I've been in the food and beverage business since I was 16 years old. Two days after my birthday, I was told it was time to get a job, so I started working part time at an Italian restaurant. I already loved cooking, grilling and barbecue, and as I moved through school and different jobs, I kept finding my way back to restaurants. Eventually, I realized I was pretty good at it.

Leadership has always felt natural to me, too. I'm the oldest son in my family and the oldest grandchild, so I've spent a lot of my life being the person people come to for advice or to help settle an argument. At work, I try to lead the same way. I believe you can work hard, hold high expectations and get great results without making people miserable in the process. I want people to feel heard. I want their opinions. And I want them to enjoy being part of the team.

One of my favorite parts of the job is developing people. Earlier in my career, I reached a point where I knew I was capable of more, but I couldn't seem to get past a certain level. Eventually, someone opened a door for me. That opportunity was all I needed. I haven't forgotten it.

Now I make it a point to look for the person who may just need someone to recognize what they're capable of. I want to be the person who opens that next door. Right now, we have multiple Managers in Training in our restaurant, and watching them grow is one of the most exciting things happening here. I'm everybody's cheerleader. I want to see them become General Managers and go even further.

This August will mark 10 years for me at Luby's. In a company where so many people have 20, 30 or 40 years of experience, I still sometimes feel like one of the newer guys. But I'm curious about what comes next. In the future, I'd love to take what I've learned about building teams, developing people and solving operational problems and use it on an even larger scale. I blame my inner curiosity for my future aspirations.

Outside of Luby's, I'm happiest spending time with my family, playing video games with my kids, hanging out with our three big dogs, or indulging my lifelong love of cars.

And if there's one thing I hope people take away from working with me, it's this: sometimes all someone needs is a chance. I was given mine. Now I want to give someone else theirs.