As the daughter of an Algerian immigrant, Sarah Gartzman grew up eating different food than her American friends. She routinely opened her lunch bag and longed for a crustless peanut butter and jelly sandwich tucked neatly into a Ziploc bag like her friends. Instead, she’d find couscous or a stuffed pastry known as brik.
Gartzman enjoyed learning about her family’s food history from North Africa and France, but she was also fascinated by her friends’ food experiences. More than anything, she became enamored with how different foods were made.
“I always thought cooking and baking were magical,” Gartzman said. “Watching people mix ingredients that I’d never heard of to make something delicious absolutely fascinated me.”
Making her mark
Gartzman turned that fascination into a career. Today she and her husband own and operate two restaurants in Salida, Colorado, a small town known as the “Heart of the Rockies” that’s home to about 5,000 people.
Their flagship restaurant, Sweetie’s Sandwich Shop, opened in 2012, and quickly became a community staple. Sweetie’s has more than 60 artisan sandwiches, pastries, and seasonal soups and salads on the menu — each with their own unique name and story that honors the couple’s travels, favorite books and movies, or their hometown of Chicago. Each sandwich is made on fresh, homemade sourdough bread, from The Last Crusade (the restaurant’s most popular sandwich featuring turkey, bacon, and avocado) to The #23 (“the Michael Jordan of cheesesteaks”),
The couple also owns The Biker & The Baker, a more upscale restaurant located two floors above Sweetie’s. It started as a wine and dessert bar but quickly expanded to offer a high-end daily brunch and an expanded cocktail selection that Gartzman said “feels more out of a NYC bar than a rural mountain town rooftop hidden restaurant.” The Biker & The Baker is most well known for what she calls its “crazy dessert selection,” which changes weekly and rarely features the same dessert twice.
Using food to tell stories
For Gartzman, cooking and baking are not just about preparing meals — they are a way to tell stories.
“I love to watch the world and then create my own rendition of what I observe, just like telling a story about what I watched or saw somewhere,” she said. “I do that by creating food and putting wild flavors and textures together.”
When she was a kid, Gartzman never would have imagined calling herself a storyteller. She wasn’t a strong student or athlete. She has Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), is dyslexic, and her attention span “is about as good as a butterfly’s.”
The only thing she ever felt good at was making food. As she grew up, she discovered how cooking and baking could be mechanisms for storytelling.
“Cooking is a reflection of my feelings and loves and all of my quirks and passions that I don’t know how to use language for, so I make something that tries to taste like those feelings,” she said. “When people have a similar feeling from those flavors, the communication is perfect and I feel seen and heard.”
Spreading the love
Gartzman is now spreading those feelings and loves across the country. She and her husband launched Hey Sweetie!, a baking kit company that sells mixes for some of the couples’ most beloved recipes from their restaurants, including Mabel’s Double Chocolate Chip Cookies and Ozzie Monster Cookies, named after their two children.
Running multiple businesses certainly has its stressors, but Gartzman said she thrives on the chaos.
“I love that since I became a serial entrepreneur and chef, no day has ever been similar to any other day of my life,” she said. “I love the adrenaline rush of working on a line in the kitchen, developing recipes, training employees, serving food, doing the dishes, and working as a team with my coworkers. I love the hustle. I love working through all of the puzzles this life gives me.”
3 storytelling lessons for you
1) Find inspiration in everyday life
Gartzman draws inspiration from her travels, movies, her family, and even her hometown. Storytelling material can be found all around you. The key is to keep your eyes and ears open.
2) Don’t let challenges define you
Gartzman overcame her learning disabilities and now thrives as a leader, entrepreneur, and storyteller. Stories exist in all of us. You have the power to tell them.
3) Experiment with different formats and styles
Gartzman’s diverse culinary creations demonstrate the power of versatility. The same is true for storytelling. Try different mediums, approaches, and perspectives to find your unique voice.