Step into the heart of Winna's Kitchen with Amelia Old as she sits down with Chef Jess Sagun. In this episode, Jess shares the personal journey behind Winna's Kitchen, a place where community, comfort, and cuisine intertwine. Jess opens up about her path, filled with moments of sorrow and triumph, and how these experiences have shaped the warm, inviting space that is Winna's Kitchen. Jess also opens up about the touching moments of generosity and kindness she's experienced from the community, illustrating Winna's Kitchen as not just a restaurant, but a cherished space in Myrtle Beach.
Step into the heart of Winna's Kitchen with Amelia Old as she sits down with Chef Jess Sagun. In this episode, Jess shares the personal journey behind Winna's Kitchen, a place where community, comfort, and cuisine intertwine. Jess opens up about her path, filled with moments of sorrow and triumph, and how these experiences have shaped the warm, inviting space that is Winna's Kitchen. Jess also opens up about the touching moments of generosity and kindness she's experienced from the community, illustrating Winna's Kitchen as not just a restaurant, but a cherished space in Myrtle Beach.
Everyone has a story to tell. We connect and relate to one another when we share our stories. My name is Amelia Old and I am your host of Voices of Inspiration. Join me as I share stories of friends, family and strangers from my everyday life and travels. You will laugh, possibly cry or walk away, feeling connected more than ever to those around you and ready to be the change our world needs. Everyone has a story to tell. What's yours?
Speaker 2:
Welcome to Voices of Inspiration. I'm your host, amelia Old, and today we are with Ms. I'm your host, amelia Old, and today we are with Ms Jess Sagan from Winna's Kitchen in Myrtle Beach, south Carolina. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm so excited to be here and learn a little bit more about your story. We're excited for you to be here, thank you.
Speaker 3:
So can you just start off and talk a little bit about what inspired you to pursue a career in cooking. You know, I grew up around food. I mean, I'm a Southern woman and so there was cooking around my household a lot it was. I realized recently that it was something that was affirmed in our household, and so I think that was a big part of developing a love for cooking. As far as opening a restaurant, I joke that when my mom passed away, we got over-inspired and we're like, oh, we're going to open a restaurant and pursue our dreams, you know, and so it was really a combination of the two. I love food, I love all the elements of food preparation. Restaurant work is very hard, but it's rewarding the payoffs there and, you know, there's that whole idea of pursuing your dreams and you know at the end, when your time comes, knowing like, hey, I wanted to do that and I tried it. So that was a combination of lots of events.
Speaker 2:
I love that you're following something that you really wanted to pursue. How did your experience so you were on Chef Swap and how did your experience on that show influence your entire journey?
Speaker 3:
Chef Swap. You know we weren't originally slated to be on Chef Swap. That's what I hear we were a last-minute addition when somebody else couldn't make it, and we were excited. We were a brand-new restaurant. We had been open just really a few months, and so we didn't want to turn down an opportunity, you know, for the advertising. You know there's no bad marketing let's say so.
Speaker 3:
We knew we wanted to participate, and being included with people of that caliber was a good boost for us to be like, wait a minute, we can do this. And then we won and I was like, no, we really can do this we're going to do it.
Speaker 3:
The food is a real important part of this process to us, and so knowing our food is there, our flavor profiles are there, was very encouraging, especially in the beginning, when things are real, real hard and you're like what have I done? It's been rewarding. How did you feel when you won? I was shocked, I was stunned. You know, jamie Descalas is the chef that we competed with, and I mean she is. She's a trained chef with you know, several restaurants in town, two different concepts. She's just, she's a powerhouse. And so I was. I was shocked, yeah, shocked, but thrilled at the same time.
Speaker 2:
So can you share a little bit about the story behind Winna's Kitchen? Absolutely.
Speaker 3:
So my mom, she was just, she was an amazing person. I say she was a soft place to land. You know, she took in strays and homeless of all kinds, animals and people. But my mom animals and people, but my mom she had kind of a. She had a rough life, not, not, and it was from her own choices. She struggled with, um, alcoholism. She struggled with stubbornness. She just, um, you know she, she made a lot of choices that didn't really benefit her or her children, and so we were raised by my grandparents.
Speaker 3:
But later in life my mom and I became close. She lived with us until she passed away and literally up until the day she died, she struggled with regret. The day before she died she called me at work and said hey, I just want to know that we're okay. I told her. I said, mom, we're great. Like you're great, I'm so glad you're my mother, I'm so glad that we've come to this place. And I didn't know she was going to die the next day.
