Artie Stevens
Artie's Paleo on The Go
Artie's on Central
Owner
Intro: Who is Artie Stevens?
- 39 years old
- lives on Southeast Side in Franklin Township
- Married for about 5 years, with 2 beautiful kids. Arthur & Eva.
(4:03) How did this start?
- 2011 finished a 2 year drug and alcohol program with Wheeler Mission. He gave up drugs for snacks and started with P90x. Then found Crossfit Naptown when they first opened.
(6:07) He may have found his calling....
- Found some friends at Crossfit to start a Pa-Lay-Oh (paleo) challenge.
- His food for the pitch in was clearly different than everyone else's. (2011)
- Talked to a lady in Chicago about meal prep and he started from there.
- Went from 1 gym to 3, gyms to 5 gyms, to now servicing 54 gyms in local and surrounding Indianapolis area.
(9:00) Started from the bottom now he's here..
- August 2006 trying to reach sobriety.
- Built back trust and then lost it all.
- Traded a pastor's car for some crack and realized it was time to change.
(12:48) Did you have anyone going through this with you?
- Wheeler Mission helped change his life. Hebron program.
- Went through a bootcamp. 1 year straight in Bloomington with no music or books other than Christian music and the Bible.
(15:43) Do you feel there are two versions of your life?
- Has had the opportunity to live two lifestyles in one lifetime.
- It has shaped and molded everything.
- There has been a plan laid out for him
(17:32) Do you feel like you had to go through all that to get to where you are?
Without hitting rock bottom and without God, he doesn't know if he would have settled for just existing. It was a wake up call to go through his struggle.
(18:47) Can you still have a beer or do you stay away from it all?
- He created a way to find "Christian liberty" through Bible verses to be able to still drink in recovery.
- The people at the gym were looking out for Artie and concerned for his sobriety and wanted to help.
- His motto: I have lost my ability to have a casual relationship with a mind or mood altering substance.
- No judgment.
(23:10) What was your culinary education and how did you scale from a few meals at the gym to 54 across greater indianapolis?
- Went to a couple different colleges and none stuck.
- Begged parents to go to Culinary school in Pittsburgh, PA. Pennsylvania Culinary
- Moved to South Florida after graduating and chased the white table cloth Chef dream.
- Wheeler offered him a position to manage 5 food sites.
- There was a great kick starter video. "The snap" - Bubble burster
- $215,000 grant money was given but it didn't work out.
(30:30) You should buy Indy's Kitchen
- Did his first pop up dinner at Indy's Kitchen and he sold it out!
- Got a call that the grant didn't work out and Linda offers to sell
(31:52) What is Indy's kitchen?
- Located inside Monon Coffee Co's south located
- Indy's first co-working space in Indy for cooks
- 80 businesses operating out of Indy's kitchen
(36:02) PSA
- People meal prepping at home..... you can't do that.
- Got to Indy's Kitchen, you will have product value.
- It's a good way to stabilize and figure out what you're doing.
(37:30) Talk about some obstacles?
- Start up costs add up. Don't cut corners.
- Board of health... Facebook got him caught.
- Bought his first refrigerator.... went middle of the road, then it died. Lost $5,000 worth of retail food.
- Fulfillment is tough.... They can make up to 700 meals at a time!
- Living up to the responsibility of the higher cost per meal.
(45:00) Talk more about the meal prep, how do people order?
- Started as google spreadsheet... texts and email, headache.
- Go to the website, create an account.
- Pick your macro meals, paleo meals, or Whole30 compliant meals.
(48:49) What is Paleo and what are Macros?
- Paleo: Yes to meats, seafood, nuts, seeds. No to soy, dairy, sugars, grains. "Good food without a lot of crap in it"
- Macronutrient based: Protein, fats, and carbs focused. Given a number for the day. It is sustainable but has to be measured, so it can be challenging.
(52:30) Recently started doing Vegan meals
- Three Carrots works there. Great Seitan product. Full of Gluten!
(55:00) Talk about Artie's on Central.
- Jared is Artie's most loyal customer.
- Healthy option to eat!
- 6 days a week from 7am-2pm to grab something healthy on the go.
- Will become a hip dining atmosphere with no bar program but a good drink program. Cold brew coffee, bulletproof coffee, and Kombucha
- A shot to take a claim at the Indy culinary scene with dinner hours.
- Community seating and bartop at the window.
(1:05:13) Broken Beaker Still happening?
- Serving his food grab and go
- It was a great kitchen take over to help with their menu/kitchen.
- Too many irons in the fire, had to step back.
(1:08:25) What is Kombucha?
http://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/healthy-drinks/what-kombucha
(1:10:44) Circle City Kombucha
- He has 2 taps from Circle CIty
- $4 for 8oz $6 for 12oz
- Braises pulled pork in it
The Tasting! What are we drinking?
- Wild Tonic: Honey Komnucha
- GT's Living Foods: Original
- Circle City Kombucha: Peach
- Circle City Kombucha: Lemon Ginger
The booch tasting!
http://www.circlecitykombucha.com/our-drink/
http://gtslivingfoods.com/our-offerings/kombucha
http://wildtonic.com/product/blueberry-basil/
Social medias
https://www.facebook.com/FeelGoodSoda/
https://www.facebook.com/ArtiesPaleoOnTheGo/
https://www.facebook.com/Artiesoncentral/
https://wheelermission.org
https://www.facebook.com/threecarrots/
Strength in our Streets event
http://strengthinourstreets.com
The kickstarter video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVqk-5CsX9I&feature=youtu.be