"I Only Had $700 In My Bank Account When We Opened," Craig Hartman, BBQ Exchange In Gordonsville, Va

“I Only Had $700 In My Bank Account When We Opened,” Craig Hartman, BBQ Exchange In Gordonsville, Va

Craig Hartman: The day before we opened, I literally had $700 in my bank account.

Jerry Miller: Unbelievable!

Craig Hartman: I had 18 people working to open this restaurant and I had two weeks to pay my first payroll. And I was just like, “Jesus, please help me.”

Jerry Miller: I love that story.

Craig Hartman: And so, the day we opened, the guys came in and gave us our occupancy permit. The doors opened. There was a line. And we haven’t looked back.

The fear was there, it was definitely there. I thought, “God, have we made a mistake?”

So, I have to tell you, I underestimated the amount of work to do a BBQ place by about 1,000%.

Jerry Miller: The day he opens BBQ Exchange, $700 in the bank, 18 people on payroll and two weeks to meet payroll through food sales at the restaurant. That right there, guys, is the freakin’ American Dream…

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