Speaker 3:
But knowing she had those regrets really kind of spurred me on, because I knew that wasn't something that I wanted to. I didn't want to live with that. I didn't want to go. I didn't want to go out that way, and so you know, it was kind of a perfect storm, for lack of a positive phrase All these pieces kind of came together we live literally two blocks down from here together. We live literally two blocks down from here. This is our neighborhood. We love Myrtle Beach, we love downtown, and so we've seen what this has been, this area has been. We know the ups and downs of it and we also knew that we wanted to make an impact and in this area, and so that kind of push of I don't want to live with regrets and hey, wait, I want to make a positive difference in my community came together when we knew you, until you got to put your money where your mouth is. You know, don't talk about it, be about it, that whole thing. And so we, we bootstrap this restaurant and the concept um is really I think I haven't seen anything like it here as far as how we give back Um, we offer something here called a number one, and on the number one, we partner with our patrons to provide meals for those struggling with food scarcity.
Speaker 3:
Um, and I think in the beginning we, we partner with our patrons to provide meals for those struggling with food scarcity and I think in the beginning we thought we're just going to get a bunch of bums. I mean, that was honestly. But it's been really eye-opening to see the different folks who come in and start to hear their stories. A couple that came in when we first opened. They were in here a lot. We both knew they were struggling and both of them have since passed away from overdoses.
Speaker 3:
We've also seen, you know, victory stories, people who have overcome, and we got a letter the other day from a patron. She came in and had a meal and we're thinking of it and she left us a letter and she was like I've been at, I've come to Winners for the second time. The first time I came here I was a number one and she just said you know, I was treated with the same level of service and kindness as a number one that I was treated with as a patron today and you know it's stories like that that just make you like okay, we can do it can you talk a little bit about what exactly the number one is?
Speaker 2:
yep, so for five dollars.
Speaker 3:
We partner with our patrons literally to provide a meal for people who are struggling. And, um, all people have to do to get that is to come in and say, hey, do you have a number one? And so they ask for number one. We have cards that some people will just buy you know 10 or 20 and they'll just pass the cards out to people. They'll see and they can come in and redeem it. Or we just keep them suspended behind the counter and folks just come in and ask for them. I say this, though we never don't have one, and in the beginning you know that was that was real tough, because there were some days in the beginning you know that was that was real tough, because there were some days in the beginning where we gave away more food than we sold. Sure, and in the off season that's very common.
Speaker 3:
You know it's like well, but we feel like it's a dignified way to serve people and it not feel like a handout, and it's a way to build relationships with people.
Speaker 2:
So Myrtle Beach is known for its really vibrant culinary scene. How do you think that Winna's Kitchen contributes to this, adds to this? How do you?
Speaker 3:
think that Winna's Kitchen contributes to this, adds to this. So we, you know we love food I think I said that before but we also love a little bit different, and so our goal has always been to elevate the things everybody loves, but just take it to the next level, add a little flair to it, and so I think that's kind of what we bring. We bring new flavors, kind of for lack of a better word trending flavors, and then that's in our regular menu. We do daily specials quite often, and then we do a chef's table once a month, and so it's a five-course dinner of things you don't normally see, and it's a tasting menu. Folks seem to love it and so we enjoy doing that.
Speaker 3:
We feel like that's something we bring. But I would definitely say our regular everyday menu is not what you would see at a normal breakfast spot. Now, we do like bacon and egg fried rice, or our pancakes are not just pancakes, they're lemon ricotta pancakes, and all of our sauces are made in house. Or our blueberry sauce, our lemon curd, all of our dressings, and they're not something you get in another restaurant.
Speaker 1:
And so.
Speaker 3:
I think the uniqueness of that, and just the commitment to the quality of our ingredients and the food that we put out, is key to raising the bar or at least participating in the level where we're at.
Speaker 2:
Can you talk about? I know you mentioned the lady recently with the letter, but can you talk about another really memorable moment that exemplifies the community and spirit of Winna's Kitchen?
Speaker 3:
Oh, I have two. So we work from the inside out. You know, if we're not taking care of the people in here, we are not able to take care of the people who come in here. And so this story is we work with people who have challenges. That's something that we're committed to. People who may struggle in other work environments we're committed to working with, and we have a staff member who struggles with autism, anxiety, those kind of things, and the staff person ended up on a shift, a front of house shift alone, a few weeks ago, and they just kind of froze and when they were like I think I'm going to have to leave, I'm like listen, tell me what's going on. They told me what was going on. Literally, our whole staff literally jumped in, even a patron jumped in, picked up everything. One of our other staff took the person to the back and just said hey, this is a moment in time, coached them, sat with them, made sure they were okay, we got in front of the house, settled, everything was great. At the end of the shift I looked up and this person was still here and I was like you made it. And they were like just big alligator tears and they were like any other job I wouldn't have. But everybody here just was like it's okay, we're going to get it, we're going to make it work. We got you, you hang on Like nobody had to go to the cooler and have a meltdown. You know, nobody was mad, everybody was just like we got you, it's okay.
