Lezli Lewis Shares Her Gluten-Free Bakery Story and Community Love

What would you do if you suddenly discovered that your family's health depended on a strict gluten-free diet? Our guest, Lezli Lewis, faced this exact challenge and turned it into an inspiring story of resilience and entrepreneurship. On the Good Neighbor Podcast, Lezli shares her journey from social worker to the heart and soul behind Carving Rock Kitchen, Chattanooga’s dedicated gluten-free bakery. Learn how Lezli tackled the often unspoken issue of gluten cross-contamination in restaurants, creating a safe haven for those with celiac disease and gluten sensitivities. 

Community support plays a crucial role in the success of any small business, and Lezli's story is no exception. From an unexpected encounter with a neighbor who provided vital equipment, to the camaraderie among local business owners, the community has been a cornerstone of Carving Rock Kitchen’s journey. Lezli also opens up about her family life, their appreciation for Chattanooga's natural beauty, and the self-care routines that keep them balanced. This episode captures the essence of how local connections can make or break a small business, offering listeners a heartfelt look at the importance of community.

Managing a bakery as a mostly one-woman show is no small feat, but Lezli makes it happen with grace and tenacity. She discusses the unique offerings of Carving Rock Kitchen, from gluten-free peach cobbler to cinnamon rolls, and how she juggles everything from updating the website to sending out newsletters. We also touch on the significance of supporting local businesses in enriching our communities. Don’t forget to nominate your favorite local businesses for future episodes—your recommendations help us celebrate the small enterprises that make our neighborhoods thrive. Thank you for tuning in and being part of the Good Neighbor Podcast community!

Introduction to the Podcast [00:00:01]
Scott Howell introduces the Good Neighbor Podcast and its focus on local businesses.

Purpose of the Podcast [00:00:11]
Scott explains the goal of raising awareness about locally owned businesses in Chattanooga.

Introduction of Leslie Lewis [00:01:34]
Scott welcomes Leslie Lewis, owner of Carving Rock Kitchen, to the podcast.

Leslie’s Background [00:02:04]
Leslie sh

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Speaker 2 (00:11):
Hello good neighbors, and welcome to the Good
Neighbor Podcast brought to youby the Friends and Neighbors
Group of the Greater ChattanoogaRegion.
Of course, my name is ScottHowell and I'm your host for
today.
You know a lot of people askwhat is the reason for the Good
Neighbor podcast.
What's it all about?
Well, we just desire to bringan awareness to people living in

(00:34):
our communities regarding thelocally owned and or operated
businesses.
You know, they're right up thestreet, right down the road,
right across town.
You know locally ownedbusinesses they are the backbone
of our community and sometimeswe forget that, you know, and we
kind of.
We live in this microwavegeneration.
You know where we wantconveniences and everything kind

(00:57):
of handed to us, but localbusinesses.
If it wasn't for them, wewouldn't have communities, we
wouldn't have a city.
So they need our support.
They still need it today.
So let's not forget about them.
And that's what we're all abouthere.
You know, every localbusinesses has a story to tell
and at the Good Neighbor Podcast, you know, we just want to help
them, shout it loud and proudso that all can hear.

(01:19):
And you know, today I have goodnews we have one of our good
neighbors with us.
Her name is Leslie Lewis andshe's from the Carving Rock
Kitchen, the owner over there.
So, leslie, we are so honoredto have you as our special guest
on the Good Neighbor podcasttoday.

Speaker 3 (01:34):
Well, thank you, scott, I'm happy to be here.

Speaker 2 (01:37):
Yeah, I have to admit , when I saw the Carving Rock
Kitchen I was like this has gotto be an interesting podcast
coming up, because I don't knowwhat in the world a Carving Rock
Kitchen is.
Our name is probably just areally creative name, good for
marketing.
But you know I'm lookingforward to hearing about it.
But before we jump into thebusiness part of it, I just want

(01:58):
to give you a minute to justshare anything with us about
yourself and your family.
You'd like to?

