Meet Amy Keith of FLAVOR

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Keith.

Hi Amy, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Cooking and experimenting with food have always been a passion of mine. From making French toast for my parents when I was seven or eight, or helping my grandma pluck a chicken on her farm (I have to be honest, the first time was the last time as far as that goes!), repeating what I saw on Food Network, or dishes I ate in restaurants, I have loved being in the kitchen for as long as I can remember.

Food memories, flavors, and culinary knowledge stick in my brain just like a sports analyst will remember specific plays and statistics for decades. I was a single parent for most of my children’s lives and for many of those years, on the weekends, I would load up my two kiddos and drive across town to find new and unusual spices, olive oils, vinegar, cheeses, and other locally made food items as well as fresh produce and fun new places to eat. However, there were two things I would always recognize; the first was that I had to go to multiple places to find each of these unique items, and the other, is that I had to drive so far to do so.

I would often think how convenient it would be to have a spice shop closer to home and if the said shop was a place that I could find a wider variety of the items, without being a big-box grocery store. And, for a long while, it was just that, a fleeting thought that traveled through my mind each time we’d make the trip.

Then, about ten years ago, I was traveling across the country with my youngest son, who was 10 at the time. And like I would do on every road trip, I would seek out new culinary adventures. This time we happened upon a spice shop in Georgetown, Washington DC. I don’t know why this time was different but the moment I walked in, a light bulb went on. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life. This shop was very different from the spice purveyors, I had visited in the past and something about it just felt right. My mind was telling me, run home, quit my job, open a shop!

However, as a single mom, with a very stable job in the corporate world, and the only income we had to rely on, I knew I would have to wait, but dreaming and planning didn’t. I was compelled and focused on the idea, over the years, I am certain those closest to me probably got tired of hearing me talk about my “spice shop.”

Fast forward a few years to 2017-2018. The company I worked for started the process of a corporate merger. By that time, I was already pretty despondent with my job and the merger simply made it worse. As the months and then two years of merger activity progressed, I found myself driving to work in tears from the sheer stress and pressure that was continually being added to my plate. My blood pressure was out of control, my hair was literally falling out and anxiety attacks became an anticipated part of my day. And then in a perfect turn of events, the process ended up be a curse and then a gift.

Because of the merger, the company started to offer buyouts, an opportunity for people to take their retirement, 401K, severance pay, and some other added benefits and walk away. Over the years, I had never stopped planning and putting the dreams for FLAVOR on paper. I had researched how and where to purchase bulk spices. I had been attending food festivals and events, secretly resourcing suppliers. I was reading business magazines, constantly keeping up with commercial lease property, even going as far as making appointments to go look at it various spaces when I was not even close to being able to act on it.

So, when the opportunity to leave surfaced, I spent a lot of time in conversations with my close family and friends, and with all the fear in the world, I did what they call “press the button.” I took the buyout package. I took a huge leap of faith and walked away from the ol’ corporate ball and chain in June of 2019.

I immediately signed a lease and began building out the space. My fiancé put together and amazing team who worked tirelessly, jumping hurdles, busting through roadblocks with all the challenges that come along with a complete remodel and brick and mortar opening. Sometimes we would only sleep a couple of hours a night and then we were back at it. And then, finally, in March 2020, the end was in sight and along “the virus.” And then on a Tuesday in May 2020, Jackson County allowed businesses to reopen and that was FLAVOR’s first day of business.

People often ask me how we did our first year. I really don’t know the answer to that. I have nothing to compare it to and what we do know is truly based on a false year. However, we did survive and I very much hand that to our community who fully understood the importance of shopping local and shopping small.

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?
I think I may have said so much in the first question, that I answered some of this.

I don’t think the first year can be smooth for a new business owner.

One of the first struggles was just in the physical planning and building. No matter how much research you do ahead of time, with a project like this, you will get blindsided. You will go over budget. You will not convince the city to change the rules just for you. For example, I have a full gourmet kitchen inside my shop. When we were building it, we knew that having a gas range would require a hood over the top of it.

However, we had no idea that it would require a commercial hood, as such that you would see in a full-blown restaurant. And we certainly had no idea that purchasing it, getting it installed, running electricity, etc., would cost nearly 50K. With all of our research, that was just never made clear and it was a huge blow. I was very hard on myself about it at the time, but looking back, I don’t know what I could have done differently with the limited knowledge that I had.

Another struggle was understanding social media and how to effectively use it from a business perspective. Without a huge advertising or marketing budget, social media is key to letting people know that I exist. My employees often hear me say, “if we’re not present IG & FB, we’re not relevant.” I have worked really hard to learn and grow our social media mix and to hire people that have better skills than I do in that arena.

Another challenge was falsely believing that I could schedule and plan my days and that suppliers and clients and customers would fall in to step with that plan. I’ve had to learn how to be flexible and not be hard on myself when the day does not go as I had planned and when I can’t check off all the boxes.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about FLAVOR?
FLAVOR is a spice shop, specialty food market, and kitchen located in Lee’s Summit, MO. We sell over 150 bulk spices, a wide variety of flavored and infused olive oils, and balsamic vinegar from around the world.

We also specialize in locally crafted cheese, charcuterie, and food products made by local food artisans such as jams, jellies, spreads, pickles, honey, sauces, hot sauces, drink mixers, and more. You will also find a generous sampling of KC BBQ sauces and rubs. Additionally, we have a selection of locally produced wines and craft beers that are always available for purchase by the glass while you shop or packaged to take home.

However, FLAVOR is more than a retail shop. We also have a beautiful gourmet kitchen where we offer cooking classes, create videos, provide free samples of nearly everything in our shop, and occasionally serve hot food to go!

I think what sets us apart is that we are truly passionate about cooking and food. We don’t just sell all of these amazing items, we use them in our cooking and we develop new ways to use them to share with our customers. Our kitchen is respectively known as The FLAVOR LAB. It is a place to experiment and grow our knowledge.

What’s next?
We do have a big change coming! We recently leased the space next door and are in the process of opening a deli. It will be a sandwich and gourmet hot dog shop called the Downtown Deli & Market. (remember, Downtown Lee’s Summit, not downtown KC). We will serve hot and cold sandwiches to go, as well as a selection of fun and interesting hot dog options.

We will also have fresh bread, eggs and milk, and a few other market items. The two spaces, FLAVOR and the Deli, will be open to one another and folks will be able to grab lunch to go, or some great deli meat and cheese by the pound and a few other market items.

Not to mention all the goodies in the spice shop. The sandwiches will be built with homemade items or items made by many of the local food artisans we already partner with. We hope to be open before the end of the year.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.wemakelifetastebetter.com
• Instagram: flavorkc1
• Facebook: flavorkc1
• Twitter: flavorkc1
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_YBy4zx2WDkaNtawOUe4Xw
• Other: Tic Tok @flavorkc1