Voices that Inspire

What inspires you from WFSU Public Media? Here's this week's Voices That Inspire. Hello, my name's Keith Baxter. I'm the owner of Cool Beans Cafe. I'm proud to say we've been in business for 30 years. I got into the restaurant business because I couldn't figure out anything else to do. It's a people business, the people who work for you and the people who come in as customers. It's the people that make it so enjoyable. I've been fortunate enough to live in six different countries in my life. My passion for food comes inspired by my parents everywhere we lived. We tried different foods, local foods, so an exposure to a lot of different foods. And cooking my own. I moved from London to a small coal mining town in eastern Kentucky. I came over to train for an American restaurant chain to open in London and liked it. I was the classic cook started off literally flipping hamburgers in Kentucky. I'm inspired by many things. I'm inspired by food, cooking food, producing food that people really like is an instant gratification there. I'm inspired by the people who have grown with me and brought into the whole thing. And I'm inspired by people who can transcend their early start in life. And the fight that they have to continue to grow in themselves and to better themselves is what inspires me to keep going in cool beans. I still enjoy going to work. I still have a passion for food. I still have a passion for people, particularly my customers, but also my employees. I love my employees. I have a philosophy that is most of us have to work for a living. So let's enjoy it as much as we can. I'm Keith Baxter, owner of Cool Beans. And I hope to continue with my passion for people and for food. You're listening to voices that inspire.