Speaker 3 (02:03):
to just share anything with us about yourself
and your family you'd like to?
Okay, well, I was a socialworker by trade and working in
that field when I met my husbandand we lived in Huntsville,
alabama, for about three I mean15 years.
We have three children, and wemoved here a couple of years ago
and we found out about eightyears ago I guess it's nine now

(02:28):
that, um, basically at least twoof us were needing to go
gluten-free, um, strictly, andso yeah for, and then.
So we all as a family justdecided to go gluten-free and
have since discovered that webasically all need to be
gluten-free.
And so there was in Huntsville,we had a dedicated gluten free
space, and gluten is it's reallyhard to kind of avoid, because

(02:52):
even like just a crumb of glutenwhen you have celiac disease
can just make you very, verysick, and so in a typical
restaurant setting or bakerysetting especially, it's just
really hard to avoid the crosscontamination.
So so, really so really likekind of overnight, your, your
options changed drastically.
So I just kind of I'm the kindof person that I don't like to

(03:13):
miss out on things so I startedfiguring out how to make the
things that I, that I loved andmy family loved and make them
gluten free and um and dairyfree.
And we had a place inHuntsville who offered that that
was a dedicated gluten freeplace, so I never really
explored.
You know, I stopped working insocial work for a while and
stayed home and homeschooled ourkids and then, when we moved

(03:36):
here, just realized that therewas not a lot of options, a lot
of safe options, for the thingsthat we missed.
And so my friends, who aren'teven gluten-free and eat my food
and loved it, were like, well,you should just do it.
So anyway, yes, I've morphedinto a bakery owner now and that
was not really something I everimagined I would do, but it's

(03:58):
been great.

Speaker 2 (04:00):
Okay, so I'm going to tell you a fun fact.
Okay, huntsville, alabama, ismy hometown.

Speaker 3 (04:08):
That's awesome.

Speaker 2 (04:09):
Yeah, yeah, uh, so I know all about Huntsville but
yeah it's a great place, youknow, uh, and, and as far as
being gluten free, you knowthat's a new world for me.
I, I, I have don't have thatproblem, or haven't had it yet,
and I haven't had the issuesregarding eating gluten that I
know of anyway.

(04:30):
But I was thinking about whenyou said that that there's not a
lot of dedicated places.
I've met a few.
I know one restaurant thatthey're not totally dedicated,
but I never thought aboutcross-contamination.
I know they strive to makesomething for everybody.
They try their best to havevegan and gluten-free, but for

(04:50):
us meat eaters too, they like tohave something for everybody.
So tell us a little bit aboutthe Carving Rock Kitchen and how
it helps no pun intended how ithelps carve out that section of
you know dietary needs thatyou're helping to provide.

Speaker 3 (05:12):
Sure, yeah, yeah, that was actually part of naming
it, that and then also a poemon a piece of art from a friend
of mine.
But and yeah, naming a businessis hard to find something
that's not already in use orthat the Google page is not gone
, you know all that.
But yeah, we just wanted tocreate a safe space for a lot of
the things that if someone'snot a baker, you know, or it's

(05:32):
not used to baking or doesn'thave time to bake at home, I
mean, I would have customerscome in that haven't had a
biscuit or cinnamon roll inyears, since they were kids and
just like tears.
So I just saw that that was amissing piece.
Here in Chattanooga there wereseveral um cottage bakers around
um the good food bakery, um thebetter bakery and the snacking

(05:54):
hour.
I've become friends with all ofthem and they were doing things
at the markets and um, and sothat's where I started and I
started doing some like umslightly different things, cause
a lot of the things theyoffered either weren't dairy
free or um.
I was just offering differentthings, um, like cinnamon rolls
and pretzels, and and so startedout at the Brainerd farmer's
market, which is near where welive and um just got an

