Who We Are
Michael Major, Jr.
"Needless to say, I've been around the block. My first restaurant job was at the old Zanzibar Blue on Broad Street when I was in my early 20s. It was a doorman. The guy I worked with, Rueben, was this large dude that was way more intimidating than I was. While I didn't stick there, I came back to the industry a few years later at as a host at Osteria. From there, I've held positions ranging from server to general manager to line cook all the while learning from some Philly's best operations and most celebrated personalities, including the requisite years in catering.
The service part of my personality comes honest. You can go back to my great-grandparents' store in Pineville, SC. They not only made sure that anyone leaving the store left with something in their hands, they also extended credit to those from the community that needed it. My grandfather was a deacon in his church and often visited the 'sick and shut in' even though his only mode of transport was public transit. My dad has continuously worked in his church with community outreach initiatives, worked to found a North Philly-based community credit union, and currently operates Called to Serve CDC along with his team of folks.
In 2019, I took a position with Audrey Claire's COOK and it planted the seed to look at this food thing differently. Intimate 16-seat demonstrations were the name of the game there. We knew exactly how many people were coming and exactly how much food to make. It was seldom that we did not sellout -- that's what 8 years of operating at a high level gets you.
Then 2020. I had decided to take another dip into entrepreneurship and try my hand at a new endeavor, my own supper club that focused on simply dishes but most importantly, building an experience that brought people together to commune and converse. Best laid plans, right? Being a person that has always felt like they needed perfect conditions to excel, I did not know what to do but at the behest of my friend Jen Zavala I looked at a pivot. We crafted a plan to host a pop-up together and this pushed me in a direction I had not even imagined that included donating to those that were doing the on the ground work to make life better for those in need.
Not that community service has been far from my heart, I just never vibed with the way my predecessors did it. However, as we navigated (and continue to) our way through the pandemic, I found that utilizing what skills one has to provide some support to the community at-large was really what those previous Wrights and Majors had done.
That finds us here. I cannot promise to be the best to do this, but I do promise to do my best to provide a culture that fosters growth for our team and hopefully the business, to provide comforting experiences to those that choose us for their service provider, and to be a good partner to our purveyors."
"Needless to say, I've been around the block. My first restaurant job was at the old Zanzibar Blue on Broad Street when I was in my early 20s. It was a doorman. The guy I worked with, Rueben, was this large dude that was way more intimidating than I was. While I didn't stick there, I came back to the industry a few years later at as a host at Osteria. From there, I've held positions ranging from server to general manager to line cook all the while learning from some Philly's best operations and most celebrated personalities, including the requisite years in catering.
The service part of my personality comes honest. You can go back to my great-grandparents' store in Pineville, SC. They not only made sure that anyone leaving the store left with something in their hands, they also extended credit to those from the community that needed it. My grandfather was a deacon in his church and often visited the 'sick and shut in' even though his only mode of transport was public transit. My dad has continuously worked in his church with community outreach initiatives, worked to found a North Philly-based community credit union, and currently operates Called to Serve CDC along with his team of folks.
In 2019, I took a position with Audrey Claire's COOK and it planted the seed to look at this food thing differently. Intimate 16-seat demonstrations were the name of the game there. We knew exactly how many people were coming and exactly how much food to make. It was seldom that we did not sellout -- that's what 8 years of operating at a high level gets you.
Then 2020. I had decided to take another dip into entrepreneurship and try my hand at a new endeavor, my own supper club that focused on simply dishes but most importantly, building an experience that brought people together to commune and converse. Best laid plans, right? Being a person that has always felt like they needed perfect conditions to excel, I did not know what to do but at the behest of my friend Jen Zavala I looked at a pivot. We crafted a plan to host a pop-up together and this pushed me in a direction I had not even imagined that included donating to those that were doing the on the ground work to make life better for those in need.
Not that community service has been far from my heart, I just never vibed with the way my predecessors did it. However, as we navigated (and continue to) our way through the pandemic, I found that utilizing what skills one has to provide some support to the community at-large was really what those previous Wrights and Majors had done.
That finds us here. I cannot promise to be the best to do this, but I do promise to do my best to provide a culture that fosters growth for our team and hopefully the business, to provide comforting experiences to those that choose us for their service provider, and to be a good partner to our purveyors."