Today we’d like to introduce you to Joe Swegarden
Hi Joe, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born and raised in Fargo, ND. I am the youngest of three and have two incredible parents. With each day that i grow older, i become more and more grateful for what they do, and have done to help shape me into the man i am today.
Family was a big part of my youth, spending lots of time with both sides of my extended family. Going to Grandma Lucys in my moms home town, Oniel, Nebraska, was one of my absolute favorite things as a child. I knew that she would have freshly baked cinnamon & caramel rolls, as well as banana & poppyseed bread, and the most difficult thing for me, on the seven hour road trip down there, was trying to decide what i was going to eat first! Seriously, instead of thinking about my cousins, or aunts and uncles, or how my siblings were doing, i was focused on my grandmas baked goods. That basically sums up my life.
I truly thought i was going to go to the NFL until my freshman year in college. I was a two time all-state defensive lineman, and runner up player of the year my senior year, only to get beat out by Carson Wentz. When i got to college and started playing, i quickly understood that my dreams of making it to the big show, were not going to happen. The week after football season was over, i got my first cooking job and the rest is history. Starting to get paid to do something that i truly love, it didn’t take long for me to understand that this is what i am here to do.
After two years of working my way up the ladder and learning everything i could, i was connected with a gentleman by the name of Casey Absey, who had a mobile wood fired pizza oven, and was looking to open a restaurant. I was sold because first off, i LOVE fire, and secondly, cooking with fire was something i was totally inexperienced with so i was immediately hooked. I was a 21 year old kitchen manager, opening a restaurant with a guy who was a respiratory therapist a few months before meeting him. We had no idea what we were doing, both worked 7 days straight for a year or so, and it was some of the most fun i’ve ever had. We opened up Blackbird, Fargo’s first wood-fired pizza restaurant, and to this day, it is still in the running for one of the best restaurants in town.
My next step was meeting a dear friend of mine, Nancy Olson, who had recently moved back to Fargo, from New York. She introduced me to Gramercy Tavern, where she had been the pastry chef for a number of years. A few months later, i was sleeping on a friends couch, near Coney Island, starting my internship at Gramercy. After a month of shucking oysters, they said if i could find a place to live, that i had a job there. Three weeks later, i filled a truck full of my life and was roadtripping to my new home in Carol Gardens, Brooklyn, where for the next three years, would live in an apartment with four other guys, in an incredibly small, windowless room, having the absolute time of my life.
After NY, i moved to Denver, Colorado to live my brother, his girlfriend, and my niece. I didn’t have a plan but was full of energy and confidence, and my soul was telling me that i needed to reconnect with nature. A past co-worker at Gramercy told me of his family farm in Carbondale, Colorado, explaining this event that they put on, bringing in local chefs and cooking everything over the fire. I ended up attending this event and spending the weekend at the farm. One of the most beautiful places i have ever been. A worker at the farm opened my eyes to WWOOF, the world wide organization of organic farmers, which is a network of organizations that facilitate homestays on farms all over the world. I paid the two hundred dollar enrollment fee, sent some messages, and was on my way to Spain, after only a few months in Colorado.
Seeing a new country, getting to taste all the tapas, and getting to work and truly connect with the locals was an incredible experience. I will never forget that adventure, getting to work on three different farms, starting in Catalonia, and ending in San Sebastian, returning to Fargo three months later.
After having a lox bagel sandwich that reminded me of NY, I started working at a restaurant in town called Bernbaums, where chef and owner Andrea Baumgardner was pumping out incredible food, out of a little antique store. I was amazed at the menu and what she was able to do, given the space and tools that she had. She opened my eyes to Jewish-Nordic cuisine and gave me hope for Fargos food scene.
This is the part of my journey that i slowed me down a bit. I was the victim of a hit and run, where a girl ran me over, and then just drove off. I suffered a traumatic brain injury and spent two days in a coma, coming out of it not really understanding what was going on. After hundreds of therapy sessions, and me coming to terms that the “old me” was not coming back, i was back in the kitchen, helping the Bernbaums team relocate to an actual restaurant. Since then i have helped open up two restaurants in Fargo, started my own wood fired bread business, and discovered a non profit that has shifted my dreams and helped me see the world of food, with a completely different lens.