(06:17):
overwhelming response from a lotof people like oh my goodness,
this is amazing.
You know even the gluten- evenpeople who aren't gluten free.
We're like how is this glutenfree?
And so I really wasn't planningon doing it, much more than
just a side gig at the market atfirst, you know, but knowing
that it was that we were wantingsomewhere to go eat, you know
that was completely safe andthat was something that wasn't

(06:39):
being offered here.
Yet there was a building in ourneighborhood that used to be a
vegan place and I noticed thatthey were going out of business
because I followed them and so Icontacted that building owner
just to kind of get you know,just find out, like, hey, if
you're going to be working onthe building for a while, maybe
making it something else, likecould I rent just the kitchen

(07:01):
Because a lot of food businessesit's really difficult for food
businesses because you can'tjust go get a loan at the bank
like to start a food businessbecause nobody wants to finance
them.
They're very easy to fail.
You know they're very likely tofail, and so the financing for
it is very hard.
But the things that they'vecreated to help, that is what's

(07:23):
called like incubator kitchensor commissary kitchens- where
you can.
Yeah, like the kitchen incubatoris over in Brainerd, so I did
try to like figure out how tomake that work, but it's almost.
It's like a restaurant.
It's a shared space, it's ashared kitchen, and even
convection ovens, can you know,blow around the particles of the
gluten and not be safe.
So I wasn't able to utilizethat resource, and so I just

(07:47):
thought if I could just getaccess to a kitchen that I could
certify, because there's onlycertain things you know I could
only sell shelf, stable, cottagefood items at the market, and I
wanted to do more, and so Icontacted him to see if I could
like maybe just rent the kitchenfrom him the kitchen part, if
he was going to do somethingelse.
At first it seemed like it wasgoing to work out.

(08:08):
He wanted to do some musicnights for the community.
He was thinking of bringingsome other people in to share
the load, because, I was veryhonest with him, I can't afford
to rent a whole space right now.
Just starting out, we tried towork together it.
Um, I've actually partneredwith the snacking hour.
She came on, um to make thebiscuits and, um, there was

(08:30):
another couple from myneighborhood that was going to
basically like kind of manageand run like a coffee shop kind
of thing.
He had an espresso machine inthere.
So I was basically just goingto provide, you know, their cafe
with like baked goods, as I wasable, um, and whatever we have
for the day, you know, and thenjust kind of update people
online and let them know hey,we've got cinnamon rolls today,
go over and get you some.
And so that was kind of themodel that started out and it

(08:53):
just morphed very quicklybecause the guy who was going to
run the cafe side of things hadto had to drop out, and so then
I had kind of already geared upthe gluten free community to
like expect, kind of like tohave a gluten free cafe, and so
I just am the kind of person I'mlike, well, I guess I'll just
do it, I'll just do it myself.

(09:14):
So we just kind of figured itout and it lasted about seven
weeks there, and then thebuilding was having like major
plumbing issues and we, um,we're just having some issues
with the landlord, not, um, youknow, meeting the expectations
of fixing it and just otherthings.
So, um, yeah, we had to close,um, after seven weeks of opening

(09:35):
and yeah, it was a lot.
So, um, yeah, we had to closeabruptly and just unexpectedly.
So we were open for seven weeksand then, at that point, we
didn't really know what to dobecause we had, you know, just
paid for all the certifications,all the things, and, like we
didn't, we had not been openlong enough to to get enough

(09:56):
revenue or income to really likerelocate.
You know it's, it's insane.
So we but we had a following, asmall following, you know, and
so we tried a Kickstarter anddidn't really have any idea how
to do that either.
We just figured it out as wewent along because, yeah, so we
did it for $10,000 and we met itjust barely.

(10:19):
We met it and so, yeah, thatwas enough.
I mean, we thought that wasenough enough to get us
relocated.
It took a while.
We closed in October and weopened here on MLK in April of
this year, so it was quite thejourney.

