50-year milestone worth reflection, Alaska trip
by DENISE ALLEN MEMBRENO
One minute you’re begging your Mom to let you buy lunch at school, the next minute your children are begging you for lunch money. Then the next day you wake up and a half of a century has passed.
That’s exactly where Roanoke restaurateur Doug Robison finds himself. He recently turned 50.
“Seems odd to me because it’s an age you consider a milestone,” says Robison. “It’s old but as you get closer to it’s not so old.”
Robison and wife Evie started Wildflour, almost 13 years ago. They now own and run two locations, at Towers Mall and Fourth Street in Old Southwest Roanoke.
The Robisons opened the first Wildflour at Towers while raising three children. Shaena is now 22, Amelia is 19, and West is 15. The business grew and like all wildflowers it spread to other locations. Doug Robison says that as the business flourished his stress level rose.
“I would overreact about forgetting the onions,” he says., “and obsess over not pleasing a customer.”
Robison says it took him years to realize something had to change. First, it was his attitude. “If you’re not making mistakes you’re not doing business.” Once he made that realization, he says he stopped overreacting and started dealing with mistakes and employee errors appropriately.
“The business is like your baby, but I finally started letting go and delegating more responsibility to staff and trusting them.” Robison says as he matured he learned how to hire good people and manage them effectively.
To further reduce stress, the Robisons sold the Hollins location, and Doug cut back on his hours. This affords him the time to do some of the things that keep him young and mentally and physically fit. He swims, hikes, bikes and walks regularly. He often exercises with his family.
Doug and his wife just returned from a trip to Alaska to visit their middle daughter, Amelia, who was working there for the summer. They drank in all that Alaska and the nearly 24 hours of sunlight had to offer. The trip included hikes that started at 10 p.m. and canoe outings that began at eight in the evening. Robison was overwhelmed by the beauty there and gives thanks he could enjoy this trip and all the physical challenges it presented.
“I try to exercise regularly, but you have to be realistic that youth is in the past,” he said. “I just hope I feel this good for another 20 or 30 years. I’ll be lucky if this is the midpoint of my life because that means I will live to be 100.”
Doug is grateful for his good health and feels his attitude has a lot to do with it. He says a sense of humor keeps him young. He sees every stage of life as an adventure. To people of all ages he has this advice. “Don’t be afraid to be active.” He advises to take that dream trip or start a business; don’t just sit around the house.
“Don’t worry about those risks, just go out and do it. The failure is in not trying.”
Freelance writer Denise Allen Membreno lives in Goodview.
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