Interview with Ben Koenig IV, Napa Local Business Owner

Press release from the City of Napa:

NAPA, CA — Ben Koenig is a founder and co-owner of Napa’s Heritage Eats and Mothers Tacos. Since opening Heritage Eats in 2015, Ben’s restaurants have grown to employ about 40 people across both ventures, and he is looking for opportunities to expand. We sat down with him to get his perspective on owning and operating a small business in Napa.

What has driven you, and keeps driving you, to open small businesses versus work for someone else?

My parents encouraged me at a young age to pursue my interests and to not allow a fear of failure to get in the way of forging my own path. I guess those early lessons stuck with me and gave me the confidence to leave a pretty safe and secure job in financial services in order to make the switch into hospitality and become an entrepreneur. Nearly a decade in, it's hard to imagine going back to working for someone else. I enjoy the creative process, the challenges and problem solving with our team. I enjoy seeing our team members blossom and come into their own and learn new skills. I enjoy the role within the community that we have carved out and the relationships and opportunities that it has afforded me and my family. This journey has given me a comfortability with being uncomfortable, and as we try and grow our businesses, this mindset allows us to stretch our comfort zone, which is necessary if we want to reach new heights. I am a big believer in the mindset that struggle in life is inevitable and is actually healthy, so I would rather choose the struggles I have than allow them to be chosen for me. Being an entrepreneur affords me that 'luxury'.

Why in Napa?

I first moved to Napa from New York City to help an East Coast-based restaurant group open a restaurant downtown. If I'm being honest, coming from living in New York City for nearly 6 years, it was a major culture shock for me, and there were many days early on when I felt regretful about my decision to move out west by myself. However, over the years, I have developed some amazing relationships within this community and have grown to love Napa Valley and all of the access to nature that it provides. Having my girlfriend, who is now my wife and the mother of our two amazing little kids, move out here with me in those early days also made the acclimation to the area a lot more enjoyable because we had the chance to explore and adventure together.

For your two brick-and-mortar restaurants, you’ve chosen to locate outside the downtown core. What went into your location selections for Heritage Eats and Mothers Tacos? How have those choices served you or challenged you?

My wife and I grew up together in a small town on the east coast. It was a tight-knit community that valued small business and had a lot of community spirit. This type of town is pretty common back east, but, my experience is that they are few and far between in California. Napa is one of those tight-knit, sort of ‘old school’ communities, and that makes it really special. We felt like a lot of the businesses that we saw opening up starting in 2015 were trying to speak more towards the tourists and, as a result, the local community was feeling ‘left out’ or a little jaded by all of the growth they were seeing around them. It fits our ethos to run community-driven businesses, so that's what we have set out to do. Getting out into the community has led to some amazing relationships and an outpouring of support in good and hard times. Given our desire to be more locals-driven, we wanted to find spaces near where people lived and near to where they grocery shopped, so we intentionally avoided the downtown. This has been mostly a blessing, but, certainly as the downtown core has developed into such a hotbed of activity with tourists and locals alike, it presents its own sets of challenges because the center of gravity of Napa has really been consolidated downtown.

What resources have helped you out along the way?

So many people have helped us on our journey that it would be a list too long to include here. At one time or another, we have needed help from every corner of the community, whether that is from our elected officials, from city staff, leaders of the local school district, or the heads of local clubs and organizations; you name it, we have needed their help to build to where we are today. The amazing thing is—and it's a true testament to the spirit of Napa—every time we have asked for help, the answer has always been ‘yes’.

What advice would you give yourself if you could go back to the beginning?

One of my favorite quotes right now is from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and it goes like this: "If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving." There were many moments in the early days where I was confronted with challenges, sometimes small things like staffing or vendor issues, sometimes big things like business partner breakups, sales slumps and severe self-doubt. Early on, I would allow these problems to weigh on me and control my thinking and emotions, which turned me, at times, into someone I am not proud of. There were many times where I allowed the problems to break my spirit, to break my will and I would want to give it all up and crawl back into my old comfort zone. But now, with nearly a decade of experience under my belt, I feel like I do a much better job of just keeping forward momentum, a level head and a growth mindset, especially in the face of adversity. My ‘resilience muscle’ has been worked out a lot over the life of these restaurants, and unlike when I started, I know that ‘success’ isn't a birthright. Success is something that needs to be constantly pursued, even if it is never fully attained.

Visit Heritage Eats daily from 11am-8pm at 3824 Bel Aire Plaza and Mothers Tacos daily from 11am-9pm at 3150 Jefferson St.

This press release was produced by the City of Napa. The views expressed here are the author’s own.