Speaker 2 (10:40):
It sounds like it.
Wow, that's a.
That's a lot to have to, tohave to do in the first two
months of being in business.
Right, that's, that's a lot.

Speaker 3 (10:47):
Yes, it was, it was quite.
Yeah, did not expect it, but wemade it through, so yeah, so so
did.

Speaker 2 (10:53):
Did, uh, did reaching out to other people in the
community who were already kindof involved in in somewhat of
the same journey you're wantingto.
Did you want to do Was that?
Did you find that helpful toyou?

Speaker 3 (11:08):
Oh yes, absolutely.
I mean, I would not.
I would have quit if it weren'tfor the amazing other people in
this community, like when I hadtaken a few small business
courses from Hive Bank Media andit's founded by some of the
guys behind Be Caffeinated andjust got to know those guys and
they're just really amazing.
And one of them is the friendto Michael Lardzab all who

(11:30):
painted the painting that umhouses the, the point with our
name in it.
And um.
So yeah, he, they were justreally great.
They were very supportive whenthey found out that the um that
my cafe partner had had droppedout, they just donated a bunch
of coffee to get us started.
And I was able to find anotherum, my beverage, my beverage

(11:52):
partner now, and Walter Brews,who she'd been a barista for
years and wanted to create herown like kava bar in the future,
and so we kind of partneredtogether and she's growing her
own business here and so, yeah,so she came in and started and
did the drink.
So we still kind of deliveredon what we had promised.
It just looked a lot differentthan we, you know, and it ended
up being a whole lot moreresponsibility on me that I was

(12:14):
prepared to handle.
But yeah, like I said, friendscame through Another local
business partner, owner of HardyBites Chai, antonio.
He came by one day to just.
He also owns Cha Cha MasalaChai.
And he came by one day to just.
He also owns Cha Cha Masala Cha.
And he came by one day to seeif we wanted to purchase his cha
, which we did, it's amazing.
And he noticed like we had.

(12:37):
We were just got to talking andfigured out that he actually
knew my brother, worked with himfor years and so he just kept
checking in on us, found outthat our grinder had broken and
it wasn't.
It was owned by the landlordand he hadn't fixed it.
And so he just brought me agrinder to use, as, like you
know, as long as I need it, I'mactually still using one of his
mixers, because my big mixer hasa broken part, and so, just you

(12:59):
know, I would not have made itto this point if it weren't for
the other good neighbors in ourcommunity.

Speaker 2 (13:05):
That's what I hear.
That's what I hear so manytimes is somebody moves to this
area and they're just amazed atthe community that there is
among a lot of the businessowners.
You know, I hear that so oftenand when you mentioned a while
ago I know you didn't mentionher name, but you mentioned her
business name my buddy Shantaeand her husband from Down Under.

Speaker 3 (13:26):
Okay, yeah, uh-huh.

Speaker 2 (13:28):
Awesome.
You mentioned them a while ago.
Yes, okay, yeah, uh-huh,awesome yeah.

Speaker 3 (13:31):
You mentioned them while ago.

Speaker 2 (13:32):
Yes, yes, yes, yes she's awesome.
Yeah, well, you know, I mean,you've shared with us so much in
just a short few minutes we'vebeen talking here.
Can I step outside the businessfor a moment?
You said you and your husbandhave three children.
We do Uh-huh.
You said you and your husbandhave three children we do?

Speaker 3 (13:50):
They're all still living at home.

Speaker 2 (13:51):
I guess yes, yes, they're five nine and 11.
I figured they were young, butI didn't want to put that out
there.
So what do y'all do for funwhen you're not working?
Now that you're in a placecalled Chattanooga, Tennessee,
and while I'm a Huntsville fan,I'm sure enough a Chattanooga
fan.
So beautiful area here.
What do y'all do for fun?

