When our team first started working with Spork, the neighborhood restaurant had a small but dedicated following. Surprisingly, the talented chef did not have an established reputation in town or nationally, yet the unassuming restaurant offers a level of culinary arts not often found in small, neighborhood restaurants. Many restaurants toss around the words “local” and “seasonal” liberally, but Chef Christian operates in a class of his own. An on-site garden and greenhouse fuels Spork’s kitchen with fresh vegetables, herbs and fruit. Flour is milled in-house and is used to create Spork’s signature bread board. Spork has developed an extensive fermenting program that extends the garden season into the colder months. A robust pantry of garums, misos, koji cured vegetables and fermented powders infuse umami flavors into the cuisine at every turn.

Our challenge was straightforward: put Spork on the map, locally and nationally. Media begets media, so we started with a concerted effort to raise awareness for the restaurant locally: reaching out to media to invite them in to experience the place and coordinating a series of events to showcase the depth of the restaurant’s offerings. Soon local media became some of the restaurant’s biggest fans, generating more attention and more guest traffic. Word began to spread and Spork’s unique menu items and creativity began to attract national attention. This culminated in a nomination for a James Beard Award for Best Regional Chef in 2020. The restaurant continues to thrive, despite the challenges of COVID-19.