We’re looking forward to introducing you to Jessica Lusk King. Check out our conversation below.
Jessica, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
Integrity. And honestly, shouldn’t that be everyone’s answer, lol? I’d hope we all value integrity more than intelligence or energy. It’s intergral for managing a staff and being in the service industry. You want to be someone that your staff and your customers trust.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m the owner of Red Dessert Dive. I opened our orignal location 11 years ago. A year ago I brought on our head chef, Ashley Leonard, as a partner and we opened our 2nd location in Oak Forest. The new location is much larger with a private event room and a beautiful outdoor Garden (also available for private events). We’ve really loved being a part of the GOOF (Garden Oaks/Oak Forest) community. They’ve been super welcoming! More about the business is below. Right now I’m looking to relocate our Heights location to somewhere with more parking and we’re always looking for new locations that fit the brand. Hard to do!
OUR STORY
From Jess:
Red is an actual dream come true. I literally eat desserts for a living! I won’t disguise the fact that there is actual blood, sweat, and tears that occur when chasing your passion but, there’s nothing like making your dream a reality; I highly recommend it.
Once I decided to make Red happen, I traveled the world to perform totally pertinent “sugar research”. I learned that:
You must bake fresh daily, You must use the highest quality ingredients (and freshest fruit) available and, that a made-from-scratch dessert is best when paired with a perfectly poured latte, craft beer, or Pinot Noir.
Why the Name?
My Mammaw was a fiery red-head whom my Pappaw lovingly referred to as Red. I decided to honor her in the naming of this business because she made desserts like nobody I know, and I ate them like nobody I know!
Red is filled with goodness, fun, love, and lots of passion.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who taught you the most about work?
My parents. Both of them! They’re both very hard workers and taught me a very strong work ethic. I’m a bit more like my dad though, inheriting is YOLO entreprenuerial spirit. With big risk comes big reward! And more wrinkles…
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Yes! Many times. But, I’ve created a system that works for me. Whenever something hits me hard; a loss, bad news, or just a bad day, I give myself 1 day.
1 day to be sad, to be mad, to do absolutely nothing, to cry, to wallow, to eat nothing but cake. And when that day is over, I’m done. I get up, I move on, I continue to grind. And, I pray.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Whom do you admire for their character, not their power?
My husband. His character cannot be beat. The kindest most generous person I know.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What are you doing today that won’t pay off for 7–10 years?
Building the 2nd location (that opened a year ago). Building a restaurant is expensive! I own the property and building so it was a huge investment and it won’t see a return for quite some time. But it will, I know it!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://reddessertdive.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reddessertdive/#
Image Credits
I took these
