Life & Work with Cheyenne Galbraith of Arts District Benton Harbor

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cheyenne Galbraith.

Hi Cheyenne, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My story starts in 1995 a little unsure about a major I started studying for a teaching degree at Ball State in Indiana. I always knew I had a love for cooking and was originally going to pursue being a Home Economics teacher. I ended up making a different move and going to Jamestown, North Carolina where I studied at Guilford Tech Community College. While in school there I started working in the Sheraton Convention Center Hotel pastry department for 5 years. I was then recruited by one of my culinary instructors to move to Albuquerque, New Mexico where I became the Sous Chef for her sister Jennifer James until having my son and taking some time off. At home I enjoyed being a mom, growing food for my family and I, and living the homestead life. After deciding to go back to work I didn’t go back to a position in the kitchen but instead I managed Shadowland Ballroom for 5 years still staying in the hospitality industry. After some time there I knew I wanted to be back in the kitchen. I took on the role of the Executive Chef at The Bistro On the Boulevard for 3 years before deciding to embark on my own journey. In the pursuit of wanting to do my own thing I started with doing pop ups, a food truck, and other chef collaboration events. In the Spring of 2019, I started breaking ground on opening Houndstooth. Finally on September 13th, 2019 Houndstooth was opened. We ran for a few months before shutting down in March of 2020 due to the pandemic. To keep business going we implemented a take out service, small online grocery ordering, and meal kits. This kickstarted “Loosetooth”, a temporary name to our smaller operation we kept going here. After reopening, we resumed normal business and Houndstooth has become a popular local spot. I strive to keep my vision of serving the community by working with local farms, and using locally sourced ingredients while bringing global inspiration to the table.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
For most of my journey I didn’t have any major struggles. The only few coming on with owning and operating my own restaurant. When starting the business, funding wasn’t easy to get covered in the beginning with a kickstarter campaign being all we had at first. COVID was probably the biggest challenge for us here. In addition, I originally opened the restaurant with a business partner that had its own challenges and ended up transitioning to me having sole ownership here.
.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I love having the opportunity to be specializing in relationships between my team, my guests, and the growers. I like to spend my time nourishing all of those types of relationships. I am very generous with my time with guests, I like to deliver food and talk about the craft and ingredients in all of the dishes with guests. I like to spend my time giving, sharing and teaching. I am not a gatekeeper. The only way I’ve ever learned anything was from what other people have taught me.
I am most proud of us still being here today, not being a small business statistic. I am proud of the food that we make here. Im so proud of how the community has embraced our presence here and how they keep us running. I am also so proud of my team here, past and present.
We are probably best known for our Bread and Butter but our attention to detail here sets us aside from the rest. I think my attention to both the sweet and savory side of the menu also sets us far from others. With my experience in pastry, it really gave me the roots I needed to pursue the savory side of the menu. I utilize my pastry experience here and have become very versatile with foods and baking, this makes me and this business really special and completely sets us away from the rest.

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
Some of my favorite memories as a child were spent driving up to Lake Michigan for beach days. It didn’t happen a lot since we were living far from the beach so when we made the drive it was usually a special time. But truly some of my favorite moments were with my grandma in her kitchen and her garden. In fact the first thing I ever made was with and taught to me by her. I remember I went out to collect eggs from her chickens, came back inside, stood on a small yellow stool and cracked the eggs open, and she taught me how to make scrambled eggs that day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.eathoundstooth.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/houndstoothmi/#
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eathoundstooth/
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/houndstooth-restaurant-benton-harbor