He Left College to Build a 40-Year Restaurant Icon | Dave Rauschkolb
Dave Rauschkolb was one semester away from finishing college when a surfing trip led to a question that would completely change his life: What if we opened a restaurant?A few months later, Bud & Alley’s opened its doors in a very different Seaside, Florida. Forty years later, it has become one of the most recognizable restaurants on 30A, and Dave’s story has grown far beyond a single restaurant.In this episode of Treehouse Talks, Dave sits down with Eric Isham to tell the story behind Bud & Alley’s, from borrowing the money to get started and barely making a profit in the early years to building Taco Bar, Pizza Bar, Black Bear Bread Co. and a restaurant culture that has kept employees around for decades.Dave also gets into the lessons that did not come easily. He talks about closing a restaurant after only 90 days, refusing to put pepperoni on the menu before finally listening to his customers, why he believes managers have to earn respect, and why he once left his own dinner table to put on an apron and help an overwhelmed dishwasher.The conversation goes beyond business, too. Dave shares how the Deepwater Horizon disaster pulled him into activism, how Hands Across the Sand grew from a Florida idea into events across all 50 states and 48 countries, and why protecting the Gulf Coast and its beaches remains personal to him.This is a conversation about taking chances, building something that lasts, knowing when to change your mind, standing up for what you believe in, and learning that the strongest businesses are ultimately built around people.Subscribe to Treehouse Talks for more conversations with entrepreneurs, leaders and people with stories worth hearing.