I have a great job.
I work with locally owned restaurants helping them reduce their carbon footprint. So, I eat out a lot and I get to blame my job for the few extra pounds I’ve been carrying around since I started Project Green Fork eighteen months ago.
I love restaurants—especially the types that are small enough that you get to see the chef working their magic when you walk in the door. It’s what I call the, “What You See is What You Get” restaurant, case in point with a local favorite, Umai. The chef greeting you while he’s hand-rolling sushi is a most welcoming sight to me.
I recently starting working with Umai, a small Midtown Japanese/French restaurant (Umai means delicious or tasty in Japanese) and quickly became impressed by chef/owner, Ken Lumpkin. He’s been around for a while and has an impressive résumé to prove it.
When he went out on his own, he really went out on his own. Many restaurateurs have silent partners, financial backers, or money to invest and not lose their shirt. Not the case with Ken. He has a passion and a drive and a hell of a talent, but not deep pockets. It’s this passion and drive that has kept Umai going for the past 3 years.
A few weeks ago at our PGF board retreat the question of how can we continue to do what we do with limited financial resources was discussed. While brainstorming, one of our board members brought up the possibility of working with nationally-run chain restaurants as an additional source of income. Working with this restaurant category would help our financial stream but that’s not what PGF is about. Equal to helping reduce environmental impact, bringing attention to these small locally owned and operated restaurants is what we’re about.
Like Umai, Project Green Fork is small and we run our organization with passion and drive, not deep pockets. We’ll continue to work with and support the locally owned with a faith, like Ken, that the work will speak for itself and the funding will come.
The next time you’re mulling over the question, “What’s for dinner?,” choose one of these locally owned jewels. Your choice may just keep them in business.
Website: projectgreenfork.org
Facebook: Project Green Fork
Twitter: projgreenfork
Fantastic! We love their food and we love PGF!
Time for a visit to Umai and a little surprise for the wife. Thanks for the tip Margot.
You didn’t go far enough in extolling how absolutely “out on a limb” Ken went when he opened Umai–all the woodwork in the restaurant was done with trees that fell down in Memphis. I’m loving that he’s made it happen!
Hey Scott,
Thanks for commenting. Please do extol more … we love to brag about our local chefs and Ken is certainly worthy.
Best Regards,
Margot
Umai
2015 Madison
Memphis, TN
Midtown
405-4241
Thanks, Margot, I didn’t want to come off like I was bragging on my own work but I had a hand in it’s creation and it’s a story I like to tell.
A few months before Ken decided to open Umai, he had been coming to my woodworking shop at least once a week to work on a beautiful platform bed he was making for himself. He had come to me because he wanted to use wood reclaimed from Memphis trees. That’s what I do–save city trees and saw ‘em up into lumber to build things.
He was living in a little apartment at the time, so in exchange for some leftovers from Blue Fin (Ken was a sushi chef there at the time), I’d let him use my tools and space. We developed a really good rapport and when he came in one afternoon talking about going back to school and getting a “real” job, I pulled all the stops to convince him that what he really needed to do is chase his dream.
He looked at a few spots around town, including the old Binghamton Jail at Broad an Collins, before the old Harry’s On Teur became available. Ken worked a deal with the lease holder, and we went over to see what we could do with it.
Despite the fact that Ken had no money, we quickly decided we had to gut the entire place (there was inches of accumulated restaurant “stuff” built up in the partition walls that separated the kitchen from the dining area. We also had to deal with liquor and code issues in terms of enclosed seating.
Since Code had already allowed the use of a tent for “enclosed” dining on the deck surrounding the restaurant, they were kind enough to allow us to “renovate” it. Since we really had no money, we did it the Amish way and, with the help of a group of tireless friends, we were able to get the place up and running for a fraction of what it could have cost.
Throughout the entire project, Ken and his staff learned to be custom woodworkers as well as fabulous cooks.
Ken and Umai are a testament to self determination.
And it’s great eats!
See http://www.scottbanbury.com/umai.html
good post, margot. thanks for reminding me of this midtown gem!
I sure would like to see Scott B get some kind of leg up from this kind of work. What he does to reclaim beautiful wood that would be burned or dumped is absolutely a great mission. Kudos to the Umai and Scott, both jobs that really could only happen hear by our fearless types.
You guys are ahead of your time and definitely on the right path.
Rock on.
Thanks Zippy. It’s all about Right Livelihood. Unfortunately those ahead of their time don’t get legs up–they create them for others
Boy Scott, you just said a mouthful of truth! Rock on.