Debbie Thomas wanted to be an actress. Well, actually she wanted to be a nurse until her first chemistry class convinced her otherwise. How the Pasadena native ended up the proprietor of an organic restaurant in Paso Robles – well that’s another story.
About 10 years ago the ex-Adidas marketer and current restaurateur found herself on a hillside outside of Paso Robles surrounded by a flourishing field of organic vegetables and fruit that she had helped plant and cultivate.
Soon thereafter a CSA was formed. That morphed into Thomas Hill Organics Bistro and Wine Bar, which will soon open up a second location in the Chinatown development.
The would-be starlet recently pulled out a stool, answered our questions and talked about Mark Twain, the struggle and benefits of sourcing local organics, and why she’s opening in SLO.
What did you want to be when you were growing up?
I constantly changed my mind on what I wanted to be as I grew up. Up until I was a senior in High School I wanted to be a nurse, but after taking chemistry I moved on to wanting to be an actress. That was a short lived idea and I ended up spending most of my life in sales and marketing in the apparel and accessory side of the sporting goods industry. Don’t even ask how I ended up a restaurateur!
What personal quality are you working on?
I am unduly trusting when it comes to people and sometimes I get deceived. It’s hard for me to determine based on just observation which people are selfish and seeking to enhance their own wealth or power at the expense of others, like me.
I’m working on being more diligent about doing my checks and balances before jumping in with both feet.
Which historical figure would you like to take to coffee?
I would love to have a cup of coffee with “Eve.” What the heck girlfriend, why did you eat that apple?” Actually Mark Twain would be the historical person I would most love to sit with for hours to discuss Huckleberry Finn. It was my favorite book growing up. I loved Twain’s raw, not so respectable voice of ordinary people. It made for such great literature. He was witty and had a great eye for truth.
Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
I use “amazing” for just about everything worthwhile. I’ve tried to venture from this verb and use “impressive” or “stupendous” or even “incredible” but nothing compares to “amazing.” Say “amazing” and you will see what I mean. The word puts a smile my face.
Which talent would you most like to have?
The one talent I have always wished I possessed was the ability to speak several languages. I LOVE to travel and it would be so “amazing” to interact with people you wouldn’t be able to communicate with otherwise. This would allow me to really immerse myself in another culture. On a trivial level how great to be able to read a menu and truly know what I am ordering. Not to mention for safety reasons when traveling. I was jogging in Paris years ago and I got lost. Needless to say, no one spoke English, or at least they wouldn’t speak it to me. As you can see, I made it back safely.
You openly talk about how difficult it is to run a restaurant that only serves organic, regionally produced food, what motivates you to carry on this way?
First, I care about what I put in my body. Second, I don’t want to eat unnecessary chemicals known to exist in non-organic products. If you just eat one non-organic apple you could potentially eat more than 20 chemicals, even if you wash it. Not to mention vitamin levels are about 50 percent higher in organic foods. The best part is local and organic taste better. I always use the analogy of taking a bite of a tomato you bought at the grocery store and then picking a just ripe tomato and taking a bite. There is no comparison on taste. The two biggest challenges for us at the restaurant are that it is more expensive to serve what we believe in and it is sometimes difficult to get the amount of organic produce we need. But it is well worth it for the health of our community.
You’re opening a second location in the new Chinatown development, what inspired you to open a shop in SLO?
I was dropped on my head when I was a small child! Sorry, I enjoy making people laugh. Seriously, I feel there is a need and a niche for us in San Luis Obispo. It is a young city full of life. The college consumer understands the importance of eating local and organic whenever possible. Plus, with the mild year round weather, SLO is the perfect place to get away for locals and visitors alike. This is quite a change from Paso where mornings are in the 30’s and summer temperatures are over 100 degrees. And who wouldn’t want to be a part of America’s happiest city! THO to SLO!