Meet Joe Phillips | Owner and Entrepreneur

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

Hi Joe, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I was born and raised in Miami and grew up in a multi ethnic household, with my mom being Japanese and French and my dad being Bahamian. I can’t lie my love for food was probably ignited the first time I tried something solid, but watching my dad really pour his love into the meals he prepared really helped that flame grow. My dad used his food to not only feed customers at his restaurant but he used it to bring our community together, which was so much more important. Even though we were far from wealthy, my father made it a point to never turn away anyone who was hungry and oftentimes held community cookouts to feed those less fortunate. Through it all he stressed the importance of helping others and to put our all into whatever we do. After he passed I decided to carry on his legacy and carry on the proverbial torch.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m fortunate to get to share my own overnight oat recipes with anyone willing to try them. I’d say what really sets me apart is that I offer a food option that’s both health conscious and flavorful with minimal ingredients. I spent a lot of time doing research on what I needed, menu creation, and a lot of taste testing, and while there were definitely times where I felt like just giving up, I’m lucky to have the support system that I do. I got my start by wanting to share the overnight oats I was making for myself with my friends and coworkers who were skipping meals due to how busy they were, then I started to incorporate a bit of my own creativity into each new recipe along the way to be inclusive of the vegan homies and those who have limited options due to certain food allergies. If there’s one thing I’d want the world to know about me is everything I do, I do with love. There’s no real way to quantify seeing delight dance across a person’s face as they taste that first bite or that excitement as someone tries something new for the first time.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Gosh that is so tough, but let’s give it a shot. For places to visit, For food I’m hitting Mister Oso, Thai Monkey Club, Jamaican Bar and Grille, Mercantile, Snooze, Hapa, and Denver Milk Market. For drinks I’m hitting Trve Brewing, then probably spreading the breweries in RiNo out over 6 days, To visit I want to hit the Botanic Gardens, the Aquarium, Museum of Nature and Science, the Boos and Booze ghost tour, Larimer Square, the Banshee House, and try my hardest to catch an Avs game. At some point I’d def have to go to Hollywood’s on Colfax for a haircut, maybe do some amateur photography in Boulder Canyon or out near the Flatirons. I love talking to anyone with a story, sometimes an arbitrary conversation can turn into something great.

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?
Man, where do I even start? I want to shout out my family for believing in me, even when they have no idea what I’m talking about, my friends for spreading the word, and my pup for being the driving force behind everything I do. I can never thank my loved ones enough so in no particular order, Mom, Matthew, Erica, Rilya, Aaron, Ben, Norm, Timmy & Morgan Moutrie, Morgan Steezy, Ahmed, Sally & Eko, James, Charlie M., Payton, Samantha & Fishman the pup, Rob & Lynn at the Pad, and finally the angels over at Lady Sunshine. Community is everything to be and without the aforementioned names and the countless others, there would be no me.

On a separate note, I’d like to shout out the Bronte sisters. I spent most of my teen years reading their work and Wuthering Heights was the first piece of literature to really invoke emotion in me.

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Image Credits
James Adamson of Drop Media