In this episode of The Localist, Carrie Rollwagen interviews Lee Pantazis, the owner of Gus's Hot Dogs and culinary director at the Kelly and Redmont hotels in Birmingham. Lee discusses his passion for the restaurant industry, the importance of preserving the nostalgia and community impact of Gus's and his efforts to elevate the local food scene through his work at the hotels. Throughout the conversation, Lee emphasizes the significance of supporting local businesses, maintaining strong customer relationships and fostering a collaborative and respectful work environment in the service industry.

Mentioned in this episode:

Gus’s Hot Dogs Website

Gus’s Hot Dogs Instagram

Fish Market

Little Donkey

Pihakis Restaurant Group

Saigon Noodle House

Bud and Alley’s Waterfront Restaurant 

Pete’s Famous Hot Dogs

Jim N Nicks

Big Bad Breakfast

Tasty Town

Magnolia Point

Satterfield’s Restaurant

Hot-Dogopolis by Southern Foodways Alliance

Birmingham Greek Festival 

Philoxenia documentary by Jessica Chriesman

Lou’s Pub and Package Store

George Sarris

Johnny’s

Demetri's

Niki’s West

Ted’s Birmingham

Thank You Books

Crestwood Pharmacy

Game Day Done Right

ServisFirst

Kingdom of Heaven 

Adios

Salud

Hop City

Alabama Peanut Co.

Woodlawn Theater

Seasick Records

Mom’s Basement

Kate Gerwin

Kelly Hotel

Redmont Hotel

St. James Hotel Selma

Triangle Offense Phil Jackson

Emperor’s New Groove

Ohm Jiu Jitsu and branding company, A. Studio That Works

The Kelly Hotel Instagram

Redmont Hotel Instagram

Redmont Hotel Rooftop Instagram

In this episode of The Localist, host Carrie Rollwagen explains how to manage an overwhelming to-do list using theme days. She shares her personal experience implementing theme days to prioritize tasks and reduce stress, offering practical advice on how to create and stick to these themed schedules for better productivity.

Mentioned in this episode:

Carrie’s Instagram: https://instagram.com/crollwagen

Sign up for Carrie’s newsletter: https://gmail.us20.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=9c59a060684d71f12f6e495fc&id=98cd3122b9

Carrie’s Website: https://carrierollwagen.com/

Time Blocking episode of the Localist: https://carrierollwagen.com/podcast-episodes/which-time-blocking-method-is-best-breaking-down-theme-days-batch-work-the-pomodoro-technique-and-more/ 

In this episode of The Localist, Carrie Rollwagen chats with Kathy D'Agostino of Chocolatá about building a positive work environment and the journey of opening her own chocolate shop. Kathy shares her experiences from working in a chocolate shop as a teenager to starting her own business, detailing the challenges and triumphs of entrepreneurship, hiring and creating unique chocolate products.

Mentioned in this episode: Chocolatá Website: https://www.chocolatachocolate.com/  Chocolatá Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chocolata_bham  Chocolatá Phone Number: 205-215-0416 Innovation Depot: https://innovationdepot.org/  Brombergs: https://brombergs.com/  Phoenix Building: https://thephoenixbuilding.com/  Sidewalk Film Festival: https://sidewalkfest.com/  Magic City Organics: https://magiccityorganics.com/  Magic City Organics Localist episode: https://carrierollwagen.com/podcast-episodes/surviving-regulations-rollercoaster-magic-city-organics/  Yellowhammer: https://yellowhammer-creative.myshopify.com/  Pepper Place: https://www.pepperplace.com/  Revival Antiques: https://revivalantiques.org/  General: https://www.facebook.com/generalbham?mibextid=ZbWKwL   Saturn (Domestique): https://www.domestiquecoffee.com/ Punch Love Coffee: https://www.instagram.com/punchlovecoffee?igshid=6qm4a079lw6q  MAKE Birmingham: https://www.makebhm.com/  Pizza Grace: https://pizzagrace.com/  Cannella Gelato: https://cannellagelato.com/  Lifelyles: https://www.facebook.com/lifelyles/ 

In this episode of The Localist, host Carrie Rollwagen shares practical tips on how to promote events to ensure better attendance. She discusses strategies such as charging for events, posting in multiple locations, using various content angles to promote repeatedly and sending direct or personal invitations. These methods aim to build customer loyalty, create buzz and drive revenue for small businesses.

Mentioned in this episode:

Carrie’s Instagram: https://instagram.com/crollwagen

Sign up for Carrie’s newsletter: https://gmail.us20.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=9c59a060684d71f12f6e495fc&id=98cd3122b9

Carrie’s Website: https://carrierollwagen.com/

Workshop Local Localist Episode: https://carrierollwagen.com/podcast-episodes/hosting-great-events-with-workshop-local/

One Quick Coffee: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/build-your-local-reach-with-email-marketing-tickets-872774912257?aff=erelpanelorg

Morgan Johnston episode: https://carrierollwagen.com/podcast-episodes/building-a-creative-resource-with-morgan-jones-johnston/

In today’s episode, Carrie Rollwagen hosts Sabrina Smith and Hannah Stallings, owners of Happy Links, a jewelry company specializing in permanent jewelry. They share the challenges of balancing their full-time jobs with their business, the struggles of managing chaotic pop-up events and their excitement about opening a new salon suite location to create a more luxurious customer experience.

