Family Dinner Recap: Donna Lee

It’s not often that Residents at The Garage get to taste the success story they’re hearing about.

But at The Garage’s Family Dinner on January 14, Evanston native Donna Lee, founder and CEO of Brown Bag Seafood Co., made that possible. Lee shared her company’s health-focused dishes and homemade “Boss Sauce” with Residents – with a side of advice for young founders, of course.

With 14 locations across Illinois, Georgia and North Carolina, Brown Bag Seafood Co. is a company over 10 years in the making. Lee herself got her start in the restaurant industry in fine-dining before transitioning to a managerial role at Noodles & Company.

But in the case of Brown Bag Seafood Co., Lee envisioned the future of her industry as experiencing a “wave of health” and increased demand for fast casual restaurants – of which there are few specializing in seafood.

“Choose something that you love,” Lee said of picking an entrepreneurial venture. “Because that love affair turns into marriage that is really hard to divorce once you’ve become successful in it.”  

Although the logo of Brown Bag Seafood Co. is in Lee’s own handwriting and her creative imprint can be seen in all aspects of the restaurants, she also spoke at length about the importance of trusting her team, particularly following expansion into a second and third geographic market.

“I don’t know what’s happening in my 14 restaurants right now, but they’re all open, and I have to trust that you’re going to represent the business in the right way,” Lee said.

In particular, Lee’s two pillars of culture include finding a manager who “shares gratitude towards others” and who is “bought in” to the purpose of the company. Everything else can be taught, according to Lee.

Reflecting on her first pivotal moment as an entrepreneur, Lee recalled finding her first major investor. This investor voiced his support for Lee’s business before it had fully developed into the fast-casual seafood eatery it is today.

“As many investors do, they believe in the founders. They don’t necessarily believe in the product quite yet, but they know they can trust you,” Lee said.

Throughout Lee’s entrepreneurial career, she has witnessed periods of booming growth, such as opening six new restaurants in eight months. She credits this momentum to advice she received herself as a founder, which she then shared with her audience.

“Invest all your eggs in what you love,” Lee said. “At the time I was thinking, ‘Creatively, do I do a little bit of this and a little bit of that?’ [But] no. Throw all of your energy into one thing, because it just makes that one thing so great.”