Meet Janelle Cadoo and Danielle Williams of Tooth Dripp in Phoenix

Today we’d like to introduce you to Janelle and Danielle.

Janelle and Danielle, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Both of us have been in the restaurant business since we were teenagers. We knew someday we wanted to be our own bosses. Having worked for various different corporate concepts, Fortune 500 companies, mom and pop shops and even country clubs in different capacities, we knew that we could provide a better product in a better environment for both us and our team members. Having a passion for people, passion for food, and giving back to our community drives all of the decisions we make regarding our business. Our goal is to give back more than we get.

Mark: My first “official” job was with Domino’s Pizza in Laguna Niguel, California when I was 15. What was supposed to be a summer job, although I didn’t realize it at the time, wound up turning into not only a passion for the restaurant/hospitality industry but a career. On a side note, the annoying running question that those of us get asked constantly in the restaurant industry is, “What are you going to do for your real job?” or “What are going to do when you grow up?” Most people that have never worked in a restaurant don’t understand how “real” the restaurant industry is. Additionally, most of those people don’t have the stomach to last a week, much less make a career out of it. Anyways, sorry for my rant. In 1992 my family moved to Phoenix, where I jumped back into the restaurant industry to distract myself from our move from the ocean to the desert. When I turned 19, I wanted to go where the money was and that was in bartending. Eventually, I began working my way up in the industry over the years working every position from server to General Manager. After many years working Front of House, I decided to go to culinary school, much to Colette’s displeasure. I felt that I needed to have a working knowledge of the back of the house as well if I was going to be successful in running my own restaurant one day. I chose Scottsdale Culinary Institute because I could receive Le Cordon Bleu training and certification. What surprised me is I was much better at it than I was expecting to be. From there I was driven to become the best Chef that I could be.

Colette: Working in the restaurant business happened by accident for me. I started waiting tables after having a baby and becoming a young single mom. It was a job that could provide good money while working fewer hours a week, which was flexible. Mark and I met while working together at a restaurant and a friendship blossomed, which eventually led to us realizing we were each other’s person. We moved in together, and shortly after that Mark decided to attend culinary school, as he mentioned I was not thrilled…… Mostly because he signed up without us having any discussion around it. That part of our life was a blur for him as he was working full time and going to school, this left me to take care of three kids and the house….. He was a zombie. I knew, if we could make it through that season, the rest of our life and eventually opening a business together would be a breeze. Once Mark was done with school, I knew it was time for me to get back to school as well. It has taken me many more years of school then it took him to accomplish my educational goals….. I think it is a little bit of passive-aggressive revenge…. I have completed an Associate in Business, a Bachelor’s in Public Administration and just recently completed my Masters in Business Administration (MBA). I knew that to be taken seriously, especially as a woman, in the restaurant business and to possible future investors that having an education was going to be essential.

In 2010 we incorporated our first business JC’s Catering. Trying to juggle a full-time job while attempting to build a successful business became an impossibility and we needed to make the hard decision of whether we were going to pursue our lifelong dream or if Mark was going to continue to work for other companies the rest of his life. So, in 2013 we realized that we were going to have to step out in faith if we wanted to see our dreams come to fruition. With the only one month worth of our bills in savings, Mark quit his Corporate Chef job to focus on building our catering company full time. Talk about scary!

