Aimee Olexy

Aimee Olexy is an American restaurateur based in Pennsylvania. She is the co-founder of Talula's Table (2007)[1][2] in Kennett Square, and a business partner with Stephen Starr in the Philadelphia restaurants Talula's Garden (2011), Talula's Daily (2012), and The Love (Philadelphia restaurant) (2017).[3][4]

Biography

Olexy grew up in West Chester, Pennsylvania. In the late 1980s, at age 13, she landed a restaurant job in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania at Spring Mill Café, where she swept, waitressed and sometimes cooked. At Henderson High, Olexy skipped much of 10th grade to sell bagels with sprouts and scrambled eggs at Grateful Dead concerts.[5]

Told she would have to repeat 10th grade, the 16-year-old Olexy dropped out of school and got her GED. At 17, she enrolled at St. Joseph's University, and, in 1994, she graduated summa cum laude with a degree in English literature, followed by an MBA. She left for France and attended l’Universitie du Vin.[6]

Career

In 1999, Olexy returned to Philadelphia and got jobs relating to operations in the restaurant industry. Her first position with Starr was general manager of Blue Angel, his Center City, Philadelphia French bistro. She was promoted to director of restaurants and, in 2000, opened Pod.[6]

With husband Bryan Sikora, she opened Django on Society Hill. They sold it in 2006, and moved to Kennett Square, on the outskirts of Philadelphia. A year later they rehabbed a former shoe store there and opened Talula's Table, which was subsequently featured by The New York Times Magazine,[7] Saveur,[8] NBC News,[9] NPR,[10] and CBS News.[11] The restaurant earned a four bell rating from The Philadelphia Inquirer.[6] The couple divorced in 2010.[12][13]

In 2011, as sole owner of Talula's Table, Olexy partnered with Starr to open Talula's Garden.[14] and, a year later, Talula's Daily.

Awards and honors

In 2018, Talula's Table was nominated for Outstanding Restaurant by the James Beard Foundation[15] and was included in the Saveur 100 list.[16] The Love was named one of the best new restaurants of 2018 by Esquire.[17]

References

  1. ↑ "The Toughest Table in America" by Franz Lidz, March 26, 2008 – NBC News
  2. ↑ "Farmhouse Dinner at Talula’s Table, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania" – Saveur
  3. ↑ Vigoda, Rachel (November 5, 2017). "5 Reasons Why The Love Is a Big-Deal Opening". Eater Philadelphia. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  4. ↑ Vigoda, Rachel (November 10, 2017). "Swoon Over The Love, Stephen Starr and Aimee Olexy's New Restaurant". Eater Philadelphia. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  5. ↑ "The Drama Behind Stephen Starr’s New Restaurant", March 25, 2011 – Philadelphia Magazine
  6. 1 2 3 "AIMEE OLEXY". Cook. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  7. ↑ "Spiritual Retreat", May 11, 2008 – New York Times Magazine
  8. ↑ "Farmhouse Dinner at Talula’s Table, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania", 2009 – Saveur,
  9. ↑ "The Toughest table in America", March 26, 2008 – NBC News
  10. ↑ "Talula's: The Toughest Reservation in the U.S.?", April 22, 2008 – NPR
  11. ↑ “SummerFest: Talula's Table Is A True Farm To Table Experience”, July 28, 2017 – CBS News
  12. ↑ "Talula's thriving despite divorce", June 3, 2010 – Philadelphia Inquirer
  13. ↑ "10 years of Kennett Square’s Talula’s Table, ‘toughest reservation in the US’", March 22, 2017 – WHYY
  14. ↑ "Aimee Olexy on Year One at Talula’s Garden", April 26, 2012 – Eater
  15. ↑ "Outstanding Restaurant", March 20, 2018
  16. ↑ "SAVEUR 100’s People and Places" – Saveur'
  17. ↑ Jones, Alexandra (November 28, 2018). "The Love Is One of Esquire's Best New Restaurants of 2018". Philadelphia Magazine. Retrieved 4 February 2023.


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