The brunch-based restaurant, The Place 2 Be, was founded through humble beginnings and down-to-earth values in 2015, before customer demands, online virality, and glowing reviews of Luari’s “millennial food concept” took TP2B to the next level. Living up to its name, TP2B has grown into a successful restaurant chain less than a decade after its founding. With 5 different locations in the Northeast, and a Dallas, TX location coming soon, it doesn’t take long before realizing that this isn’t your typical brunch-style food joint. Their menu is the physical manifestation of flavor and fun, featuring a variety of eclectic food items that range from over-the-top shakes and sweets to classy steak frites, making even the most seasoned “foodies” do a double-take. As if the extravagant food and “Bottomless or Bougie” drink menu weren’t enough, a multitude of note-worthy articles and reviews dub TP2B’s uniquely curated vibe and Instagram-worthy decor as the first sign that you’re about to get a brunch experience that’s one for the books.
Last month, I had the amazing opportunity to sit down with TP2B’s founder and owner Gina Luari to hear more about her experiences as a young restaurateur and female business owner and learn about what it took for her to take her career to the next level. From early beginnings to big sisterly advice, this interview covers the five B’s that manifest in the most common questions one can have for someone like Luari, and it’s safe to say that this entrepreneurial powerhouse has all the answers you’ve been looking for.
Beginnings
Prior to opening TP2B, what was your experience in the restaurant industry?
My family and I immigrated from Albania when I was six years old, and my earliest memories of childhood have been in a restaurant. My dad had a restaurant in Albania, and after we moved to the US, it was only his second day in Connecticut when he began working at a diner in Rocky Hill. I was always around that diner growing up, the owners were the ones that baptized me, so we were really close.
My parents eventually bought that same diner later on, and since I had immigrant parents, the expectation was that I would always be working at the diner with them. I started out hosting and seating people, and became a server once I turned 16. At that point, times were changing, so I was also managing the website. I also managed the full remodel and rebrand of the diner when my parents wanted to redo it. In retrospect, it’s kind of funny because I don’t know who would trust an 18-year-old to remodel their entire restaurant, but thankfully my parents had a lot of faith in me.
Did you obtain any post-secondary education, and how did it have a hand in your business Career prior to opening tp2b?
I wanted to go to school because I was like ‘alright, I’m not doing the restaurant thing,’ so I got a degree in Business and Economics from Central Connecticut State University to learn more about business as a whole. After I graduated, I became an Executive Director at the Rocky Hill Chamber of Commerce. It was really funny because I was only 23 when I started, so I was probably the youngest Executive Director the state ever had. I was doing legislative wrap-ups, hosting business “after hours,” and sitting in at development meetings at 23, which is really interesting to look back on now that I’m back in the restaurant business.
Business
What pushed you to double back and make your mark on the restaurant industry?
There was so much learning from being engulfed in business that I wasn’t able to from my position at the Chamber. I really missed the hospitality of the restaurant business, I missed talking to people. Back then, I was working by myself in my office about 90% of the time, and after a while it made me realize just how much I really missed the people and the restaurant vibe.
What inspired you to open TP2B, and how did it become your new reality?
Around that point in time, I had just moved to 777 Main Street (in Downtown Hartford), and I used to take Franklin Avenue on my daily commute to work when the highway was backed up. I always drove by the unoccupied space that existed where our first location in South End is now. I’d be stopped in my car at the traffic light before driving into Wethersfield, sitting and staring at the closed storefront. One day, when I was sitting at the light again, I thought: ‘Huh, this space would be really great for a restaurant. It’s close enough to Downtown Hartford and Wethersfield, so I’d be able to pull from both markets too!’ At the same time, there was a lot of stigma surrounding the Hartford area, but Downtown was also developing more apartments. So, millennials like myself were moving in, but there was nowhere for us to go out and have breakfast at all, no brunch, nothing. That made me want to create a space that was similar to what my parents’ diner in Rocky Hill was meant to a lot of people. I wanted to create a place where everybody could start their day with us, just like they did at the diner, and that’s what inspired me to create the concept of TP2B before opening our first location at South End.
