The She.Is.Beautiful “She Didn’t Quit Though” campaign seeks to elevate women who are overcoming obstacles and becoming a person who is more resilient every day. The next woman we want to honor is Pixie Saavedra. Pixie is a new mom to baby Zeppelin, runs the show at all locations of Cat Cora’s (highly addictive!) restaurant Mesa Burger and is doing all of that in the midst of a global pandemic. We caught up with Pixie to learn from her story…
What is something hard that you have had to move through this year?
Pregnant in December, first lockdown in March, Bachelors Degree completion in May, baby born in August. It’s been a busy year! Being a restaurant manager during a global pandemic would have been stressful by itself. Adjustments to business, pivot after pivot as they say, everything you’ve read about and then some. The loss of two people very close to me brought on quite a bit of introspect and depth to the year as well. I know many have felt loss this year, and my heart is heavy with that understanding.
Is there a mantra you tell yourself in dark times?
When times are tough, I always tell myself, “You’ve been through worse. Do your best until you know better, and then do better.”
What is your current fun obsession/guilty pleasure or the some things that bring you back to yourself after a hard shift?
And after a tough shift, or generally stressful day, nothing brings me more peace than holding my son. Looking at him as he is looking at me makes everything worth it. I also like to sink into a good book, sip a cup of tea, and pop some chocolate chips into my mouth.
What is something people don’t know about working in the food industry at the time of COVID?
I think many people assume that we in the food industry have received nothing but sympathy and love during this pandemic, while working through our own fears just to show up each day and being in the eye of the Covid-19 storm. Unfortunately, that has not been totally true. As positive and optimistic as I innately am, I feel that in our industry we have seen the worst in people this year. I continue to look for the light, believing that much of the discouraging behavior and anger we are experiencing from so many people, is just a symptom of fear. But it has certainly made a difficult situation more difficult, for many in our line of work. We have also seen much support and generosity from people, and we are so grateful for those.
What are some current goals you are working towards?
I actually have a couple new goals I am currently working on. To be announced, stay tuned! I’m super excited about what 2021 brings for me and my family! And I deeply desire for the same to be true for you and yours as well!
Thank you Pixie for sharing your story!