Speaker 3 (14:12):
Yes, we love it.
We spent the first year welived here and just kind of took
it slow and like, just, youknow, explored all the things
and got all the went to all theplaces and it was a really fun
time and we still like to dothat.
We like to walk the bridge, beoutside during the summers,
right the bridge, be outsideduring the summers.
Right now they're in swim team,a summer swim team, so it's

(14:33):
that's a super, it's super busymonth, but it's really fun for
them and great, just team, youknow, activity and so, yeah, we
love that and we love gettingout outside.
It's just, I feel, the mosthome in nature, you know, and
that's a great.
It's a great place city to livein, you know, city in a park,
kind of like.
They say it's a great place tolive in if you want to be in
nature, and so that's what wetry to get out as much as we can

(14:54):
.
We love to go to, like, saudiGulf and places like that.
So, yeah, we've instituted a fewlike non-negotiable things now
that I've started this, becausefor years, you know, I didn't, I
worked at home and I did tutorat their homeschool co-op and do
another few little things hereand there, but it was a big
adjustment for me to startworking like this a lot.

(15:16):
So we have tried to really takecare because, I mean, as a
social worker, I'm passionateabout mental health and all the
things.
So we have a lot ofnon-negotiables, like you know.
Wednesday nights, my self-carenight, tuesday nights, my
husband's self-care night,wednesday is my day with the
children and so, um, because ofthat, we aren't open like seven

(15:37):
days a week like a typical youknow cafe.
Um, but the gluten-freecommunity has just been amazing.
They, they know, theyunderstand.

Speaker 2 (15:42):
You know that I'm just trying to fill a void and
um, they're happy to you know,they're happy with what we can
offer.
So, yeah, absolutely so.
So tell us about some of theitems you that you offer.
You said you're a bakery, butthen you mentioned, while I go,
some other things, so tell usabout that.
Do you have breakfast?

Speaker 3 (16:00):
We do.
That's kind of like the mainfocus, since that I felt like
was the biggest kind of you knowhole in in in offerings for
gluten-free.
I try to to do my best to offerthe things that are hard to
find.
So while you can find somethings um at other restaurants
um like Bantam and Bitty haslike some breakfast items, but
but like biscuits are a thingyou really can't find

(16:20):
gluten-free um anywhere aroundhere Just like to go in.
I mean, there are, like I said,some of the um the the cottage
bakers.
They offer biscuits but you togo in and like order a biscuit
sandwich, you know that's kindof the experience that I wanted
to um to provide, because it'ssomething that I've missed for
years.
You know, I remember when I was,you know, um, pregnant with one
of our kids and I would just gothrough McDonald's every day,

(16:41):
you know, and get the bacon, eggand cheese.
That was like my favorite thingand um like yeah, you just
don't realize, like your wholeworld turns over.
You just can't.
There's so many things youcan't do, and so I just wanted
to provide that experience ofjust being able to go in and
order and like know that it wasgoing to be safe and not have to
ask a million questions like wedo at normal restaurants.
So we have biscuits, sandwichesand we have cinnamon rolls.

(17:05):
Those are kind of like our twomain things that I try to um,
that people come in here toexpect is the breakfast
sandwiches and the cinnamonrolls.
Um, we do still sell out somedays before close.
But, um, because right now I'mstill doing the majority of the
baking myself and so I'm workingon training up some of our
staff so we can kind of have alittle bit more stock available
each day.

(17:25):
But, but, yeah, those are ourtwo main things I do.
When I can, I'll add on otherthings like quiche with crust,
and we do have like a lot ofadd-ons.
Look, we have a fried chickenadd-on.
Yeah, that's, it's not madein-house.
Because we are like we callourselves a micro bakery,
because it is a smaller spaceand the peach cobbler, who was

(17:48):
here before.
I think they had like a you knowa production kitchen and a lot
of things were shipped in.
So it's not really set up to belike a typical huge you know
production bakery, but it worksfor us right now.
And and yeah, so we do that.
And what else about?
I mean, I should have probablylooked at my menu.

