00:00:05,220 –> 00:00:06,300
Yeah, the stuff on our plate.

00:00:06,300 –> 00:00:06,780
Exactly.

00:00:06,780 –> 00:00:07,340
Yeah.

00:00:07,340 –> 00:00:12,540
But what if it’s bigger than that? Like involving community, maybe even, you know, the whole world?

00:00:12,540 –> 00:00:13,180
Hmm.

00:00:13,180 –> 00:00:22,299
Today, we’re diving into the story of Jennifer McNevin. She’s a co-owner and marketing director of Manuel’s, which, if you know Austin, you know Manuel’s, it’s iconic.

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Absolutely.

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We want to explore her view on nourishment, how it stretches way beyond just the kitchen.

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And Manuel’s itself, it’s got quite a history. Established way back in ’84 by Greg Kari, a third-gen restaurateur.

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Right.

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The focus was always authentic, regional Mexican food. And it, well, it really became an Austin staple. Great menu, cocktails, service, the whole package.

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And Jennifer joined in 2001?

00:00:46,980 –> 00:00:56,380
Yeah, 2001. She brought this incredible energy, definitely boosted the style, the taste, and, you know, she eventually married Greg and became co-owner. Her impact’s been huge.

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So our mission here is basically to unpack all that, see what we can learn from her journey about building something that lasts, and how that passion for, uh, feeding people can grow into something much, much bigger.

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Sounds good. Let’s get into it.

00:01:10,860 –> 00:01:18,400
Okay. First off, Manuel’s has been around over 35 years in Austin’s food scene. That’s, that’s seriously impressive.

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It really is. It’s hypercompetitive there.

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So what does it actually take? How does a restaurant stick around that long?

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Well, according to Jennifer McNevin, it’s not rocket science apparently.

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Uh-huh.

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But it is a lot of hard work. The key thing, she stresses, isn’t just working hard. It’s more about, um, constantly providing an experience, a product people genuinely want to repeat.

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So consistency is crucial?

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Totally. But also, never just coasting. She talks about never resting on their laurels. They’re always trying to be market leaders, and that means paying attention, changing, even after decades.

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Okay. So this constant drive.

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Mm-hmm.

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W- how does that show up on the plate? What about the actual food quality?

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Oh, they’re meticulous. Jennifer says they’re very picky about quality of ingredients. Everything’s made from scratch in small batches.

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Small batches, okay.

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And they buy only grade A. What’s really interesting too is their sourcing, about 70%, she estimates, comes from Texas. Locally sourced.

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Which is a big plus these days.

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Right, and it’s twofold. Supports the local economy, obviously, but also means fresher food for the customers. She mentions their campechana, you know, that chilled seafood cocktail-

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Mm-hmm

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… made with specific stuff, like poached yellowfin tuna, Gulf shrimp, black drum fish, all chosen carefully for quality and sustainability.

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That dedication really comes through.

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Mm.

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But as you said, Jennifer’s idea of nourish goes way beyond the ingredients. It kind of makes you stop and think, “How many ways do we feel nourished?” Yeah.

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Exactly. When she was asked to define it, her first thought naturally was food. It’s her business after all.

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Makes sense.

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But she immediately expanded it. For her, it’s food, drink, friends, ideas, conversation, and they can all be shared over a meal. It really captures that social communal side of eating.

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It does.

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Mm.

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And there was this one thing, um, an external influence that really shifted things for them, right? The documentary, Food, Inc.

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Yes, that was huge for them, a real turning point.

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Imagine seeing that and then thinking, “Okay, we need to change everything, our whole supply chain,” for an established restaurant? That sounds incredibly difficult.

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Monumental, really. But the film was a catalyst. It led to some pretty radical changes, like they switched all their meats to hormone-free, antibiotic-free.

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Wow, okay.

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Adopted non-GMO corn masa for their chips and tortillas, which they made from scratch, by the way.

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That’s a big commitment.

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Huge. And they doubled down on local sourcing, plus started buying only the wild-caught seafood from certified sustainable waters in the US.

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Mm-hmm.

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Specifically avoiding things like farm-raised shrimp from Taiwan.

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So really specific standards?

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Very. Jennifer just saw these as common sense, good things to do, good for the planet, good for the customers.

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Yeah.

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It really made Manuel’s stand out, even among places already claiming to be healthy.

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Okay. But changing all that for potentially hundreds of people eating there each day at each location, how did they even manage that logistically, and what was the bigger goal behind it for her?

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It was tough. It took a full year, she said, to get all the sourcing lined up reliably.

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A whole year?

00:04:21,579 –> 00:04:32,950
Yeah. But her ambition was pretty cool. She wanted Manuel’s to be a model, to maybe start more of a trend, show other restaurants it could be done, you know, integrate these values successfully.

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And did it work? Did the trend catch on?

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It seems like it, yeah. The public got more educated, started demanding this kind of quality and transparency more often, so the initiative definitely paid off and had a ripple effect.

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Okay, so we’ve got the food, the planet.

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Yeah.

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But what about the people working there? The restaurant industry is notorious for high turnover.

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Mm-hmm.

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How does Manuel’s keep their team happy and provide a good service?

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That’s another area they seem to really focus on. They have 130 employees, which is a lot to manage.