Speaker 3:
Another story that I think has been one I tell often because I need to hear it and be reminded we have some folks in our circle that work in an environment of recovery and participate in that a lot. And she was at a meeting one night and a guy came up to her and he said you look so familiar and she was like I. One night and a guy came up to her and he said you look so familiar. And she was like I hear that all the time. He said no, no, I'm serious. And she was like well, I don't know how.
Speaker 3:
And he come to find out. He realized she worked here and he said you guys saved my life last year. She said the food's good, but it's not that good and he said no, you don't understand. He said I was at the bottom, I was at the height of my addiction. I was struggling in a way I never had, he said. And I came in for number one, he said and your server just started talking to me asking me questions. He was like it was the first time in months anybody had asked me my name, looked me in the eye, cared about where I was going and what I was doing, and he said it literally gave me hope and I was just like, okay, jesus, we're going to keep going.
Speaker 2:
It's hard, but we're going to keep going Boy that makes all of the challenges worth it. It does, it, does it does all of the challenges worth it. It does, it does, it does. So how do you balance honoring your family traditions with innovating and adapting to modern culinary trends?
Speaker 3:
Well, my family is totally dysfunctional, so it's kind of natural, you know it is. I think the ingredients for us are a big deal. Ingredients and quality, I would say, are probably the things that never, that the quality of the ingredients we use don't change. The heart that we prepare food with doesn't change, but our menu and ingredients change often, and so I think that's kind of the way we meld those things together. We have a. We have.
Speaker 3:
Our motto is have fun, eat well, do good. And eating well, when we're talking to our kitchen staff, is not, is not just about the food you eat, it's how your food's prepared. And you know my grandma. I would always say why does your food taste so much better than mine? And she was like because I make it for you, like I love you, and when I'm making your food I put my love into it. And I used to think that was the cheesiest thing I ever heard. I was just like I put love. No, it works. Like I tell people we don't throw food on the grill. We do everything with purpose and intent because you know you're preparing that food for someone to eat, like that food's going to nourish someone's body, and so we do it with purpose and intent.
Speaker 2:
I love that. What's your favorite thing about living here in Myrtle Beach?
Speaker 3:
There are two things. The beach, like I just love being that close to the water. We went to Mexico a few years ago and I told my husband I was like I know this sounds crazy, but we didn't leave the resort. I literally can drive a minute and a half 90 seconds it takes me to get to the beach and I sit out there and I look at the palm trees and the water and I'm like, no, this is just as good. It's just as good and I speak the language you know. So I'm a fan of the beach.
Speaker 3:
But I will say this Myrtle Beach is the most hospitable place I've ever lived and we've lived literally from Myrtle Beach to San Francisco and all points in between. This city is so welcoming and kind and communal and people want everybody else to win. You know there is competition in business and there's always, you know, somebody. I mean, life wouldn't be like if that didn't exist, but for the most part it's. It's a community of people who really care and want to see each other win. And just in this block I see that the brewery Clayton over at the wine room and all it, just in this block, that we're constantly trying to work together for everybody to succeed. It's not every man for himself. It's um, hey, we're all in this together. Hang on, we got this, we're, we're moving forward, and so I think that's um. That's probably my favorite thing is, you know you don't feel like you're left hung out to dry. You know it's a community.
Speaker 2:
So if someone wants to find you online or wants to visit Winna's Kitchen, where can they find you? Well, they can find us at our website, wwwwinna'skitchencom.
Speaker 3:
Wwinneskitchencom. Or they can find us on social media, at winneskitchenmb, on facebook, tiktok and instagram.
Speaker 2:
So I have one more question for you. Tell me, do you have a favorite quote or any words of wisdom you'd like to leave behind?
Speaker 3:
there's so many, there's so many, there's so many, but my favorite is one. There are literally so many run through my head. I'm a person of faith and I'm sure that that I tell people all the time. I'm really fortunate that God has been so gracious and so good to me, and so one of my life verses has been Psalm 138.8, and it says the Lord will perfect that which concerns me. Your mercy, o Lord, endures forever. Forsake not the work of your own hands. And then there's one by Brenene Brown, and I use it as my email tag, and it says have the courage to show up and be who you really are. Love it.
Speaker 2:
Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me today. I love your story. Thank you, I've enjoyed it. Thank you you.