Check Out Casey Heindl’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Casey Heindl.

Casey, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My very first job was in a small town bakery when I was 15 years old. I’m so thankful the owner, Winston, took a chance on hiring someone so young and inexperienced. He taught me how to make donuts, pies, cookies, cakes, and more. Even more important than the baked goods, he taught me the value of elbow grease and hard work.
Later, when I was about 21, I began working at a local cafe where we made primarily sandwiches and deli salads. I fell in love with the fast paced environment of a lunch rush. I worked as a server for catering events they held in the evenings and enjoyed getting to be a part of special events in people’s lives. It didn’t take long for me to realize I’d be happy doing this kind of thing forever. I remember telling my boss “One day I think I want to own a restaurant!” He chuckled, shaking his head and advised against it- stating the long hours, thankless work, and tiny margins would mean I’d really have my work cut out for me.
I ended up going to college for Nutrition and Dietetics at Miami University. I graduated with my Bachelor’s Degree in 2019. Through my own life struggles and bad relationships with food, I thought I wanted to help people with their own struggles via nutrition counseling. After college I landed a great job in a chiropractic office helping with their administrative work and doing some nutrition counseling on the side. I loved the consistency of the work, the patients, and the family of coworkers; but after a few years I knew this isn’t where I ultimately wanted to end up. Much to everyone’s shock, I left that job and decided to jump back into the food service world to chase my long held dream of owning my own restaurant.
People told me I was crazy for leaving a steady job with benefits and guaranteed pay for something as grueling and thankless as food service. But I knew what I wanted. I sat in an interview with one of the most successful restaurant owners in Oxford and told him I wanted to have my own restaurant someday and I was hoping to learn everything he could teach me. He joked that he needed to take my temperature to be sure I wasn’t experiencing delusions due to a high fever, as no sane person decides to own a restaurant. He added that I had to REALLY want it to be successful in this field. I assured him that I did.
A few months later, a higher paying opportunity with a fine dining restaurant in the Cincinnati area opened up and I took it. It didn’t take long for me to miss the small town, family-owned, environment I was used to. I spent a lot of time chiding myself for making a mistake in taking that job as I eagerly looked for something else. It was only a few weeks before a management position opened in a small, locally owned, deli that had previously closed and was reopening under new ownership. It had been one of my favorite places in college so I jumped at the chance to leave the fine dining establishment. Upon turning in my notice and telling them I was going to manage a small sandwich shop, they scoffed and told me that when I got tired of that, my position would be waiting for me there.
My first few months at the deli were overwhelming. I had never held a management position before and I was pretty sure I’d bitten off more than I could chew. But- my goal was always to gain experience in every area of a restaurant before owning one- so I carried on. We fought through the trenches of extensive cleaning, hiring, training, and team building. It was exhausting work, but I was learning so much and enjoyed the work. After about a year of my time as assistant manager, the General Manager/part Owner announced that she’d be leaving as her family was moving. I was terrified and thrilled to be offered the role of General Manager. But that wasn’t all I was offered- the other partner in ownership lived hundreds of miles away and didn’t feel she could effectively own and manage without a partner in town. So- the offer to own Bodega was set before me. My husband and I were ecstatic and afraid of what that could look like. We spent months crunching numbers and saving every penny to make this dream happen. Almost 9 months later to the day, we signed all the paperwork to own our very first business. It was a hard-fought dream come true. We have learned so much along the way. We are now coming up on a year of ownership. We have found there was SO MUCH we didn’t know. We have the most amazing staff in the world- they’ve fought alongside us to make this dream come true and have been one of the biggest support systems we could’ve asked for. I feel so blessed and thankful to have achieved my five year goal in less than three years, all before the age of 30.
I’m so thankful I fought past the doubts and discouragement from others and from my own mind. Life is so incredibly short, chase your dreams like you’re running out of time- because you are. We all have an unknown expiration date. The time will pass, so you might as well spend it doing something that sets your soul on fire. For me- that’s living a life of service through feeding others and building a community.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road was absolutely not smooth. 😅
Even though I’ve been working in food world for almost 15 years, there was just so much we didn’t know that we didn’t know. Ownership is a completely different animal. From insurance to payroll, we have figured it out as we went along and now our ship runs like a well oiled machine!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Bodega is a deli- we specialize in sandwiches, soups and salads. Our most popular sandwich is the Dinah (pronounced die-nah). It’s made of roasted turkey, lettuce, tomato, provolone cheese, and our famous basil mayo on soft French bread. Another house specialty is our from-scratch spicy Mac and cheese.
I think what I’m most proud of and what really sets us apart from others are the same thing- our culture. I’ve worked tirelessly to ensure that working at Bodega is a positive, talent-building, experience for our staff. I employ 95% college students- something most people cringe at. But along the way I’ve found some of the hardest working and most caring individuals this generation has to offer. I see a responsibility in my role to teach them good working skills. Just as a parent should be responsible to raise their kids up and teach them to do chores, manage money, and be successful adults- I view my leadership here the same. I hope every single employee leaves their time at Bodega better equipped for the “real world” of work than when they started. We truly have the greatest staff, and their good experience at work spills over into them giving the customers a great experience as well. Investing in your people is the most important thing you can do for a successful business.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
The thing I love most about Cincinnati is the culture. It’s such a melting pot of history and people from all over the world. As my shop is in Oxford specifically, the thing I love most there is the small town feeling. I love walking the streets during festivals, or greeting my friends as they come through the doors for lunch. Customers become regulars, regulars become friends, friends become family. The people really make it!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Bodegaoxford.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bodegaoxford?igsh=Z3N2ZTJ0MGp6cWNm&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1C3ZeaocuL/?mibextid=wwXIfr
• Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/bodega-delicatessen-oxford-2