Mentioned in this episode:

Happy Links Website: https://www.happylinksjewelry.com

Happy Links Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happy_links_

Hi-Wire Brewing: https://hiwirebrewing.com/birmingham/

Image Studios Salon Suites: https://imagestudios360.com/birmingham-al/

In this episode, host Carrie Rollwagen discusses strategies for finding additional revenue streams for small businesses. She shares her own experiences from managing bookstores, offers practical tips such as leveraging employee input and unrelated talents, and suggests creative revenue-generating ideas like selling digital products, offering courses and creating memberships.

Mentioned in the episode:

Carrie’s Instagram: https://instagram.com/crollwagen

Sign up for Carrie’s newsletter: https://gmail.us20.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=9c59a060684d71f12f6e495fc&id=98cd3122b9

Carrie’s Website: https://carrierollwagen.com/

Former bookstore in trouble Localist episode: https://carrierollwagen.com/podcast-episodes/saving-a-store-in-crisis-paying-creditors-and-bending-rules-at-an-indie-bookshop/

Little Professor Localist episode: https://carrierollwagen.com/podcast-episodes/little-professor-goes-off-script-with-a-little-bookish-podcast/

Localist Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1490615510/the-localist-book-a-story-of-shopping-local

Morgan Jones Johnston episode: https://carrierollwagen.com/podcast-episodes/building-a-creative-resource-with-morgan-jones-johnston/

Little Professor membership: https://littleprofessorbookshop.com/pages/memberships

Ladybird Taco episode: https://carrierollwagen.com/podcast-episodes/the-magic-behind-ladybird-taco/

Infomedia Studios: https://infomedia.com 

In this episode of The Localist, Duquette Johnston, founder of Club Duquette, discusses the evolution of his business from a brick-and-mortar store to an online community-focused brand, emphasizing the importance of personal connections and authentic customer engagement. He reflects on the challenges and transformations brought about by the pandemic, his vision for hyper-focusing on small businesses and the vital role of community building and trust.

Mentioned in this episode:

Club Duquette Website: https://clubduquette.co/

Club Duquette Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clubduquette

Communicating Vessels and Jeffrey Cain: https://communicatingvessels.com/communicating-vessels/

Clayton Chambers Spr.ezza newsletter: https://www.instagram.com/spr.ezza/?hl=en

Great Bear Wax: https://burnbear.com/

Beverly Hills Juice: https://beverlyhillsjuice.com/

Creative Visualization book: https://bookshop.org/p/books/creative-visualization-use-the-power-of-your-imagination-to-create-what-you-want-in-your-life-shakti-gawain/7348612?ean=9781608684649

Buy Yourself the F*ing Lilies: https://bookshop.org/p/books/buy-yourself-the-f-cking-lilies-and-other-rituals-to-fix-your-life-from-someone-who-s-been-there-tara-schuster/12072763?ean=9780525509905

Frank and Pardis Stitt: https://stittrestaurantgroup.com/

Nine Orchard Hotel: https://nineorchard.com/

Human Design: https://www.ouiwegirl.com/astrology/your-guide-to-human-design

Jungmaven: https://jungmaven.com/pages/about-us

Ursa Major: https://www.ursamajorvt.com/?tw_source=google&tw_adid=677089607905&tw_campaign=19729963162&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw4MSzBhC8ARIsAPFOuyW6QQG-Y0RQhfnGssCMI4U7S0j4lmYnrgQdBqD6Oj6PQW2Ei5EmZCIaAoUREALw_wcB

Stan Ray: https://www.stanray.com/

Rugged and Fancy: https://ruggedandfancy.com/

Evan Kinori: https://evankinori.com/

Today, we’re welcoming artist Morgan Jones Johnston, who discusses her intuitive approach to creativity, her new workbook "Create Anyway: The Average Person's Guide to Igniting Your Creative Spark" and the importance of fostering authentic human connections during the rise of AI. She emphasizes the value of continuous promotion, the significance of creativity beyond traditional art forms and her goal to offer high-value, sustainable content to help people explore their creativity.

Rugged and Fancy Website: https://ruggedandfancy.com/

Rugged and Fancy Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruggedandfancy

Buy the workbook, Create Anyway: https://ruggedandfancy.com/products/create-anyway-the-average-person-s-guide-to-igniting-your-creative-spark-volume-1

In this episode of The Localist, host Carrie Rollwagen talks with Alana Harmond, the creator of Frosted by Lane, about her journey in starting a side hustle selling decorative fake cakes. Alana shares her challenges in transitioning from product drops on Instagram to a Shopify store, the technical and logistical hurdles she has overcome and her strategies for budgeting and marketing. She also discusses the importance of developing unique products and expanding her business through social media and community events.

In this episode of The Localist, host Carrie Rollwagen talks with physical therapist Jimmy Dunn about his clinic, The Total Joint. Dunn emphasizes a personalized, holistic approach to physical therapy, focusing on one-on-one care, community engagement and evidence-based treatments. The conversation also highlights challenges in the industry and the importance of effective marketing and professional expertise.