Meet Mary Nguyen | Restaurateur

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

Hi Mary, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
When you talk to people about what it takes to be an “entrepreneur,” most people will say you need to be a risk taker. However, I have found that the way I have approached risk in my career has been more helpful to me.

I like to think that I’m more of a risk avoider than a risk taker. I try to focus on maximizing my chances of success by minimizing the risks involved. Now don’t get me wrong, in any venture, there will always be risks involved because there are inherent unknowns – I try to embrace these unknowns by calculating my risk.

It wasn’t always easy to just take a leap of faith, but I’ve come to understand that I have to take chances in order to make changes, grow my business, and move forward. Change doesn’t exist without calculated risk. While at first this was not a natural characteristic, over the years I’ve become increasingly more comfortable and willing to be uncomfortable with taking those calculated risks, to a point where I can now adapt to make changes should those risks not work out. Over time, this has really become second nature to me. It’s critical to take the calculated leap sometimes to get to the next step!

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
My journey was not as straight forward as you would imagine. I started my career in Finance, helping municipalities raise debt as well as trading futures and commodities prior to becoming an entrepreneur. I left my successful career to follow my passion – hospitality and food. It was a bumpy road with many challenges, but I worked hard, took calculated risks and was very determined to start a food & hospitality company. Olive & Finch came to fruition during a busy period in my life. I had chef driven restaurant concepts that required 100% of my attention, I was newly married- balancing a career and starting a family and I was undergoing some health issues that forced me to reevaluate how I took care of myself and more importantly my diet. As someone who really loves to dine and has a sincere appreciation for food, I found it really difficult to find a chef driven, scratch made meal that was accessible, inexpensive and easy. Needless to say, I was busy and dining out became a commitment;
a commitment in time- which I didn’t have much of,
a commitment in diet- there were very few healthy options to choose from;
a commitment in money- a full-service dining experience is expensive.

Looking at the culinary landscape in Denver over 8 years ago, I realized that I had to change this dynamic. I wanted to create a place where one can have a Chef driven, scratch made meal that is not only healthy, quick and– inexpensive. I wanted to make chef driven, scratch made food more accessible and change the dining dynamic.
At first, it wasn’t easy, even those in my inner circle didn’t understand my vision. They didn’t understand why I would want to open a “fast food or a fast casual restaurant.” Because back then, that’s where you dined when you want quick and inexpensive. Olive & Finch became my passion project, and I was determined to change the way people ate- Olive & Finch isn’t fast food, it isn’t fast casual- it’s fine casual.

On December 3, 2013, I opened Olive & Finch to a line out the door. 8 years later, with two locations and a wholesale operation; those lines have not subsided. Olive & Finch offers a healthy, vibrant menu that anyone can enjoy. Because of the variety, quality and affordability of our menu, our business thrives all throughout the day. Olive & Finch really resonates with our guests; they love the quality, convenience, affordability and that we have options not only for breakfast but also for lunch and dinner. You can really make the experience what you want it to be, whether that’s a healthy lunch after a trip to the zoo or a leisurely evening with friends at our Happy Hour. I think that is what really makes us stand out.

More importantly, other chefs during the last 8 years have started to open their own fine casual concepts and have joined me in changing the dining dynamic in Denver making great food more accessible.

I am most proud that our company believes firmly in helping the community. We have had the great opportunity to partner with many small and local non-profits to give back to the community that supports us. We choose to partner with smaller non-profits to ensure our partnership has a bigger impact and a bigger reach.

My experience has shown that it’s okay to take different paths through out your life. It may be challenging, but ultimately doing what you love is worth the challenges you face. I’d also love for people to know that as good as our food is, our freshly baked pastries are even better! 😉

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.
There are so many things to see and do in Denver! I like to stay active but also love to eat so we’ll marry the two while we explore the different neighborhoods in Denver! Day 1:
Breakfast and morning coffees at Olive & Finch in Cherry Creek where we also grab some sandwiches, salads and pastries for a picnic lunch later on.
Bike ride throughout the city with a tour of Cherry Creek, Country Club and Capital Hill neighborhoods.
Picnic lunch on the Platte by REI and overlooking the City.
Dinner at home with the kids to catch up and relax before we begin the week of festivities.
Day 2:
Breakfast at the original Snooze downtown on Larimer.
Take a walking tour of downtown, head to Union Station, check out the shops, people watch.
Late Lunch at Milk Market, trying small plates from various vendors
Spend the afternoon at Denver Art Museum and Clyfford Still Museum
Dinner at Tavernetta
Walk Larimer square and after dinner drinks

Day 3:
Bagels & Coffee at Rosenbergs
Check out Denver Central Market and grab a picnic lunch of salads and sandwiches for later.
Bicycle to the top of Red Rocks Amphitheatre, picnic lunch there
On our way back to the City, stop at Dolce Sicilia for authentic Italian cookies and an espresso
Head downtown to Gyu Kaku for dinner on patio
After dinner drinks at Terminal Bar
Listen to music at El Chapultepec

Day 4:
Breakfast at Devils Food
Spend the morning exploring and shopping on South Gaylord & Pearl Street
Lunch at Sushi Den
Afternoon at Botanical Gardens
Head to Marco’s Coal Fired pizza for dinner and drinks on the beautiful patio
Catch a show at the Bluebird

Day 5:
Head to Boulder for the day
Breakfast at Dots Diner
Hike Boulder Canyon Trail
Lunch at Oak at Fourteenth
Explore Pearl Street Mall, tour the CU Boulder Campus
Dinner at Flagstaff House

Day 6:
Dim sum breakfast at Star Kitchen
Head to Colorado Springs and spend the day exploring Garden of the Gods and the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
Check in to the Broadmoor for an overnight stay – enjoy lunch, Spa, and dinner at this fantastic resort.

Day 7:
Breakfast at Denver Biscuit Company on our way back to Denver.
Shopping at Park Meadows Mall
Lunch at Tacos, Tequila & Whiskey
Afternoon Brewery tour in RINO
Last night dinner at the Plimoth
Dessert at Olive & Finch

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I wouldn’t be able to do what I do everyday without the support of my husband, Raphael Jouvenat. Not only does he give me the freedom to follow my passion, he does it with a steady hand and a supportive heart even when that means I’m working 100 hours a week for months on end and he’s left alone raising our twin girls. He provides counsel when it’s much needed and gives me a dose of reality when necessary.

Website: www.oliveandfincheatery.com

Instagram: oliveandfincheatery.com

Twitter: oliveandfinch

Facebook: oliveandfinch

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/olive-and-finch-denver?osq=olive+%26+finch