Guy Fieri talks small business success at Santa Rosa event

Even with more than two dozen eateries across the country and on cruise ships, celebrity chef Guy Fieri still considers himself a small-business owner.

With the exception of his Guy’s Burger Joints on nine Carnival Cruise ships, the Food Network star said he receives daily business recaps on every restaurant he owns.

On Tuesday morning, Fieri spoke of the importance of small restaurants and businesses and talked about his role as a business “ambassador” for Sonoma County.

Small business is “the thread, it is the fabric of a community,” said Fieri, who gave the keynote speech at the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce Small Business Week breakfast at the Flamingo Conference Resort and Spa.

With his now-classic high-energy humor, the charismatic Fieri spoke of his roots in Santa Rosa, his North Coast pride and the thriving, diverse local business community.

“Having the opportunity to come speak to you guys today really kind of brought me back to the beginning of Johnny Garlic’s and Tex Wasabi’s and brought me back to the community of people that I’ve worked with,” Fieri said.

“We have got it great,” he added. “We are very blessed to be in one of those beautiful parts of the country with thriving business, and our opportunity to encourage more thriving business through our community leaders, through our elected officials, and start to support business growth.”

Fieri made it clear he was not speaking of encouraging “massive drop-in corporations that take up the county,” but rather small restaurants and businesses that give a community its unique character.

Fieri received a warm reception from local business owners and community leaders. Among those in attendance were Santa Rosa Mayor John Sawyer and Santa Rosa City Councilman Tom Schwedhelm.

Sawyer said his decades of experience as a business owner have taught him the importance of small business.

“It is truly a major part of who we are,” Sawyer said. “We wouldn’t be Santa Rosa without the people that are giving our citizens great jobs. … That fabric is so important in a community.”

Sonoma Media Investments CEO Steve Falk, who introduced Fieri, pointed out that there are 13,000 small businesses in Sonoma County, and that 96 percent of them have fewer than 50 employees. What’s more, he said, 75 percent employ fewer than 10 workers.

“We’re here to recognize and support small-business owners and encourage our elected leaders throughout the county to remove the barriers that are so often associated with starting a business,” Falk said.

During the event, three local businesses were given the chamber’s Outstanding Business Award. These included Sebastopol’s Taylor Maid Farms Organic Coffee and Santa Rosa’s Dierk’s Parkside Cafe and Link Creative.

Mark Dierkhising, the owner of Dierk’s Parkside Cafe and Dierk’s Midtown Cafe, talked about how a thriving small-business community is good for families, a lesson he learned from his parents.

“You could have business that supports your employees, have them buy homes, put their kids through college, do something for the town, you’re going to be successful,” Dierkhising said.

The audience was packed with representatives from a number of local businesses, including Exchange Bank, JDSU, Kaiser Permanente, Keysight Technologies, PG&E, Redwood Credit Union, The Press Democrat, Hansel Auto Group, Leap Solutions, Sutter Health, Whole Foods, First Community Bank and others.