Business + integrity
Over the years, I’ve encountered a number of businesses which I would say are run with integrity. The policies of these businesses, the way they interact with their communities, or the ways in which they take such pride in the services or products they offer, are placed above the desire to earn more profit — for this, they have my continual loyalty and gratitude.
Something I’ve noticed is that many of us don’t spend enough of our time and energy in praising and lifting-up those who are doing good. I think it’s a continual battle we all have, in that it’s more tempting to notice — and discuss — the negatives, and those who may wrong us, than it is to focus on the positive aspects of the people we encounter.
Here, I’d like to write a few nice words about some businesses I believe are run with integrity, if only as an exercise in giving credit where credit is due. What follows are only two of the ones I’ve encountered recently. I’m sure they aren’t perfect (who is?!), but for one reason or another, I wanted to include them here to contribute my tiny bit in encouraging this kind of approach to business.
The Sugar Maple — Mitchell, Canada
This list isn’t in any particular order, but if it was, then having The Sugar Maple at the top would certainly be appropriate. Part restaurant, part bakery, this place is bursting at the seams with soul.
Run by a husband and wife, the man runs the restaurant and bread parts, while his wife runs the baked sweets part and is the primary front-of-house operator. I’m sure there’s more to it than that, but those are the parts I’m aware of; I hope they will forgive my ignorance, if they ever come across this little post.
My first interaction with this place was when I was looking for some custom donuts to be made for a colleague’s birthday. She had told me ages before that she once had peanut butter and bacon donuts, and absolutely loved them — my mission was to replicate them for her.
New to the area, I searched for a local business that served donuts; The Sugar Maple had consistently positive reviews, and pictures of donuts on their Google page, so I called them up. I explained what I was looking for, and asked if they’d be willing to make these custom/strange treats. Without even thinking, the owner responded with something along the lines of “of course I can make those for you!”, then asked when I needed them. I told him her birthday was on the following Tuesday, so I would like to pick them up around noon, if possible, but any time would do.
“Ah, we’re closed on Tuesdays, but I’ll come in and get them made for you.” I protested, saying I could get them the day before, or even the day after; there was no need for him to go in on his day off. “No no,” he said, “it’s all good — I like helping people.” [those aren’t direct quotes, but I think they cover the basics of the short conversation]
Not only that, but he didn’t charge me extra for making a special order, or for making them on his day off. He just charged me the price they charge for their regular donuts! I knew I was going to support this business as much as I could.
I didn’t try the donuts, as I was working remotely at the time, but I’m told more than one person wept with joy.
Not long after that, my wife and I began to drop-in to pick up baked goods fairly regularly. I won’t go on and on, but everyone working there (usually only one or two people at a time) was exceptionally welcoming and friendly. The fresh-baked bread is to die for (and sells out daily), and the ever-changing baked goods are always wonderful, having that home-made quality the big chains can’t possibly match.
The only regret I have is that it took us far too long to actually dine-in. My God, the food. Sandwiches the size of your head, on that freshly-baked sourdough bread, with ingredients chosen with care; little things like crispy green lettuce, nice thick and red tomatoes, and high quality bacon, for example. This is exactly the kind of thing I’m talking about when I mention taking pride in one’s craft, rather than focusing on profit. This man could easily earn higher profits by switching to lower quality ingredients that many likely wouldn’t even notice — but he would.
So far, we’ve tried about five things on the menu. I’m not going to go over everything, but they do a mushroom and balsamic burger that’s a serious contender for best burger I’ve ever eaten — which is why we’ve only tried about five things… we can’t resist ordering that burger. My wife and I like some things more than others, but none of those preferences are anything but personal taste. The bar these people have set is high and consistent in every aspect of their business.
You feel truly welcome there…
Every evening, the chef/co-owner comes out and chats with every table, one at a time. I’m not talking about just making sure you got everything you ordered (though he does that, of course), but he speaks with you as a host would speak with a guest in their home. I barely know this person, and he was encouraging me in my new parenthood, welcoming us to town, etc. I get the distinct impression he’s a good judge of people, though, so for those who want to be left to their meals, he will certainly oblige.
There isn’t much in the way of other staff, as it’s quite a small place, but every single person who’s served us has shared that sense of community, respect, and general good humour. These two don’t just hire anyone, and it shows.
