Meet Charon Austin | Restaurant Owner and Small Business Consultant

We had the good fortune of connecting with Charon Austin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Charon, how has your background shaped the person you are today?

Yup, I’m a country girl hailing from Macon County, Alabama outside of Tuskegee, Alabama. Growing up in the country was an experience that I will cherish in my heart forever. From raising a garden every summer to feeding hogs and chickens every day, I reflect on my childhood growth as being truly amazing. I did not need to worry about any troubles in the world nor future obstacles that I would have to face. let alone living a childhood dream of owning my own restaurant. There were times when I just laid back in the evening summer breeze munching on watermelon or eating a fresh Sunday dinner, with no need for solutions because there were not any problems. Or at least I thought there weren’t any within my world.
On a typical day in my adolescent life, I could hear, “Cha-Cha, Cha-Cha, Cha-Cha! It’s time to get up for school. You better get up from there lessen you want me to beat your butt,” as my Grandma said with a loud yell. Yet, I only shuttered my eyes away and buried my head back under the covers. Once I woke up and got dressed, I remember sitting at the end of the driveway with my greasy-Vaseline face waiting in the cold wind for the bus. When I could see the bus up the road I waved to my grandmother, and then she would wave back to signal an “okay.” She waved to me because her hearing was bad.
When I returned home from school, as I entered, I could smell the aroma of fried chicken sizzling on the stove accompanied by soulful vegetables and cornbread. I would always put my books down and come back to the kitchen to fix me something to eat. After I fixed my plate, I came in the living room to find my grandmother in her chair with her oversized reading glasses squinting at a romance novel. I preferred the light readings of the World Book Encyclopedia. My mind would often wonder to different areas of the world and learning about different people, places, things, cultures, and the countries I wanted to travel.
As I became older and more understanding of my grandmother’s illness and the toll that it was taking on her, I started to gain more responsibilities by the age of 7. I started to help cook and began to spend the weekend nights with my grandmother instead of spending them with my mother. As time came to pass and school was heading towards the summer months, I prepared for summer gardens and meeting the rolling store. Yes, we had a store on 4 wheels that ran through the country on select weekdays.
The summer garden was a chore in itself, but it helped to reduce our grocery bill and keep hot food on the table. We grew all sorts of vegetables that included collards, okra, peas, summer squash, zucchini, tomatoes, corn, potatoes, and watermelons, and raised farm animals such as chickens, ducks, turkeys, and hogs. It was so amazing to observe the cultivation, planting and harvesting of the land that God gave us. The wonderful attributes called hands that we used to seed, fertilizer and water the garden were the pure elements that made our garden succeed. Along with the garden we had plum and peach trees, grape and muscadine vines and blackberry bushes. We also grew fresh herbs and other aromatics. . .I couldn’t seem to escape garlic tea during cold and flu season.
Fast forward to my teenage year, and my mother had passed away. I had to cook for my grandmother, and help her grow her garden. I helped in the best way I could. I created an escape outside in the garden as well as in the kitchen. I created all type of culinary creations. I experimented in the kitchen with fresh chicken and duck eggs, fruits and vegetables, chicken, fish, and meat. These were all items we either grew, caught, or butchered ourselves. I grew up in the 80s and early 90s within a generation that didn’t have easy access to cell phones or I would have been recording TikToks of me cooking pot roast, stir fry, baking pastries, and cooking all sorts of wonderful meals. My grandmother was my worst yet favorite critic. She taught me how to accept criticism, make improvements, and keep it pushing. She literally said, “this don’t taste wuffadamn !” I loved my grandmother dearly, and I respected her opinion no matter how harsh it may have sounded.
I would watch cooking shows and dream of having my own show or either my own restaurant. I started on my first restaurant business plan with I was 16-years old. I told people of my dreams, but I also grew up in the generation that believed going to college was the best way to a stable job and career. I had numerous of scholarships, and I majored in Plant and soil science. My grandmother said, “You went to school to become a farmer?” All of a sudden, I realized the harsh reality of her question. Even though I’d gotten to study abroad and live my dreams, I still wanted to do something more. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. . .yet, I’d picked up that business plan numerous of times in college and worked on my menu.
After grandma passed away and I graduated, I went through years of being indecisive with my career in the states and traveling overseas teaching English as a second language. Once I came back home to settle down, I decided to go back overseas to teach in Saudi Arabia, but I got pregnant. Unfortunately, I settled down with two children. I was single and I had made the decision to raise them on my own. That was a different drive and a different fire that lit inside of me. I’d started on my Ph.D. I didn’t want to give it up, but I’d gotten to a point where I realize school didn’t define me anymore, and I had to make something out of myself.
I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant with the kids, and after I gave birth, the illness went away. Less than a year had passed, and all of a sudden, I had gotten sick. Something told me to get a glucometer out of Wal-Mart. I checked my blood sugar, and it was 500!!!! I immediately went to the emergency room. For about two years, I’d battled with high blood sugar ups and downs, laying in bed all day with no energy, and I struggled to pay bills due to not really working. I knew that I needed more than a part-time job teaching ESL at a local community college. I decided to take a leap of faith following my last semester in graduate school, and I started selling plates in Tuskegee. I made plans to open a Cajun/Creole-inspired restaurant that specialized in seafood, fish, meat, and chicken. By January 2019, I’d put in my resignation at the community college from my hospital bed during a diabetic episode, and I opened USA Cajun Station in February 2019. Upon opening, I’d gotten such good reviews and a high response rate with customers, things just took off so fast in the first couple of months.
I wasn’t quite prepared for the world of business. I’ve gone through two food trailers, many employees, quite a bit of stolen money, people trying to take advantage of me, and blah, blah, blah. My glass ceiling had shattered. I realized that all people weren’t good, and it takes hard work to get to the top. After almost 5 years, I remembered something. I remembered tilling the soil with my garden hoe, planting, and watering seeds as a child. Plants grew and flourished that eventually became ready to harvest. I also knew if I didn’t put in consistent work, that the “weeds” (negative feedback, bills, taxes, negativity, depression, anxiety. . .etc), would overtake “my garden.” I knew I had to plant seeds in my business and wait for them to grow. I couldn’t just skip steps. Throughout the different phases of business, I often had to step into the kitchen on my own, work long days and nights. I had paperwork, receipts, and items on my to-do list piled up for months! There were plenty of days I opened and closed by myself. I had to remember everyone didn’t see my vision, no matter how good I paid them, how much I tried to help them succeed, or how much I fed them good food. I just couldn’t take everyone with me. It was too much weight to carry.
I began to question my purpose…I was tired! I’d realized that instead of being a CEO, I was in the cycle of being a worker. To catch up with bills at the restaurant, no only did I already work full time, but I got a part time job at a national brand restaurant in the evenings. It only lasted for two weeks, but I learned things about the restaurant business in 2 weeks that I needed to have known within almost 5 years of business. I remembered the reason I had chosen the name “USA Cajun Station.” It wasn’t to work myself to death, but it was to create an American brand that not only my children could continue and possibly other people could own and continue as well. I began the franchising phase. This was a huge risk. I went from a country school girl to wanting to become a CEO of my successful company. But how? I’d realized as an adult that as a child, just because things seem easy-going and laid back didn’t mean that there weren’t problems to solve. Everyday I’m solving some type of problem within my business. I’ve learned that the worse thing I can do is procrastinate. Eventually, it only leads to more issues and solutions to figure out. The pile just gets higher and higher, and in business I still have plenty of hard work to do to reach my goals. Without my upbringing, growth, and development over the years, I definitely wouldn’t have made it this far. Here’s the success of years to come at USA Cajun Station.

