As Jon boarded F & D in early 2019, I was in the process of taking on the digital editor (web site) role, and we became friends. The pandemic reordered matters, but that’s another story — RB.
—
To understand the struggles of the restaurant industry, you must accept the inevitability of turnover. Staff of all levels and tenure leave; ownership changes hands; vendors are bought out; menus are updated. Things, places, and people all come and go.
These truths make John Carlos White’s stalwart presence as the publisher of Louisville’s finest food and beverage publication all the more impressive.
I came into fold in the Spring of 2019 after losing out on yet another marketing job. The interviewer delivered the news gently: we really liked you, but the perfect candidate came along. I didn’t entirely buy it, but I appreciated not being ghosted.
A week later, however, another call came. Same woman. I was working a prep shift but I stepped out hoping for good news. She told me that a friend of hers was looking for a business manager. Someone to help run his food and dining magazine. I seemed like the perfect person. Could she pass on my number?
A few days later I met John at Frankfort Avenue Beer Depot. He told me not to wear anything I didn’t want to get sauce on. I had a resume, ready to talk qualifications, but that felt out of place once we sat outside with pint glasses and his cigarettes mingled with the smoker. This wasn’t the sort of formal interview I prepared for in school. This was just John’s opportunity to take the measure of a man. A fair representation of how he ran Food & Dining for over 20 years.
Also fair because…he ran the damn thing out of his basement.
Business Manager, in that setting, was as all-encompassing as you’d expect. I’d go on research deep dives, chase leads for online stories, make the coffee (and sometimes breakfast), clean the Blackstone, retrieve printed magazines, paint the pergola, distribute bundles to...Read more