The quality of the food would be enough to warrant a shout-out. All the other bits make this place much more than just a business. These two people have built something which is an integral part of their town, a major contributor to the culture of their community, and a spectacular example of how to run a business.
Manza Sushi Bar — São Paulo, Brazil
Full disclosure: The owners are friends of my family. I don’t include them here to built up their egos, or to win any favours; I’ve included them here because what they’ve built continues to impress, year after year, and they deserve to be recognized for the choices they’ve made.
Two years ago, I went to this fairly new all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant with my new in-laws. They’re good friends with the owners, so we got to try a few new items that weren’t on the menu yet — a menu that was being developed by the owners themselves.
I’m fairly experienced with sushi. I love it, and I’ve eaten it in countless restaurants. This stuff was significantly different than anything I’d tried in the past, with different flavours and ingredients added to the fish selection I was familiar with. Many of those differences were due to being in Brazil, as opposed to the North American and European styles I was used to, but even more were due to the owners being willing to try new things, and challenge what was expected from an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant.
This is one reason I loved this place so much. The owners aren’t afraid of stepping outside of the norm, and giving their customers a unique experience — all at a reasonable price. You can instantly tell this couple takes pride in their work, from the decor of the place (including a display of a few hundred paper cranes that they painstakingly folded themselves) to the consistent quality of the food itself. You can’t fake this level of work-ethic.
I think we went about four or five times over the course of as many weeks, and my belly was happily bursting with each visit.
Two years later…
Now, that was two years ago. I’ve now been back and, holy *&^%, what I thought was good before has improved immensely. They’ve since hired a specialist head chef who has maintained the level of quality initially set by the owners, but has launched the menu offerings into a level I didn’t know existed. It proves if you invest in good people, and allow them to do their jobs without micro-managing them, they just might deliver even more than you’d hoped.
I thought I knew what sushi was — I was thinking far too small. All-you-can-eat is typically associated with lower quality, in favour of value-for-money and higher profit-margins; this place doesn’t make this trade-off. I won’t bother going into detail here, but if you’re a fan of sushi, it’s worth a trip to Brazil to try this place out.
I’m getting hungry writing this…
One more thing I want to mention here is the quality of these people matches their food. The staff seems to have created a little community themselves, treating each other (from what I’ve seen) with friendship and support, which, in turn, shows the care the owners take in the hiring/retention of their staff. I’m sure it’s not all rainbows and unicorns, but the culture of this place seems to be pretty healthy.
Last thing I’ll mention, before you go book your tickets to Brazil so you can die happy after eating here, is the last time I was there, I asked where the owners were. One was at home with their kids, while the other was next door helping another business owner clean up after flooding damage. A small thing, maybe, but a choice that shows their values, and something I don’t think we should dismiss. Business owners, and community leaders supporting each other is worth a shout-out, just as similar gestures and choices are worth celebrating among the rest of our communities.
This place proves you can offer quality food, take chances trying new things, maintain reasonable prices, and still find financial success. They don’t need me rambling about how they’ve hit it out of the park — the crowds of people flocking to their place each day does that better than I ever could.
Oh, and they’re opening a new restaurant in a few weeks… I can’t wait.
Final thoughts
I know there are many more businesses I’ve encountered who belong here, and I hope to include them in future posts like this. These are simply the two I thought of when I sat down to write this.
With the exponentially fast rise of the same few brands being seen around the world, and the subsequent erosion of the space available in our cities — and in our minds — for businesses to thrive, we need leaders like these more than ever.
Whether it’s how these business leaders interact with, and support, their communities, or how they can maintain a level of quality for their customers while not charging extortionate prices, there are examples of integrity in business all around us. The choices they make when building and running their businesses matter — just like our choices in where we choose to spend our time and money matter.
When these types of people/businesses show up in your neighbourhood, I implore you to support them. Rewarding integrity in business is worth infinitely more to our communities than the money we’d save by going to the big chains. We build our communities and teach future generations through our interactions with each other, how we choose to spend our time, and where we choose to spend our money.
Shop at a business run with integrity, and you may pay a little more than you would at a big chain, but you — and your community — will get a lot more in return.
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