(Archive) 61. The road to sobriety and serial entrepreneurial success with Michael Chernow

If nothing makes you happier than than an ice cream sandwich chasing a meatball, Michael Chernow is your patron saint of restaurateurs. In this episode we chat with our fellow nightlife industry veteran, whose long road to sobriety culminated in career success beyond his dreams. Michael rode the huge success of Meatball Shop on to his second project, Seamore’s, a sustainable seafood restaurant, all the while pursuing his passion for Thai boxing that goes well beyond skin deep (spoiler alert!), and still making quality time for family, fishing trips and his involvement in WellWell, one of the tastiest recovery drinks around--and a good thing he’s got that on hand, this is one busy fella.

Michael Chernow talks about...

• His entrepreneurial childhood, starting with his dog-walking business in sixth grade (in NYC, this is impressive!)
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• Falling in love with the food business when he started working with his high school friend and later business partner Daniel Holzman at the Candle Cafe--shout out to the OG vegan restaurant in NYC
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• How his struggle with alcohol began early and ran deep, but he recently celebrated 15 years of sobriety with the help of an incredible network of friends and colleagues
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• He attributes his motivation to get sober to the one and only Frank, of Frank restaurant in NYC
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• His love for Muay Thai kickboxing and how it saved his life
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• How his passion for eating sustainable and local fish, including a few with some branding challenges, led him to open his “common sense restaurant” known and loved as Seamore’s.
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• His impressive daily routine--this man is on the move
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• Some unusual and surprising dishes featured at his fantasy dinner party

Resources:

• Instagram
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• Seamore's
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• The Meatball Shop
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• WellWell

Highway To Well is a production of Crate Media