Meet Chris Arcodia | Business Owner / Huge Foodie

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chris Arcodia and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chris, what role has risk played in your life or career?
Risk-taking can be crippling emotionally because the thought of failing is non-negotiable. With that being said, you will not get ANYWHERE in life if you do not take ‘the’ risk.
Sometimes just thinking about taking that “leap of faith” has my stomach turning, and my anxiety gets the best of me. That day will happen, but if I had let that fear of taking a risk hold me back, I would never have met my husband, moved cross country, and most importantly, started my own business! I took that fear and turned it into power. Power to tackle the low days that most certainly come with even your best.

Risk plays a considerable role in your everyday life and especially your career. For example, I started my own business selling homemade tomato sauce and soup. I was walking into a world that was much bigger than me. I also had no clue if the public would like my product. The risk was huge; thoughts of failure flooded in; what if I don’t make it, what if I don’t sell any jars at my first farmers market. If I hadn’t pushed through that fear, I would have never realized that my sauce and soups were such a success. I will leave you with this, you have to be willing to accept vulnerability, take the risk, work hard towards your passion and just remember hard work pays off. If you never take a risk, you will never know if you could have made it, and that, my friends is a regret I never want to have.

What should our readers know about your business?
My proudest moment is a little self-reflecting on myself. I am proud that I didn’t let anything hold me back from my dreams, put my head down, and pushed forward till next thing you know, I’m selling my products to the public. It almost still doesn’t feel real at times, but then I pinch myself and go, oh yeah, it’s real.

My passion for food is everything. Food is my love language; I eat when I’m happy, sad, mad, you name it. I have started a business called Uncle Chris, and I sell jars of tomato sauces, soups, and lasagnas. Besides your traditional Sunday sauce, I also sell my VODKA sauce that will blow your mind. I come from NYC, where vodka sauce is in your blood. It’s all over; I spent many years perfecting all of my sauces, especially my vodka sauce. Trust me, it’s so good, and I usually never compliment myself.

When we decided to leave NYC, I had no clue what I would do for work. I had worked in the restaurant/ hospitality industry for 12 years up until the start of the pandemic. I was still living in NYC, and I decided to start a home cooking food blog on Instagram that gained over 10k followers. Once I realized I didn’t want a full-time job devoted to social media, I decided to do what I love. We moved to Colorado to cook for people to see the smiles on their faces when they taste my food. The genuine love for quality ingredients and passion for your trade. Was it easy? No, not in the least bit, but would I do it all over again? You better believe it. The biggest lesson I have learned along the way is that not everybody is going to like you or your product; that’s just life. Two, if you don’t push through the fear, you will never know if you could have made it. I put all my passion and love behind cooking. This is what truly makes ME happy. I know it’s cheesy, but they say, “if you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life,” and boy, is that true.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Oh this is a great question!

First stop DISPENSARY 🙂

Monday – head to Fort Collins to Start of with a hike at Devils Back Bone, then head to Austins for some incredible chicken and mashed. Walk around Foco, shop local. Fram house for dinner – Food is incredible + great cocktails and mocktails.

Tuesday – Explore Denver by scooter! This is what me and my husband first did when we got here, could not recomend it enough.

Wednesday – Denver hike, followed by walking around down town Denver/ lunch etc. Meow wolf is also a great interactive art show that will blow the pants off of your guest.

Thursday – Go to golden in the morning for a drive, visit the crystal store, then Dinner in downtown Denver – Guard and Grace early dinner 5:30 PM

Friday – Este Park, Shop/ drive / take in the scenery.

Saturday – Lamars donuts to start off the day, then just eating our way through the rest of the day in denver, 16th street mall and union station.

Sunday – The bindery for Brunch!!!!! Then walk around the Denver Botanical Garden ended by cocktails at Death & Co.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
A countless number of people along my journey have contributed to my success, including my parents, who had me in the kitchen cooking before I could even walk. My biggest supporter, fan, taste tester, best friend is my husband, Erik. Thank you for supporting me endlessly. You push me every day to be better, grow more robust, and love harder. Every day, you show me that you will support me one hundred percent with everything I do. Thank you for being you and believing in me. I love you!

Website: Www.theunclechris.com

Instagram: Hitchedinthekitchen

Linkedin: Chris Arcodia

Yelp: Theunclechris