LAFAYETTE — It was all gas, no brakes for Vallot. Nearly a year ago, the former Louisiana offensive lineman was preparing to open a restaurant after capturing a state championship with st. Thomas More.
Now, eight months and two state rings later, business is still booming.
"When I first started, I just kind of started and hoping it would take off and then it did."
Not many times would you see Vallot without a smile... well, unless you're the opposing team. But now he puts all of his heart and soul into his cooking.
"It's important because to me, when I go eat somewhere, not necessarily would I want to meet the owner all the time but I want a good vibe and sometimes I just want to know who's the chef. Who's cooking? For me, I like seeing smiles on people's face and I like knowing their true reaction to my food and I like knowing their honest opinion."
And with a lot of love to give, he's even been told that he gives too much.
"That's a problem I actually wanted to have. I rather people say it's too much food than not enough. We've actually had people tell us there's too much food so of course we kind of downsized on our portion sizes, but not too much."
For Vallot, there's no difference between his favorite things — family, food and football. Just as he steps on the field for a Friday night match-up or prepping food for the lunch hour rush, game time is all the time.
"As a business owner, I think it's the same thing as being a head coach in high school, or college. I think you've got to recruit a team, which is my staff and you want a good staff so you've got to hit the transfer portal. Then, it's to keep them. Everybody out there is poaching your staff and they want to recruit them. Each day is a game. Practice is over and that was before we opened. Each day now is a game. There's no more practice."
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