Speaker 2 (18:07):
I'm blanking here but what are your hours?

Speaker 3 (18:11):
So right now our hours are Friday.
Fridays and Mondays we're openeight to one and then Saturday
and Sundays we're open 10 to two, so kind of just that little
weekend chunk with Friday andMonday in there.

Speaker 2 (18:23):
Friday, saturday, sunday, monday, when you're open
.

Speaker 3 (18:26):
Okay, all right.

Speaker 2 (18:27):
Yes, that's great, and then so, since you're open
until 1 some days, I guess youdo some things for lunch too,
right?

Speaker 3 (18:36):
Well, not really.
I mean people still come in andget the biscuits and the
cinnamon rolls.
I mean I do have so.
Well, we have some days we'llhave bagels and pretzels, so I
try to offer those.
I am trying to offer those.
The pretzels are going to be onthe menu every day in July.
I'm going to make a priority ofthat because it is part of our
the vegan chef challenge that'sgoing on in July.

Speaker 1 (18:56):
I was asked to participate in.

Speaker 3 (18:58):
So I came up with a few new um.
I came up with a new dip forour pretzels, a vegan, a cashew
cheese dip for our pretzels andthen, um, a few new vegan items.
So I'm going to have thepretzels on the menu all month,
Um.
At the other location, um, thekitchen was a bit bigger and I
did have a bigger staff overthere, so we were offering kind
of like sandwiches.
We had like a deli cabinetwhere we could make the

(19:19):
sandwiches and stuff and then wehad we would offer sandwiches
and soups.
But we haven't been able toreinstitute that here just yet,
because the bigger the menu, themore kind of craziness happens
in the kitchen.
And so if there's already dayswhen there's, like you know,
kind of it's a pretty long wait,some days when we get really
busy and get a rush, um, becausewe are just still kind of
recovering from the situation.

(19:40):
The first situation, our firstlocation.
So I'm not able to just kind oflike yeah, hire all the all the
staff and really, like I said,it's very, it's very small back
there.
So two people max is about allthey can fit in that kitchen at
a time.

Speaker 2 (19:58):
And so I think maybe you're putting yourself down a
little bit, because it soundslike you're doing an amazing job
.
If you know people I don't knowwhat percentage of the
population you know that that uheither need or want to eat
gluten-free.
Uh, I, I know I'm hearing moreand more vegans out there.
You know hear more and more ofthat kind of dietary, but I
don't know what percentage.
But it sounds like the peoplethat need it and want it know

(20:20):
you're there and they come inand they appreciate what you've
got and what you're doing Soundslike to me you're doing a
fantastic job.

Speaker 3 (20:29):
Well, thank you.

Speaker 2 (20:30):
I like to ask everybody this question.
To me it's just.
I like for you to speak to theheart of the business, not
what's on the menu, but to theheart of the business.
If there was one thing that youwish that our listeners knew
about, leslie Lewis and theCarving Rock Kitchen but they
probably wouldn't know it unlessyou shared it with them.

(20:52):
And you'd like to share it loudand proud here today on the
Good Neighbor Podcast, whatwould that be?

Speaker 3 (21:00):
Let's see.
Well, I guess mainly that likethis is not a typical business
and it's not something I set outto do, like I didn't set out to
grow a business.
I guess an example likeyesterday, we it was.
We had a first little rush whenwe came in and I was there's a
window to the kitchen.

(21:20):
So I was back there, you know,preparing the food and I hear
some of our regulars.
Two of our regulars were in andone of them has just recently
became gluten-free and he wasgot to talk into the other one
of the other regulars and thecouple that were family, that
was in from out of town and Iheard them like talking about
tips and like she was sharingwith him.
Like hey, did you know plato'sgluten-free or plato's made of
wheat, you know?

