What fatherhood taught this founder about running successful businesses
A conversation with Brooks Reitz about structuring companies to run without you so you can focus on what matters most.
Brooks Reitz is a restaurateur, writer, serial entrepreneur, and, most importantly, a dad. He’s become somewhat of a local legend in Charleston, SC, where he operates three of his four restaurants and founded two online brands, E.M. Reitz—a shirting brand he runs with his wife, Erin—and Jack Rudy Cocktail Co.
In between Thanksgiving at his childhood home in Kentucky and a whirlwind trip to NYC, we talked about how he makes time for the important things in his life, what he’s learned being in business with family, and what he hopes to pass down to the next generation.
Jack: Hey Brooks, thanks for making time to chat.
Charleston is the home base for a multitude of projects including four restaurants, a cocktail mixer brand, and a Substack. Is there a throughline to these different stops in your career?
Brooks: The throughline is storytelling. Whatever the medium, be it a restaurant or my Substack, I love telling stories and building a world for someone to inhabit.
Jack: In addition to running multiple businesses, you’re also a dad. What’s the key to making time for all the things in your life that are important to you?
Brooks: Everything I have, aside from Substack, I built with other people. I have business partners and long-term lieutenants across my businesses. In most cases, they’re the ones keeping the wheels turning day-to-day. I’m most impactful in the early days, bringing ideas to life, putting a team together, and imbuing it with a strong culture so it can exist—and hopefully thrive—without my daily input.
I’ve structured all of my projects in that way, so I can do what I do best, and empower other people to do what they do best so I can prioritize family, relationships, health, and the other things I find most important.
Jack: Has entrepreneurship taught you anything about being a father?
Brooks: Discipline is the most powerful habit I’ve developed over the last 25 years. That looks a lot different if you’re talking about running a restaurant or starting a new venture versus raising a child, but the discipline to wake up and give your best effort every day has a very powerful compounding effect. That, and an ability to eat shit and move on.
Jack: What about in the reverse? Has being a dad taught you any lessons about running a business?
Brooks: It’s taught me that business matters a lot less than I once thought.
Jack: Your wife is also quite creative and you two collaborate on E.M. Reitz. Has this business partnership given you a greater appreciation for her as a parenting partner?
Brooks: We were parents first, and business partners next. In the early years of our marriage—we’ve been married for 9 years and together for 13—we invested time and energy in learning how to communicate, how to disagree, and how to navigate conflict without dismissing the other person. That made parenting, and partnering in business, much easier. It’s all about easy, clear, kind communication.
Jack: I understand Jack Rudy Cocktail Co. is named for your great-grandfather. As you’ve clearly been influenced by the past generation, what do you hope to pass down to your own children?
Brooks: Respect, manners, and a sense of occasion.
Jack: I really appreciate you taking the time to let us into your world today. Before we go, what’s one good piece of advice you’d give to other dads balancing ambition, creativity, and fatherhood?
Brooks: Understand your priorities and be honest with yourself about them. Balance is difficult—one thing is likely to take priority over another—but the important thing is to recognize it and endeavor to make time for all the parts of yourself.
Jack Neary is the founder of Dad Mag, an editorial community connecting dads through conversations around what they’re doing well, where they can improve, and what they wish they’d known on day one.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.