Meet Carlie and Marcus Bifaro | Owners/Operators

We had the good fortune of connecting with Carlie and Marcus Bifaro and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Carlie and Marcus, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
After working in the hospitality industry for 15-plus years in New York and the island of St. Maarten we were given the opportunity to move down south and take a stab at opening our place. It has taken us several tries with various partners to land us in a place where we could be the bosses of our spot. We believe we need to bring hospitality back to where it belongs with personal connections, ownership present and service given with personality. We are a family-owned and run restaurant and pride ourselves on providing our guests with an amazing experience from the moment you step inside of our doors. The aim is to provide a break from the redundancy of everyday tasks and allow us to care for you, our guests. Whether you are in for just a cocktail, a meal, or a special event, we want you to feel full and taken care of.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
We believe that you must work hard every day like you had to impress your boss to get a promotion. The next day, it’s essential to come in and do that same thing again, and repeat that every day you go to work. We are the general managers, kitchen managers, bar managers, creative directors, and most of the time also support staff. We believe that being present in our establishment daily is what sets us apart from our competition, we have first-hand knowledge of what is happening inside on every level. Our journey has not been easy by any stretch of the imagination, while raising three small children, we have had our work cut out for us. However, the obstacles we have had to overcome, be it with bad partnerships, or bad timing, have each positively impacted where we are today. It has given us the ability to not only overcome adversity but learn the nominal but important intricacies of this business that most operators wouldn’t even have to think about. Lastly, we are a scratch kitchen where everything is made in-house. We cross-utilize ingredients to create a minimal amount of waste. Both of us were raised in Italian homes where wasting food is a sin, we pride ourselves on running a kitchen that has next to no waste. We want the world to know that mom-and-pop shops like ours are here for the long haul, and we are here to prove that hard work indeed pays off.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We love the outdoors it is one of the many reasons we chose to relocate to Georgia. When visiting Atlanta we think going to the Belt Line is one of the best experiences, you can be outdoors, check out cool art or shopping and most importantly you have a million different places to choose from for an awesome dining experience. Our favorite restaurant which is a must is no. 246 a tiny little Italian spot in Decatur. If there are any good artists in town we may want to take them to the Ameris Amphitheater, or a Braves game if that were available. Lastly, if it is the summertime we would surely take them to shoot the hooch or one of the many gorgeous lakes that Georgia has to offer. We love being able to raise our children in such an awesome area, so close to the city but also the mountains and lakes.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
As a young man, Marcus worked his first job at a bar called Stans across from Yankee Stadium, his boss’ name was Lou. Marcus attributes his hard work ethic and the fundamentals of the bar business to him who paved the way. Carlie grew up in the Hamptons working many facets of the hospitality industry. Jayma was a strong lady who personified what it looks like for a woman to start from the lowest of menial jobs and land at the top of the feeding chain. Jayma is now the owner of one the biggest and longest-lasting restaurant bars in the Hamptons. Thank you to Lou and Jayma for setting the standard and showing us what success in this industry looks like.

Website: www.southmainkitchen.com

Instagram: @southmainkitchen

Facebook: South Main Kitchen

Image Credits
Ashley Wilson, Creators and Finders