(21:40):
And he was like, oh my gosh, Ididn't know that my kids just
had it on the table the othernight and so like they were just
sharing all these littletidbits and talking, it was just
, oh, that's I mean.
That's why I do this and I knowthat sometimes, you know, the
wait is long and sometimes wedon't have what you want, if you
know.
But um, but yeah, we, I I do itbecause I know that the
gluten-free community needs thisand it's so important to them

(22:03):
and so valuable, and becausefood is just food, is essential
to life and it's so nostalgic.
You know there's so it's likeour sense of smell that's
connected, you know it's closeto your brain.
And the taste too.
It's like it brings backmemories and it's just such a.
It's such an essential,important part of life and
people that aren't, that don'thave food allergies or celiac

(22:24):
disease, don't understand, likethe enjoyment that is taken away
from the experience of eatingout and enjoying food over a
table with friends and familywhen you have to constantly be
vigilant about.
Okay, can you please make surethat you talk to the manager and
talk to the chef and you know,is this gluten-free and is there
any sauces?
You know, just, there's so muchI mean you can't even go to the

(22:45):
grocery store.
Yeah, and just like throw thingsin the cart.
You have to like look at thelabels and even then sometimes
it's very convoluted.
So I just wanted to like create, even just carve out, like you
said, carve out this smalllittle spot you know in
Chattanooga for people to beable to just come and just like.
You know, like I almost namedit XL kitchen at one time, but

(23:07):
that sounded a little too like alike a smoke shop.
Somebody said so.
I was like, okay, but just liketo be able to breathe.
You know, like just sit in andjust like, oh, I can just eat.
You know, I can just eat andnot worry.

Speaker 2 (23:16):
So I can imagine.
I mean, you know I have, I havemy own issues, but I don't
think food allergies is one ofthem, unless I haven't
discovered it yet.
But I have my own, you know,physical problems and things
that I have to watch.
You know that I that I can'toverdo or can't do at all, but I
can't imagine not just beingable to sit down and worry, you

(23:38):
know.
So, I admire what you're doingand what you're doing for other
people.
I admire that.
I'm glad that people that dohave those food allergies know
there's places they can go andstill be able to enjoy food and
not have to worry.
But I'm really happy for you,them and you yourself.
Well, thank you Thank you forproviding that for the community

(23:59):
you know, yes, absolutely.
And I want to give you a momenthere to just kind of share with
everyone regarding your how theycan find out more about you, or
how they can you know wherethey can find you at, whether
online or offline, how tocontact you.

Speaker 3 (24:16):
Please just share with that, with everybody yeah,
sure, um, well, I probablystayed the most out of all the
you know the social mediaplatforms.
I stay the most active oninstagram and then facebook.
Everything kind ofautomatically post over there to
facebook.
But we do post our menu becauseit does change slightly from
day to day.
Like I said, I do try to havethe biscuits and the cinnamon
rolls on the regular, um, but,um, sometimes we're out of

(24:38):
different toppings and thingslike that.
So instagram um stories iswhere I post our menu each day
and I will try to, but sometimeswe're out of different toppings
and things like that.
So Instagram stories is where Ipost our menu each day and I
will try to post.
If we sell out early and closeor if we run out of something,
I'll try to post if we're notsuper, just super slammed, but
but yeah, so Instagram is agreat place to follow us.
If you don't do social media, wedo have a newsletter on our
website, a link to that.

(24:59):
Our website iscarvingrockkitchens and, um, we
do have a newsletter.
Sign up there.
But I don't only periodicallyget those out right now, um,
because I'm just kind of, yeah,like a one-woman show still
mainly, I mean other than mystaff that help me in-house.
Um, all the admin stuff is isme right now and my husband
helps too, but, um, so, yeah,it's uh, the the newsletter is

(25:20):
okay to to go on there and thewebsite.
I try to keep that updated.
It hadn't been updated for awhile, but I finally just
updated it a little better.
And then how else will we see?
That's probably.
I mean, I do try to keep ourGoogle page updated too, like
our hours are updated on thereand all the information.
We do tell people they can callus if they want to check.

