10/25/2025
š Question for the Dreamers & Believers
If you could only pick one, what would you want to see come alive first? š
š½ļø A new restaurant with real flavor?
šø A bar with heart and energy?
š¶ A live music & event venue?
š§ A live podcast where the community connects?
People tell me all the time ā āStart small. Focus on one thing. Be realistic.ā
And sure, I get it. Finances matter. Growth takes time. Thatās why Iām doing fundraisers, rebuilding my podcast, and laying the groundwork step by step.
But hereās what they donāt see, this dream came from survival.
When I was battling cancer, music saved me. It gave me strength, hope, and purpose. It reminded me to live life fully, to laugh, to dance, to connect, and to love hard.
Thatās what brought me here. Thatās why I do what I do.
I fell in love with all of it:
š« Cooking and serving great food.
š« Hosting and bringing people together.
š« Taking photos that capture real memories.
š« Creating and sharing music that heals.
š« Laughing, connecting, and seeing the community come alive.
So tell me, why canāt I build one special place that holds all of that under one roof? A place where you can eat, drink, laugh, listen to live music or a podcast, and truly belong.
You canāt feed a dream halfway.
During a recent meeting, I was asked:
āWhat makes you different? What can you bring to the table that will make people come back every day?ā
I said: My flavors. My personality. My passion for people. But the response I got was ā āThatās not whatās going to draw people in.ā
And that hit me. Because it felt like being back in high school, when I was told I could never be a writer because of my disability. When people said my dream wasnāt realistic. That same energy āYou canāt.ā
But here I am, still proving that I can.
So, when someone says a full community hub is ātoo much,ā I hear the same thing: āStay in your lane.ā
But I donāt have just one lane, I built a whole highway.
Some say itās not realistic, that itās too hard, too much, too big. But maybe theyāve never met someone like me.
Because Iāve already fought battles most people canāt imagine. I let people crush my dreams once before, but Iām not letting that happen again.
Iām not stopping this time. My dream is real, and itās worth fighting for.
Yes, itāll take time. Yes, itāll take money. But itās doable. And I believe the community will help make it happen, because this isnāt just my dream; itās our space to come alive together.
They say dreams should start small and grow later. But I believe dreams canāt be built halfway. You donāt grow something powerful by playing small, you build it by putting your heart in all the way.
And the heart of my dream is people.
Thatās the attraction. Thatās what will make Tootieās Social House different ā where people come alive, ļæ¼itās where locals come alive.
Itās not just food or drinks or music, itās the energy of respect, love, and belonging. Itās about treating my employees and my customers the way people used to, with kindness, care, and community and respect.
I was told recently that people miss the old-school days when folks showed up for each other, when workplaces felt like families, when respect actually meant something. And I said, āThatās exactly what Iām bringing back.ā
He laughed and said, āGood luck, people donāt believe in that anymore.ā And I said, āWell, they will when I open my doors.ā
Because Iām bringing back the old ways, the ones that built loyalty, connection, and love and mixing them with a new-school spark that celebrates creativity, diversity, and passion.
Some want me to only focus on my podcast and I love my podcast, itās my heartbeat but I canāt survive on that alone. The podcast needs the restaurant. The restaurant needs the music. The music needs the people.
It all connects. Itās all part of the same dream.
So no ā Iām not thinking too big.
Iām just thinking beyond limits.
Because sometimes, to make the impossible happenā¦
⨠Youāve gotta hop on that rocket ship and go all the way up.
Now tell me, if you could choose,
š„ What would YOU want to see first ā and why?