In 2017 we just happened to stumble across space we currently occupy, not seriously looking to open a space at the time, although it was part of the plan eventually, we took a look at the space but someone else had already submitted a letter of intent. We soon left for our last vacation before our son went to Navy boot camp and put the idea out of our mind. We certainly did not have the capital to even consider opening something turn key, let alone the space that we had looked at. We got an email while on vacation with an offer from the landlord, an offer that made us realize that it was something we should at least explore. We made a counter offer, that WE KNEW they would never agree to! Surprise, they accepted, remind us why we didn’t ask for more. Then we had to get the capital to get the dream rolling, we had amazing family and friends who believed in us so much that they invested their hard earned money in our dream. So with a lot of faith and a little luck, and again only one month worth of bills in the bank we stepped out into faith and founded Arizona BBQ Company.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Smooth road….. hahahahahahaha, what is this smooth road people talk about? Life in general and the restaurant industry specifically are full of mountains and valleys. There will be successes and many opportunities to learn new lessons. From trying to figure out this new landscape of social media, online marketing…….. And (gulp) how do we get butts in seats with the short attention span of all of us nowadays. We signed our lease on our space, and within a week we got word another BBQ place was opening a mile down the road, never mind the fact that over 20 new restaurants have opened within a three mile radius within the last two years. Being a small mom and pop is hard, there are no corporate dollars to prop you up when business gets slow. With social media, everyone is a foodie or food expert, and one unhappy guest or so-so review can ripple for months, no matter how hard you work to make it right. The restaurant business is both beautiful and brutal and really-really hard. But hard can also be so-so rewarding, anything worth doing is hard work and like the great Sig Hansen of the Northwestern from The Deadliest Catch says, “If it was easy everyone would do it”.

Tell us about your company. What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of as a company? What sets you apart from others?
We do BBQ, but we do it Untraditional. We want to put Arizona style barbecue on the map. At the Arizona BBQ Company, American and Southwestern staples meet the Le Cordon Bleu technique. We take pride in serving high quality product as we serve only Certified Angus Beef. All of our meats are rubbed with our House Blend of spices, smoked and then finished by braising the smoked meats off in mirepoix (chopped carrots, celery and onion). All our meats are served “naked,” or without sauce. We allow the guest to choose from our self-serve sauce station with six house-made sauces: chipotle, habanero, sweet and tangy, mustard, Colorado and green chili. Other items we offer to focus on the southwestern-inspired flavors include southwest slaw, chili-lime roasted corn, ranchero beans, green chili and bacon mac n’ cheese, Tacos and Giant Grilled Burritos. BBQ in an Untraditional way infusing French and cooking techniques with Southwestern Cuisine.

What we believe also sets us apart is our commitment to our community! We partner with many of the local schools as sponsors of local football teams, the performing arts as well as working with them on their fundraising efforts. We also partner with many other non-profits to help raise money for their causes. A few of which would include the Walk for Alzheimer’s, Follow Your Heart Pet Rescue and Gilbert Youth Training Program, just to name a few. We also partner with Hope for the Homeless to collect needed items (Blankets, socks and etc.) and Gilbert Fire Rescue/Gilbert Public Schools (Toy & Clothing Drive). We offer discounts all day, every day to all public servants and first responders and military/veterans as our way of acknowledging their service to our country and community.

We also work to partner with another small local, family owned business to feature and promote their products as well, for example, we exclusively carry Huss Brewing on draft, and three Amigos Tequila and draft margaritas.

We are proud of the type of service we give to our guests, the quality of food that we provide and how we support and give back to our community.

Proudest Moment: Becoming a business owner, stepping out in faith regardless of the doubters. We often joke when things get hard about “Living the Dream” always stated in a sarcastic, what the heck were we thinking tone. But we are, we are living the American Dream.

Ultimately, waking up every day and going to work for yourself is one of the best feelings in the world. Also, being able to help others provide for their family’s and giving back to the community where we raised our children, worship and built our lives while being a light in a dark world provides a humble kind of pride.

“Arizona BBQ Company, where we have upped the standards of BBQ, so up yours”

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success is not about winning, losing or failing.
Success is about NEVER giving up on yourself or your dreams,
Success is getting knocked down and continuing to get back up.
Everyone is so afraid of failure that they are often too scared to take that leap of faith.
One of Mark’s favorite quotes is from Rocky Balboa, “You, me, or nobody, is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t how hard you hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done”!

Pricing:

• Large Gems $60
• Medium Gems $50
• Small Gems $40
• Gold charms $120
• Teeth Whitening $240

Contact Info:

• Address: 3123 E Thomas Road Phoenix, AZ 85008
• Phone: 4804309995
• Email: toothdrippxx@aol.com
• Instagram: Toothdrippxx
• Facebook: Tooth Drippxx

Image Credit:
Masked picture ; Jesus Hernandez
Model: Lindsay Webb
Model: Dee Lynn
Red Hair picture: Nathan Allan
Model: Babycakes
Model: Nichole Nikky

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