“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to purse them.” ~ Walt Disney
Our journey, like so many, is about love, hardship, learning, persevering, and rising above the odds. We met as teenagers in June of 1994. We lost touch for many years and reconnected as adults. In March of 2013, we were married in Pensacola, Florida, our favorite vacation spot. As a family, we loved to travel (mostly the beach, Vegas, and Disney, did I say
Disney?), fish, go on adventures, hang out with our friends, spend time with our family, train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and EAT. We love to try different types of cuisines, but especially love to travel to unique eateries. When visiting my family in Houston, we would always try to eat at the Top 100 restaurants. One weekend, we probably visited 18 different places. We had so many good eats and still look forward to eating at top spots when we visit.
In 2015, in the height of our careers, we decided to move back to Bayou Lafourche, our hometown to be closer to our family and our favorite fishing spots. So like any sane person does, we sold our house, began building a house, and opened a jiu jitsu gym, all at the same time. Sounds like a fantastic idea and not busy at all. I had been training jiu jitsu under my head professor for a number of years and wanted to take that passion and love back home. He believed in me and gave me all the resources to be successful. We opened our doors in February 2015. I somehow convinced my favorite work buddy and cousin to try it out. Six years later, these two are still showing up every week to train. But not only that, their spouses and kids train too. Plus, many new additions to our BJJ family with the newest team member on the way. We have become so close with so many people, who we consider much more than friends.
These people and the countless testimonies are why we stayed opened even in times when we didn’t know if we could. There is something about jiu jitsu that brings about the best in people. Jiu Jitsu is a time where you aren’t thinking about all the problems around you, what bills you have, or the stressors of work. In January 2020, my teenage son’s bloodwork showed elevated levels, six times higher than normal, in his kidneys. We were told that he had to get those levels under control because there could be serious complications. We knew that we had to make a change. Eating pizza and hotdogs had to go! We began researching food options and healthier choices. In three months, his bloodwork was near normal. He was feeling more alert and had dropped over 20 pounds. After looking over his results, the doctor was astonished to see how much he improved in a short time. We still choose healthier options a year later, even though we like to splurge every now and again. The kitchen is where change happens. While owning a gym, I still had a full time job for a business where I worked 22 years, all of my adult life. I mostly managed personnel, whether in recruiting, hiring, or sales. I always had the fanciest reports, but my absolute favorite part of that job was customer experience, particularly cooking and entertaining for big events. I love the relationship that food brings to the table. Full and satisfied people are happy people. I have so many stories of our fishing trips, golf tournaments, hunts, and celebrations. Good times and great people! We were living life like everyone else and everything changed when I was laid off in April 2020. We were obviously shocked and overwhelmed. But, we had an amazing spring and summer together. We had a lot of beach trips, hung out with our closest friends, and began brain storming for our future.
We learned a lot about ourselves and what was important to us. More importantly, we deepened our faith and started looking at life a little differently. You see, way back in 2009, I began dreaming of opening my own restaurant. I had it all planned out and even came up with a name Armbar & Grill, a play on words from by favorite jiu jitsu submission. I had a great job, so that was just a dream. Well fast forward, I’m unemployed, so what’s my excuse now. I knew it was my time to give this life I dreamed about a chance. After much prayer and consideration, we came up with a plan! Like all plans, they constantly changed. Regardless of the plan, we knew the focus had to be on healthier food options because we saw how it changed our lives. From there, I took some classes, did a lot of research, met with a lot of knowledgeable people, and began taking one step at a time. We found the right place with the right people at the right time. And, here we are preparing healthy meals weekly. As far as my wife, she still works full time as a school psychologist and helps with the gym during the week and with the meal prep on the weekends. Who says three jobs are too many? She loves to entertain too, so she has lots of ideas up her sleeves. What’s amazing is we get to make this dream a reality together. Our teenagers are learning the in and outs of the business. They probably aren’t fans of the hours or cleaning the dishes, but they are definitely gaining more experience than I could have hoped. I know when they enter the work force that they will be better prepared. We are extremely grateful to our amazing friends, family, and customers who are supporting us on this new journey. My small dream from 2009 is taking shape. From that small dream, our vision is becoming our reality. We are so excited and our dreams just keep getting bigger and bigger. I’m grateful to be on this journey, no matter where it takes us. This is just the beginning.