Looking back on it now, I honestly thank God for my parents, because no matter how much they drag their feet in spite of my craziness, they still come along for the ride. Since the negative stigma surrounding that part of Hartford was all that anyone first thought of, people like my parents and old coworkers would say things like: “What are you doing?” “why Hartford? Everyone’s leaving Hartford and coming to Rocky Hill,” “Let me find you a space in Rocky Hill,” and I had to explain myself by saying “No, you don’t understand, there’s a need. There’s nothing in Hartford, even though people are moving here left and right.” Even the South End community itself had a square mile of residential homes with nothing in the area, it was drier than a desert when it came to brunch options.
Everyone thought I’d lost my mind for deciding to leave the Rocky Hill Chamber to open a business in the South End of Hartford, but after a bit of elbow grease and a $25,000 line of credit, I was able to see that I was right. To this day, it blows my mind, because the line of credit that I started on is equivalent to the payment I made to our Sysco bill yesterday, so I really do just keep asking myself “How in the hell did I open a business with that? How did I take the amount it took to start, and turn it into one of our bill payments?”
Branding
What’s your ultimate goal for TP2B as a business and a brand?
We really want to be a national brand. I think we are the first brand that has come to Dallas from Hartford, and I would love to continue achieving those “firsts,” because there isn’t another brand like ours that has come out of Hartford and succeeded with having national platform and a stable brand. I’m very proud of that part because we really did start in the South End, and just seeing the brand grow to now having a location across from the Mavericks Stadium in Dallas, TX in such an incredible space is surreal. I’m really hoping to continue TP2B’s expansion across the country, and I want us to have the longevity to stand strong for the next 20 or 30 years.
In your opinion, what makes TP2B stand out among other brunch-based establishments in CT, MA, and across the country?
We just wanted each TP2B location to be THE “place to be” for that specific area. We wanted to bring people in by getting to the heart of what that area needs. The architecture of the space is important for different locations based on needs and crowds, which is another reason why each place is different. Our location at the Basketball Hall of Fame is bigger and has more tables and chairs to accommodate bigger families and parties, and really leans into the basketball theme. We also like to have a lot of fun with it, down to the neon lights saying “balls to the wall” at that location too! Our Downtown Hartford location carries more of a café feel because we realized that’s what Downtown really needs, whereas TP2B in New Haven has two floors, two bars, and two outdoor patios; because we’re in the middle of a college campus and that’s what the people need over there. West Hartford’s TP2B is really beautiful and more focused on being aesthetically pleasing by showing a lot of attention to detail, while still being fun. Even though it took us forever to get some designs and decor approved, like the swing chairs at the West Hartford location, it was worth it because the swing chairs overlooking all of Blue Back Square were a huge hit. I’ve designed every space because it’s really important to me what each space looks like.
I also like to do a lot of site visits. I want to stay in the area for a bit, check around to see what’s going on, and visit every restaurant that I can find there. I always want to do this so I can get a good idea of what’s happening there myself, and find out what people want to see more of, so we know how to handle it from there. I wanted the Dallas location to be different from our other locations by placing more TVs everywhere in that space, so we can play all of the games happening that day, because of this big emphasis on sports and the clear need for a newer sports and bar scene that differs from the rest. I envisioned a place where the guys are sitting at the bar and watching the game, while the girls are sipping mimosas and having a good time right next to them.
We want each environment’s needs to be met by making it more attractive for everyone in that community. So that way the people in Dallas can say “Yeah, we’re going to brunch… but at least I can still have a beer and watch the game,” similar to how we designed our other locations, by recognizing need and delivering the right vibe to make sure that need is met.
Breaking the Glass Ceiling
What was the most significant barrier in your career, and how did you overcome it?
Even though it’s opened up in the last 10-20 years, the barriers that came from the social stigmas about women in business were very hard to break through. I still feel that people question me a lot more than they would if a man were in my position, and that people doubt me more often than they would if a man was filling the same shoes.