(25:41):
You know if they're on theirway in and they want to check.
If we have something and it'sour numbers 4-2-3-2-8-7-6-3-3-7.

Speaker 2 (25:50):
Okay.
What about your address.

Speaker 3 (25:54):
Oh, our address.
Yes, it's 301 East MLKBoulevard and we are in between
grassroots and modus build and alittle brick building right
here across from the big hugeAT&T mural painted building and
the peach cobbler sign isactually still up on the
building.
That's another one of thosesmall business things didn't
really think about.

(26:15):
We had a sign at our otherbuilding, but you know
everything, you have to pay forthe permits, all again and
everything, and so it's just notsomething we had been able to
prioritize yet and didn't reallythink about them not taking it
with them.

Speaker 2 (26:28):
Well, actually, maybe it's a sign that you need to
come up with a gluten-free,vegan peach cobbler.

Speaker 3 (26:33):
Well, I actually just did.
Yes, that's on the yeah.
A few people do come insometimes expecting because I
was like I just need to make it,so I finally.
That was one of the new veganuh chef challenge menu items, so
we now have peach cobblersthere you go.

Speaker 2 (26:48):
There's no sense taking the sign down now.
Home of the home of the peachcobbler, right there you go.

Speaker 3 (26:56):
Yeah, that is hard.
I mean, you can't really findgluten-free cobbler either, so
it works.

Speaker 2 (27:01):
It's been a pleasure having you on the program with
us today on our show andlearning more about you and what
you do, and thank you for whatyou're doing for the community,
especially those people that dosuffer from those food allergies
and then those that just wantto change their dietary habits.
I know they're glad to knowyou're out there and, hey, all
you listeners out there, you canfinally get a gluten-free

(27:22):
biscuit.
Good news, right?
Thank?

Speaker 3 (27:26):
you for being with us today.

Speaker 2 (27:27):
Leslie, it's been a pleasure having you.

Speaker 3 (27:29):
Thank you so much, Scott.
It's been a pleasure being here.

Speaker 2 (27:37):
Yes, absolutely.
And you know all the goodneighbors of the greater
Chattanooga region out there.
You know, after meeting Lessaand learning more about the
Carbon Rock Kitchen, I know thatyou know she really hopes that
you'll.
You know, come by one weekend,some Friday, saturday, sunday,
monday or maybe all four andstop by and get you a biscuit or
a peach cobbler or, I believeyou said, a cinnamon roll.
Was that right, lessa?

(27:58):
Yes, stop by and get a cinnamonroll If you've, leslie, yes, yes
, I can get a cinnamon roll Ifyou've never had one, and it was
that was gluten free and, uh,you know, hey, we, we might all
be surprised.
I don't know that I've ever hadone, that I knew that was so,
but I'm going to be trying onesoon.
So let's all go by there andsupport them and do all we can
to try to help them, especiallyif you have those dietary needs.

(28:19):
There's another place that youcan go that provides those types
of things you need in a verysafe environment that you don't
have to worry about what's goingto happen to you, to your maybe
you know, to your allergiesafter you get through eating.
So one more place that you canmark down your list.
And before ending this episode,I'd like to thank you, know, and

(28:42):
before ending this episode, I'dlike to thank you, know, you
all the listeners, for takingthe time out of your day, uh,
and spending time with us at thegood neighbor podcast.
You know, and I always say this, but always remember to support
the locally owned and operatedbusinesses in the greater
chattanooga region, and that'sfrom cleveland to dalton, from
jasper to benton.
All the small businesses andall the small communities in

(29:02):
between are very important toour whole area.
So this is Scott Howell withthe Friends and Neighbors Group.
Everyone go out and make this aremarkable day.

Speaker 1 (29:12):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to GNPClevelandcom.
That's GNPClevelandcom.
That's GNPClevelandcom, or call423-380-1984.