Inspiring Conversations with Hulon Crayton of Harley’s Hideaway Bar & Grill

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hulon Crayton.

Hi Hulon, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My experience in the food industry began in ’98 in fast food. During my college years, I worked at a series of restaurants and bars, including partnering with my friend, who started a few restaurants/bars.

I was able to see all of the successes and failures that came with all of those ventures, understood what customers liked and disliked, and gained a lot of experience. Years later, I entertained expanding my venture efforts in nightclubs and purchasing already existing restaurants as well as fast food. However, I felt like adding a more personal touch and develop something from scratch.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely not. We had a delay in opening due to the development process, then followed by COVID becoming a pandemic. Many companies are experiencing issues getting staff, whereas that has been an issue we faced as well, finding reliable and honest staff has been challenging.

Because of the fears of COVID, customers are scarce many days. However, during our opening weeks prior to the mask mandate, we were consistently busy. We believe that our success, as many of our colleagues in this industry, is related to government policies.

As you know, we’re big fans of Harley’s Hideaway Bar & Grill. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Harley’s Hideaway is a neighborhood restaurant, offering a diverse menu of sinfully tasty foods to fill any appetite, serving Traditional, Keto, and Vegan dishes. As a complement to any great meal, we offer an array of entertainment to create an experience few see in KC.

We are proud about offering a lot of food that is locally sourced. It’s our goal to always support locals. Another thing we do that most bars don’t is hand mix/blend our meats and also hand-press our burgers. We don’t open up a box and serve food out of a microwave. Our cooks make almost everything from scratch and our meals are made-to-order.

“Harley” in Harley’s Hideaway, is the name of the owner’s dog that his wife rescued 12 years ago. He was wandering the streets in the snow with no home, no tag, and no collar. After no one claimed him, they made him home and have loved him from day one. Our logo has an imprint of a dog paw representing their pup.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
If the fear of COVID continues and people are unwilling to patronize businesses as a result of that fear, a paradigm shift is likely to remain skewed. Making it more absolute, the change in social behavior may result in people increasingly dislike or abstain from venturing out.

For now, my assumption is inconclusive, but I believe larger restaurants which cannot obtain staff, may not be able to maintain; smaller restaurants, may need owner involvement to cut back on costs. At the end of the day, quick eats like online ordering and drive-thrus will soar and other restaurants may experience decreases in business in general.

Again, these are just my assumptions, but I hope I am absolutely wrong; not just for me, but for the future of the industry as a whole.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: http://harleyskc.com
• Instagram: http://instagram.com/harleys_kc
• Facebook: http://facebook.com/harleyskc
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/harleys_kc
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCv2hUcxx21wU-INqXuL9sug
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/harleys-hideaway-bar-and-grill-shawnee

Image Credits
Jessica Christman