In this episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches, Sam talks with Julie Mountain and Dana Noorily, cofounders of The Granola Bar, a breakfast-and-lunch, modern diner concept with eight locations across Connecticut and New York. These long-time friends initially started a granola business out of one of their kitchens in 2010, and in 2013 opened their first restaurant essentially just to give them a commercial kitchen to manufacture granola. But customers in their Westport, Conn., hometown had different plans, making that restaurant so popular that Julie and Dana abandoned the granola business and became full-time restaurateurs. They joined the podcast to share the lessons they’ve learned on their entrepreneurial journey and how they’ve fallen forward into a business that has financial partners and a new CEO who are helping to steer its slow-but-steady growth. 

In this conversation, you’ll find out why:

• The business you start is not always the business you will grow 
• Meet the hole in the market you’re serving, not what’s trending nationally
• If you don’t lean on social media early on, then it’s just icing on the cake as you grow
• With strategic hires, you can know what you don’t know
• Sometimes real estate can dictate your entrepreneurial drive 
• It’s OK if your end goal is to stay small and keep it all

Have feedback or ideas for Take-Away? Email Sam at [email protected].