolomiti Pizza

This is a Hurrdat ONE Production. Hurrdat ONE is a podcast network and digital media production company based in Omaha, NE. Find more podcasts on the Hurrdat ONE Network by going to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hurrdat ONE Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hurrdat ONE YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! 

Timestamps:

00:00 – What Makes a Great Restaurant? Tim's Three-Pillar Philosophy

01:38 – Why Dolomiti Doesn't Follow Traditional Pizza Rules

10:45 – Inside Dolomiti's Giant Italian Pizza Oven

14:03 – The Sourdough & Semolina Dough That Makes Dolomiti Different

16:08 – Why There Isn't One "Right" Kind of Pizza

18:55 – The Panuzzo: Pizza Dough Gets a Whole New Life

23:52 – The Biggest Lesson Hospitality Taught Tim

31:51 – The Little Hospitality Moments Customers Never Expect

34:19 – Has Restaurant Hospitality Become Too Complicated?

42:37 – How Dolomiti Built Its Famous Cubano Pizza

50:05 – The Part of Restaurant Ownership Nobody Warns You About

59:40 – "In Crust We Trust" & Final Thoughts

#RestaurantHoppen #DolomitiPizza #OmahaPizza #OmahaRestaurants #Hospitality #OmahaFood #MillworkCommons

What if you could send someone a pint of Omaha's best ice cream no matter where they live?

In this special Restaurant Hoppen segment from Hurrdat and Yelp's Omaha food event at the Kiewit Luminarium, Dan Hoppen sits down with Abby Jordan, co-founder of eCreamery, to talk about nearly 20 years of ice cream, creativity and entrepreneurship.

eCreamery began in 2007 and has evolved from an ice cream shop into a business that blends gelato-style ice cream, sorbets, seasonal flavors and a nationwide gift-giving operation. Customers can customize pint labels with photos or messages and send eCreamery ice cream anywhere in the country.

Abby also talks about how the team comes up with creative new flavors, including a lemon drop melon sorbet inspired by a local farmers market, and why she believes almost any flavor can work when you can imagine it with sweetness.

Dan and Abby also discuss what it takes to stay in business with the same partner for nearly two decades, how they learned to work with completely opposite personalities, and why a little "sugar and grit" has helped keep eCreamery going through the ups and downs.

And yes... Dan absolutely gets Abby to talk about his favorite seasonal flavor.

🍦 eCreamery

This is a Hurrdat ONE Production. Hurrdat ONE is a podcast network and digital media production company based in Omaha, NE. Find more podcasts on the Hurrdat ONE Network by going to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hurrdat ONE Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hurrdat ONE YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! 

#RestaurantHoppen #eCreamery #OmahaIceCream #OmahaFood #OmahaRestaurants #IceCream #FoodGifts #OmahaEats

What happens when you stop trying to make food more complicated—and start letting great ingredients speak for themselves?

In this special Restaurant Hoppen segment from Hurrdat and Yelp's Omaha food event at the Kiewit Luminarium, Dan Hoppen sits down with Clare Bartolomei, owner and operator of Lola's and Fig, to talk about the ideas behind both restaurants.

Lola's began seven years ago as an espresso bar and coffee shop before evolving into an all-day café, sourdough bakery and wine bar. Clare describes the philosophy simply: simple, beautiful food made from scratch, with fresh, local and organic ingredients whenever possible.

That same philosophy inspired Fig, the "little sister" to Lola's located inside the Kiewit Luminarium. When the opportunity arose, Clare didn't want to simply open another Lola's. Instead, Fig became its own concept, with a broader menu that includes burgers, fries and other dishes while maintaining the same commitment to scratch-made sourdough.

Clare also explains why sourdough has become so central to both businesses, including the flavor and structure that can come from local grains and long fermentation.

And looking ahead, she's already dreaming about taking Lola's beyond Omaha through culinary and wine experiences.

It's a conversation about food, community, creativity and what it means to build restaurants around a set of values.

🍞 Lola's

🌿 Fig

This is a Hurrdat ONE Production. Hurrdat ONE is a podcast network and digital media production company based in Omaha, NE. Find more podcasts on the Hurrdat ONE Network by going to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hurrdat ONE Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hurrdat ONE YouTube Channel⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! 

#RestaurantHoppen #LolasOmaha #FigOmaha #OmahaFood #OmahaRestaurants #Sourdough #OmahaEats