It’s very interesting, especially in the expansionary process, because when I approach people I always hear a lot of questions like “How are you doing it?” and “How are you gonna get the money?” from people who would not be asking those questions if I was male trying to do the same exact thing. I know for a fact that they wouldn’t because my male counterparts in this industry have told me that they’ve never faced the same issue and that nobody asks questions about that with them when it comes to their business. Nobody’s skeptical about it with them. It’s just a very interesting dynamic to become subject to because it’s not as potent with the obvious barriers that used to exist, but I do think that the barriers stemming from social stigmas still kind of linger.
We took something that’s taken other groups 30+ years to do, and did it in four. Yet somehow, we still don’t receive the same level of respect as the groups that took 30 years to achieve the same thing. It genuinely blows my mind because it’s like ‘I did what you did in less than, what, 1/3 of the time. Are we being serious?’ As unfortunate as it is, I just overcome it in the same way that I struggle with it. I always have those thoughts in the back of my head telling me that I have to be 10 times as big, and work 10 times harder, which help me succeed, but it’s still unfortunate because I know that I have to do just to be seen as being half as successful or being viewed me as an equal.
What skill set have you found to be the most beneficial in building your career?
I think persistence is such a huge skill. Nobody can deny you constantly knocking on their door, maybe you’ll do it one time, maybe two, three, or four, but you cannot deny someone who is constantly showing their dedication through persistence. I think that’s what gave me the edge that I needed outside my experience in this industry.
It really took me through this cycle of proving myself and delivering results over and over again just for people to finally be like “oh okay, she’s serious.” That goes with the lingering social stigma about women in business too, so I truly think that persistence is the best skill you can have in both aspects, because it beats everything. It beats any resistance that you’ll ever face in life.
It’s something that I really had to work at cultivating because you do get beat up, question yourself, and get discredited a lot. I learned that you have to work on detaching from that, and focusing on what you came to do instead by delivering over and over again for yourself and not out of fear. That’s what’s going to make you great in the long run, because people can’t deny the results you get when you’re persistent. It’s the battles that win the war, and if you’re persistently trying to hit your marks, you’ll end up winning.
Big Sister Advice
How do you stay motivated when life and/or work become difficult?
There are lots of ruts throughout your life and within your career journey, and I think what helps me pull myself out of it the most is reminding myself that it’s all about the “long game.” I just tell myself that “I’m only having a challenging day/week/month/year.” I have to remember that it’s not a bad life. It’s not a bad year, month, or week. In less than ten years, or even in the grand scheme of life, you won’t even remember this “bad” time anyway because it’s not “bad,” it’s just challenging.
Saying, “The only way forward is through, so we’re just going to handle it and keep things moving” always keeps me going and gets me through it, because there are so many times where things can fool you and cause you to doubt yourself by making you ask “Can I really go on?” when deep down, you know that you’ll look back on it in ten years and be like “Really? You were that stressed?”
If you could give the next generation of female leaders one piece of advice, what would it be?
You don’t have to see the full road in front of you before you start. We often get ourselves trapped in this “analysis paralysis,” where we convince ourselves that we need to have the entire roadmap in front of us a lot of the time, and that way of thinking does a huge disservice to a lot of the talent we have out there.
You just really have to believe in yourself and trust that you’ll find the answers along the way and trust that you’ll figure it out as long as you keep going. A lot of us end up saying “ok, if I want to achieve this then I need to plan every step from A to Z,” when you should really only focus on how to get from “A to C,” and just really piecemeal yourself to the end goal.
Wrapping things up “to-go” style:
After inquiring about Luari’s struggles, goals, and achievements throughout her lifetime and discussing their implications over a — very aesthetically pleasing — iced matcha latte and house-baked “Franklin Stuffed French Toast,” it became very clear that I wasn’t talking to someone who was a food and dining aficionado alone. Luari’s willingness to share her experience, creative vision, and passion for her business values and community that supported her was beyond inspiring, and after taking a look at all of the smiles (and the syrup-smeared faces) scattered throughout the restaurant, it became clear that Luari had the “it factor” that could take “going bottomless” to the next level on the national stage, and TP2B’s community of supporters (myself included) can’t wait to see what’s in store for their future. If you’re ever in the mood for brunch & booze with friends, want to grab a bite to eat with your grandma, or feel the sudden urge to stop in for an egg sandwich and iced coffee before work, The Place 2 Be is the place to go.