Meet Joshua Vernon of Park’s Place Kitchen

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joshua Vernon. Them and their team share their story with us below:

Owners Joshua Vernon & Cory Richards, cousins, grew up in and around Amesville, Ohio. The farm work was hard but they could always count on the local diner to provide a haven for rest and regeneration. Joshua and Cory were in and out of kitchens their whole lives, whether it be cooking and serving for the Amesville Fireman’s Festival or helping host the Amesville School Alumni Banquet Dinner. Their love for culinary and community knows no bounds. Their Grandpa Kenneth helped found the local Amesville Fire Department and their Grandma Junie was the local school cook. Over the years, the local commercial building switched owners until finally Joshua & his wife Rachel (CFAO of Park’s Place) decided to buy the building. The same day these discussions started, Cory called Joshua inquiring about the building and asked how crazy it would be for them to start a restaurant there. To which Joshua stated, “Buddy, we are already in process of buying the place!” It seemed the dream was meant to be. Joshua, with a background in farming and management, Cory, with a background in culinary, and Rachel with a background in business, finance & accounting, worked together to build the Park’s Place brand. The rest is history! 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely not. A restaurant is one of the most labor-intensive and lowest-profit businesses someone can start. Which also, in turn, makes it one of the most stressful and hardest to be successful. From COVID to leaky roofs to old equipment, you name it and we are sure Park’s Place has been through it. Regardless, the business has prevailed and we continue to grow. We are forever grateful for the support from our local community. 

As you know, we’re big fans of Park’s Place Kitchen LLC. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
You should know that 80% of our meat is supplied by local farmers and for a majority of the year, we source fresh veggies from local farmers. We source our tea, milk, coffee, honey, and maple syrup locally too. We might be LOCO but we love local! We specialize primarily in sandos (sandwiches), specifically smoked BBQ Pulled Pork and Fried Chicken. We also make a mean Chicken Pesto. All of our fries are fresh-cut, oh and our bread is freshly baked. Every menu item is made completely from scratch and we pride ourselves for being family-friendly. 

What does success mean to you?
We define success by employee and customer satisfaction. If our workers and customers are not happy then we obviously are not doing it right! 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.parksplacekitchen.com
• Instagram: parksplacekitchen
• Facebook: parksplacekitchen

Image Credits
Caitlin Andrews