00:05:00,080 –> 00:05:00,600
Yeah.

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They credit their success to having a strong team and fostering a real family atmosphere.

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How do they do that, practically speaking?

00:05:08,780 –> 00:05:16,200
It sounds pretty straightforward, actually. They keep things simple. They pay above industry standards, which is key.

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Definitely.

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And they work their managers fewer hours than most restaurants. The aim is simple. Create a safe place to work where everyone can come in, do their job, make great money, but always, always with the focus that the customer comes first.

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Paying well, reasonable hours, safe environment-

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Yeah.

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Sounds like a good recipe.

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Yeah.

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Now, thinking about people starting out, especially with all the food TV shows making it look glamorous-

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Mm-hmm.

00:05:40,360 –> 00:05:42,140
… what advice does Jennifer offer?

00:05:42,140 –> 00:05:47,060
Ah, yes, the aspiring entrepreneurs. Her advice is, well, it’s pretty sobering.

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Uh-oh.

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When someone asks her about opening a restaurant, the first thing she asks is basically, “Can you afford to run it for five years, be there constantly, pay all the bills without taking a single penny out for yourself?”

00:05:59,060 –> 00:06:00,820
Wow, five years.

00:06:00,820 –> 00:06:12,240
That’s the reality check. She says it’s three to five years before you’re gonna be able to pull any money for yourself out of that restaurant, often working 50, maybe even 100 hours a week, for no personal income initially.

00:06:12,240 –> 00:06:17,532
Oof…. that definitely grounds things. A huge amount of sacrifice involved that you don’t always see.

00:06:17,532 –> 00:06:20,232
Absolutely. Puts those cooking shows in a different light, doesn’t it?

00:06:20,232 –> 00:06:30,632
It really does. Okay, so beyond the restaurant walls, how does this idea of nourishment extend out into the, uh, the wider community for Manuel’s?

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They’ve actually been involved locally for a long time, even before Jennifer joined. They support at least 20 local nonprofits every year.

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20? That’s quite a few.

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Yeah, and their main priorities are always children and the arts. They help everyone from like soccer moms to hospice to Ballet Austin, a really wide range.

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And Jennifer’s role is key in that.

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Yeah, she’s crucial in using the restaurant’s platform, donating products, gift certificates, hosting events to raise awareness and funds.

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That local commitment is clear. But then things went global too, right?

00:07:02,972 –> 00:07:03,712
Yeah.

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What sparked that leap?

00:07:04,972 –> 00:07:20,812
It was her friendship with Turk and Kristy Pipkin, actually, and seeing their film Knowbility. The big takeaway for her was this idea, it’s one world. If everyone who has just did something for those who have not, it could genuinely change things, help rebalance the scales.

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That’s a powerful realization.

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It led her to support the Knowbility project, and then also, very significantly, an organization called Finding Freedom Through Friendship, which her own sister, Jodi Greenlee, founded.

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Finding Freedom Through Friendship. Tell me more about that. It started with medical trips.

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Yeah. Her sister was doing medical missions in Guatemala, but she realized pretty quickly that just healthcare wasn’t enough. These women and kids were severely malnourished, lacking basic shelter, nutrition.

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Just fundamental needs weren’t being met.

00:07:49,432 –> 00:07:58,452
Exactly. So the mission became empowering widows, single mothers and children in rural Guatemala and Egypt, helping lift them out of endemic poverty.

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How do they do that?

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Through a combination of things. Shelter, health services, nutrition, education, but also crucially economic skills through microloans and microbusiness development, giving them the tools and a little capital to build their own livelihoods.

00:08:12,682 –> 00:08:14,532
That sounds incredibly impactful.

00:08:14,532 –> 00:08:30,732
It really is. They’ve helped over 500 women in Guatemala, focusing especially on the indigenous Mayan women, who are some of the most impoverished people on Earth. And get this, no one in the charity takes a salary. Every penny goes straight to the moms and kids.

00:08:30,732 –> 00:08:33,292
That’s amazing. Zero overhead for salaries.

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Pretty remarkable.

00:08:34,052 –> 00:08:38,152
And they even tie this back into the restaurant sometimes, don’t they, with the arts connection?

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They do. There was this photographic exhibit, Romancing the Light by Gray Hawn at one of the Manuel’s locations. 25% of the proceeds went directly to Finding Freedom Through Friendship.

00:08:50,521 –> 00:08:54,252
What a great way to blend art, business, and philanthropy.

00:08:54,252 –> 00:08:56,152
Yeah, it really brings it all together.

00:08:56,152 –> 00:09:02,952
So looking back at Jennifer McNevin’s whole story, it really paints this picture of nourishment as, well, as so much more than food.

00:09:02,952 –> 00:09:10,992
Definitely. It covers quality food, yes, but also taking care of your team and then reaching out, helping your local community, and even tackling global issues.

00:09:10,992 –> 00:09:16,432
It really underscores her closing thought, doesn’t it? Nourish others and you will nourish yourself.

00:09:16,432 –> 00:09:18,852
Such a simple but profound idea.

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It leaves you thinking, right? As you listen to this, maybe consider what’s one small thing, one shift you could make to nourish your own community or maybe even think a bit bigger and see how that nourishes you in return.