Charon

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I started USA Cajun Station in hopes of creating an American brand and franchise. The thing that sets me apart from others is that I haven’t given up on my goals, especially doing them alone. I have tried to work with a business partner, but unfortunately, life’s lessons showed me that I could handle and work on growing my business alone. Divine influence from a higher source most definitely plays a part. The road to where I am now definitely wasn’t easy. It’s still not easy. I face constant obstacles on a daily basis in how to propel my business forward. Competition is very prevalent in this industry. I definitely try to support other business owners, but I am also aware that not everyone has my best interests at heart. I truly want everyone to succeed. My goal was to become “visible” to the outside world, meaning outside of my small town of Tuskegee, Alabama. I wanted to create a culinary presence that stood on its own and could get recognized by investment and real estate groups as well as individuals that want to one day own and operate a USA Cajun Station restaurant of their own.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My friends and I are definitely foodies and planners, so we would check out the following spots

1. Your 3rd Spot-great cocktails and small plates for a good night out to chill once my bestie flew into town
2. Fogo de Chao- I love all you can eat Churruso-style dining (yes, they are in every major city, but I love it!)
3. Garden Parc for a late sleep in on Saturday or Sunday Brunch-Awesome Music, dancing, and dj! Opportunity to take amazing photos
4. If i had a group of friends or me and my bestie were indecisive, we would hit up “The Works” so we could choose our own style cuisine and come back and sit together.
5. Virgill’s Gullah Kitchen and Bar
6. Marcus Bar & Grille-Top Tier Southern Cusine, Great atmosphere and visual of chefs in the kitchen
7. R&B Mimosa Festival if it were Spring
8. IPIC-Movie and Dinner Theater

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to thank Dr. Jacqueline Brooks, my big sis! She’s always been my backbone of support through unconditional love and sacrifice. Love ya, sis!

Website: www.usacajunstation.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/usacajunstation/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charonaustin

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/usacajunstation1

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/usa-cajun-station-smiths-station

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@chefchacha777

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@chefchacha777