06/02/2022
Dennis and Diana, where the hell are you?
To all of our friends who were wondering…
Are you going to open another restaurant? Are you a personal chef for someone famous? Are you working for another restaurant owner? And my all-time favorite ... Are you still alive?
These are just a few of the questions we are thrown when our friends see us out and about since we close JC’s Steakhouse. So, here are some answers to those questions.
To quote Samuel Clemons, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated. Yes, we are still alive, probably more alive than we have been in a long time.
On January 1s of 2021, we formally closed JC’s. We still had a part ownership of a fence company so we were still busy. But February, Diana and I both came down with Covid. After a couple of weeks of not getting out of bed, (Diana being the tough one was still working, being the only one in the office) I had an epiphany. Life is too short!
We had busted our asses for far too long to not enjoy the life we had worked so hard for. So, in April we were out of the fence business. We took the summer off to finish our house and landscaping and a trip with family to Hawaii.
The month of September hits and I’m also hit with another epiphany. I thought we were ready to go back into the restaurant business, Diana was only willing to get back in because she knows how much being in the kitchen is my passion. We put a couple of offers in on places only to be told a few weeks later that they had decided the restaurant business is so volatile that they were going to turn the buildings into retail space instead.
A few days later the epiphany hit. We were driving down the road and out of nowhere, you know how epiphanies are, I turned to Diana and said, “I think I’m done; I think I’m good with it.” Diana looked at me with skepticism and said, “What the hell are you talking about”?
I told her, “I had a great run, I don’t need to have another restaurant and I am good with that.” Diana looked out the window and with a smile she said, “Oh thank God!”
Since we have turned the page on the restaurant profession, we have had something neither of us have ever had ... weekends, nights and holidays off. And to be honest ... I kind of like it. So, no we will not open another restaurant!
This has also given Diana and I the chance to really bond, and not over a serving window. We have traveled to Hawaii, twice, Nashville, twice, Alaska and Mexico. We have spent time with our kids, and our grandkids which neither of us have had the chance to do, in the way we wanted while in the restaurant business.
I’m not totally out of the kitchen though, you know me too well to ever think that I wouldn’t have a knife in one hand and a tasting spoon in the other. Diana and I have a food truck called Papa D’s! We take it out part time along with volunteering to be the guest chef 1 to 2 nights a month at the Chandler Elks Club and doing group cooking lessons at our home once a month so I still get to do what I have a passion for!
The old saying that “when one door closes, another opens,” came to life at our Open House / Birthday / Anniversary Bash in September in our backyard.
Let me set the scene. Our backyard is Diana and my idea of OUR resort. IT has a swimming pool, palm trees, a sunken cook area and bar with swim up stools. We had our old house band Harry McGraw Band start the party off with his great blues guitar. To follow that up we had Josh Roy as the feature musician. Both killed it that night. EVERYONE had a ball. And to be truthful, several adult beverages were consumed.
Before going on stage, I was talking with Josh and he told me how he was about as far as he could go in the business without having management. It was like a lightning bolt. I looked at Josh and said, “Hell I can do that.”
In between his sets we continued to talk about what his dreams consisted of and how I could use my own skills to help him. A couple of days later we talked to find out if each other were serious and a partnership was born.
Long story short, we now have DDP Worldwide Talent Management that was formed to manage Josh Roy. For those of you who are not familiar with Josh, he is an up-and-coming country music artist.
When we started with Josh in late September, he was just another bar band. Today he is opening for top country artists and making magic happen with his amazing voice. We have made a deal to record our first Nashville album with a release date of September 2022 ... (stay tuned for updates!!).
I hope you will all start following him at Josh Roy Music. DDP Worldwide is growing and becoming more diversified as we are in the process of signing several more country artists, comedians, motivational speakers and other diverse and talented individuals.
I know what you’re thinking. What in the world do I know about managing professional entertainers? They said the same thing when I said I was going to open my first restaurant. They said the same before I opened my sporting goods store in Alaska ... the fence company ... and the other businesses that I have opened. I rise to a challenge. You all know that of me. This is just another opportunity for Diana and I to help others to become what they want to be.
Here is what I have learned in my life. All the answers are out there, all you need to be is to be brave enough to ask the right questions of the right people. The rest is just hard work. I’ve never shied away from that, actually I need the struggle.
So, you ask where we have been and what are we doing now, it’s easy! All over the place and staying very busy! Stay in touch, you never know, we may be in your town soon! Live Life!!
