We’re harkening back to the very beginning to bring you our very first entrepreneur storyteller, Joe Griffith, to share how his top-rated, premium food tour company, Wander New Mexico, has evolved since he first shared his story with us back in February 2018.  Since so many of you are new to KAESF, when Joe first shared he had just a couple of years in the business under his belt, carefully curating tours for people who love food, by people who love food. During Wander New Mexico’s most popular tour, Santa Fe Historic Plaza Food Tour, as well as the Santa Fe Railyard “Off the Beaten Path” Food Tour, Joe creates opportunities for visitors and locals alike to meet the chefs, restaurant owners, distillers, brewers and winemakers (the life blood of our community) to hear what makes their establishment so dang  special. He even curates private and custom tours, as well as fun and engaging company events.

So, what’s changed over the past five+ years? What’s been Joe’s experience in hiring help, as he can’t do every tour on his own? How’d the pandemic pause impact the business? What did Joe do while waiting for Santa Fe to open back up again? What was it like to ramp back up? Are there things he’s tried incorporating over the years that he thought would be great, but just didn’t stick? And, as one who’s built such close relationships with restaurant and bar owners and their staff, what can Joe share about some of their ongoing challenges and how they’ve influenced or impacted his business?  And, what’s next for Wander New Mexico?

It's been a while, but having taken a couple of Joe’s tours, I can attest that it’s one of my favorite Santa Fe experiences to share with visiting friends and family, as while we enjoy some incredible food and drink, it’s the stories shared throughout the tour that really make you feel connected to the people and places we visit. And speaking of visiting places, we’ll be gathering in the Railyard at the practically brand-new Santa Fe location of the pizza side of Bosque Brewing’s business, Restoration Pizza (the first location opened in Albuquerque in 2019). What I love about Restoration Pizza is their mission to provide jobs to differently-abled persons. At Restoration Pizza, disabilities are just a part of a greater ability. Managers focus on barrier removal – getting to know an employee’s strengths so they can implement systems that make their work experience a positive one.

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty dang excited for this Story Time, so plan to arrive between 6:30 and 7 PM to order a drink and some pizza and get some schmoozing in before we settle down for Story Time starting at 7 PM. See you on the 2nd!