Heart N Soul community cafe is where i have been investing my time and energy, for the past three years. We are a pay what you can cafe, who’s mission is addressing food insecurities, building communities, and providing everyone with nutritious and delicious food to nurture body, heart, and soul. Since i have joined the team, we purchased a food truck which has allowed us to travel all over the Fargo Moorhead area and really feel like we are making an impact. To be able to feed so many, see the generosity of my community, and to know that i am doing my part to help world hunger, has provided me with a different fulfillment than any past job. We have grown so much in the past few years, and i cannot wait to see what the coming years have in store for us.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I don’t believe there are any smooth roads out there. All of the bumps, turns, construction, accidents and what not, help us get to where we are. That is how we learn and evolve. I believe the restaurant industry and working with food leaves you with different challenges to overcome every single day, which at times can be frustrating, but overall is one of the things that i absolutely love about my work. There is always something to keep you on your feet and keep the brain actively working to solve whatever problem it is you are currently dealing with.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I have always viewed food and cooking as art. A way for someone to creatively express themselves and their emotions to others, through a meal. When you think about all the senses that are used when it comes to eating, that initial moment, the first bite, can be a magical thing.
Everyday is a little different with my work with Heart N Soul. In the summer time when we have the food truck running, my day starts with going to the farmers market to see some of my favorite people and get whatever produce catches my eye, or that they might have a surplus of that we can help them move, preparing it, loading it up and heading to food truck, serving, then returning to the kitchen to clean. They are long, hard days but i tell people all the time how lucky i am because my job is like an episode of chopped. Due to the fact we are a non profit and we are trying to always use what we have and spend as little as we can, its not like i can just go to the store and buy whatever i want. I get to exercise my creativity and come up with two different meals and dessert, for every cafe.
We have been doing a weekend lunch program since before i was employed with HNS, that involves 6-10 volunteers gathering on Friday morning, making sandwiches and packaging bagged lunches for community members. That number changes from time to time but i believe last week we did 400 lunches, that we deliver all over town. We also do a Thanksgiving and Christmas meal for those same community members.
We have a few pop up cafes on the calendar for this winter, since the food truck is hibernating, we will pop up and serve meals at different churches and restaurants. Next week, doing a brunch at Blackbird that is going to blow people away. Each guest will receive a complimentary pastry plate once they arrive, with three different mini breakfast pastries, and a menu that wont disappoint. Wood fired lemon ricotta pancakes, spelt biscuits and gravy, breakfast sandwich with house made brioche buns, ETC!
Also we have a catering license that throughout the year keeps us busy with different events and gatherings as well. Those are fun because it’s something new every time and we are constantly working with different local non profits and organizations that are full of like minded people, doing great things.
One of my favorite aspects about my work is the connections with all of the local producers that i have gotten to know over the years. Getting to know these folks and understanding more and more about how hard they work, farming and depending on mother nature to provide for them, i have so much respect for that. What some think of as work, i look at as a privilege.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My goodness. this list is long! The number of different people i’ve gotten to work with and who have helped me progress in life, is a massive number. I can just list a few that think at this moment, are at the top of my mind.
My mom and dad, Jon and Barb Swegarden, They deserve all the credit. Supporting and motivating me since i was to young to know what those words meant.
Brad Nordstrom, owner and operator of a local gym in town, Maximum Performance and Fitness. Since i was a child, i have him to thank for constantly pushing me and helping me understand that i can accomplish anything, if i work hard and put my mind to it.
Casey Absey, owner and operator of Blackbird. He is the guy that will answer a call at anytime of the day, and give you the shirt off his back if he feels you need it. He has provided me with the support and restaurant, to exercise my creativity and try out different ideas that have pushed me and allowed me to feel like i am progressing with my career.
Leola Daul, executive director of Heart N Soul Community Cafe. Without her i would have never opened my eyes to the massive percentage of people struggling, who don’t know where or when their next meal is coming. She has given me a job that not only pays my bills, but helps me feel like a better human being that is truly making an impact in my community.
One of the most generous, giving people i have ever met.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://heartnsoulcafe.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heart_n_soulcommunitycafe/
