Dec 30, 2016
Jonathan Holth is a community
builder, father, and entrepreneur who lives in Grand Forks, ND. He
co-owns the “upscale, but not uptight” Toasted
Frog restaurants that specialize in fried cheesy
pickles.
He’s a leader in a growing
movement of private citizens who partner with friends, neighbors,
public officials and foundations to make a difference in their
communities.
He invests his time in helping to create a more fun, interesting,
economically diverse North Dakota for today and for his future
grandchildren. He believes in building the community that you want
to live in, and encourages all to become more vocal and get
involved in your own communities.
Listen to our chat to hear Jonathan discuss:
- His entrepreneurial journey
through the creation and continued success of his restaurant, The
Toasted Frog
- Why Toasted Frog restaurants are
closed on Sundays
- Community involvement and the
positive impact you can make as a proactive citizen
- What it means to be a Knight
Foundation city
- His experience in
community-building, specifically the work-study program he did in
Copenhagen to study the city’s transportation modes, public spaces,
and parks
- The differences that he found in
community planning for public spaces overseas compared to those
processes in the U.S.
- Being personal and intentional
in the community design process when planning a community’s public
spaces
- Creating a grassroots
organization within your community and the importance of developing
public/private partnerships
- The value of being involved with
city hall as a private sector voice rather than running for
office
- His work with Evolve Grand Forks,
an organization focused on creating an entrepreneurial culture
in Grand Forks
- The development of a co-working
space - the first space of its kind in the city
- How to take the next step in
your business without breaking the bank
- Creating a strong community of
talent, to attract and retain people
- Creating reasons for people to
choose to stay within the state including celebrating
accomplishments
- Emceeing and presenting at the
TEDx talks to share GREAT ideas
- Drawing inspiration from other
communities
- Creating community with a
long-term vision as a legacy for future generations
- Preserving the connections you
make (and keep) in a smaller community while growing and
evolving
Quotes from Jonathan:
“I think that there’s a misperception about restaurant ownership as being glamorous and fun. Much of the work that my business partners and I are doing during hours of operation are washing dishes, busing tables, and seating people. We do whatever needs to be done to make sure that the customers are happy.”
“The type of community that we
want to live in doesn’t just appear, so I decided to get involved
and try to make positive change wherever I could.” “I’ve had a lot
of people ask me about my interest for running for office and that
is something that does interests me, but I’ve also found that there
needs to be a strong private sector voice. Public officials crave
that voice so that they’re not always the ones advocating for
change.”
“Oftentimes entrepreneurs are working out of their basement or
they’re working out of their garage because they are sort of
bootstrapping their business and just have a lack of funds. A
co-working space allows you to take your business to the next level
without breaking the bank. So, you don’t have to max out your
credit cards to get your business off the ground.”
“The community-advocacy work that I’m doing right now, I’m viewing
it through the lens of being a future grandfather. My parents lived
here, my wife’s parents lived here, and all of my family loves this
place and having family close and having this tight-knit community
has done wonders for my daughters already. I want to make sure that
our community is a place that my daughters are proud of and that
early on in their lives they make a decision that ‘This is where I
want to live and that this is where I want to raise my
family.’”
Contact Jonathan
Website: The Toasted Frog
Facebook: Toasted Frog - Bismarck
Twitter: @JonFromForks
Linkedin: Jonathan Holth
Contact Lisa: Lisa@EverBetterU.com