Page 136 - Cityview Jan-Feb 2017

FACES OF EAST TENNESSEECulinary ConciergeDrawing upon values formed in her youth and shared by her husband, Patricia Bible has been able to grow KaTom from a garage mail-order business to an industry leader in restaurant supplyStory by Rebecca WhalenHERE’S AN OLD SAYING, THAT “WHEN one door closes, another opens.” For Patricia Bible that saying couldn’t be more telling.Raised by her mother and grandmother ina disadvantaged neighborhood, Bible says she worked to help her family from the time she was old enough to stand. It was a situation she called a blessing, however, because it forced her to grow up knowing what hard work meant. And by happenstance she met her prince charming, Tim, who lived by the same ideals.For ten years, the two worked and traveled around theclock to get steakhouse franchises o the ground throughout the country. “It was long hard hours,” she says, “but it paido bountifully.” When they chose to come home, they were swamped with calls from franchises expressing needs forfood containers, new fridges, stoves, and more, all while Bible was still working on the administrative side for many of the franchises they had ownership in. Out of this an idea was born.“One day we were having dinner and he [Tim] said, ‘You know what, we’re working ourselves to death helping people nd these pieces that they need, why don’t we think about starting a small restaurant equipment and supply company?’ and so we did.”They ran the business initially out of their garage, but before long outgrew the space and ventured o to nd a larger building. KaTom Restaurant Supply was born and growing.The company was formed as a catalogue business, Bible explains, with the assistance of their two children who• Photography by AK Vogelhelp steer the company today. As a seventh grader, Paula redesigned and took the catalogue to new heights as a school project; and as a young person, Charlie’s address searchesin the yellow pages a er school would eventually become KaTom’s mailing list.When Tim died in 2001, Bible looked at the company they had built and knew she had to keep their $4.5 million company alive. Bible says she used the frustration to keep herself busy with work and in just three years the company jumped to $16 million.“I said gosh if I can do that just because I’m mad and frustrated and can’t gure out what to do with this anger, I bet we can turn this into a real business, and that we did.”When she looks back at her journey and ahead to what’s to come, she recalls lessons that helped guide the success. Perhaps the lesson she holds most dear are words from Tim, who told her early on in their life together, “Don’t ever believe anything you hear, only what you see. Inspect what you expect.” And that’s exactly what she does to keep her business thriving.Today, KaTom is a $100 million company, something Bible says happened by focus and hard work. “It has just exploded into this dynamic business,” she says, adding that it is now data and analysis driven. But the other life lessons, learned along the way, guide her as well. Never give up. There’s always going to be barriers, but don’t stop. Follow your course until you nd success. “I’ve found that to be huge in everything we do,” she says. “Don’t let anyone say you can’t do it.”134JANUARY FEBRUARY 2017