If you live in New York City, you’ve probably heard of Olmsted, or maybe its neighbor located just across the street, Maison Yaki. These Brooklyn institutions are helmed by Chef Greg Baxtrom, who’s worked in some of the finest kitchens in the world.
But what you may not know is that when Greg isn’t creating innovative dishes in his kitchens, he’s playing with his lab mix, Spud. We caught Greg before dinner this week and had a chance to chat about his life as a dog parent, and whether Spud’s tastebuds are as defined as his dad’s.
Hey Greg! Thanks for chatting today. I know you’ve got a lot going on with a couple of new restaurants opening. First thing’s first – tell me a little bit about your journey to dog parenthood.
For sure! We had a family dog growing up. My parents brought him home after I was born to help my sister be a little less jealous of the new baby. But he quickly became more my dog, you know? We just spent more time together.
I was also the youngest, so I get it. And now you’re Spud’s dad. What do the people need to know about him?
Spud is two and a half. I rescued him from Puerto Rico through the Sato Project. I was going to just foster him at first. Everybody warned me that fostering isn’t really a thing and that you end up adopting right away, and that’s what happened. The Sato Project is great. They’re doing what they can do to find stray dogs in Puerto Rico homes here.
He’s got two different colored eyes, and everybody wanted me to name him Bowie. He’s just a goofball. He’s a husky/lab mutt, and he’s poorly trained, and I like it like that. My dog gets excited when he sees other dogs, and I think it’s cute. I don’t want him to be overly not goofy. I like his wacky personality. He loves balloons.
In the beginning, he ruined all my clothes – mostly sleeves – and all my socks but now he’s just pretty chill. He loves to cuddle first thing in the morning and while we’re winding down at night.
My father actually has a nickname for everyone in our family. My nickname’s been Spud since I was a baby. So it felt appropriate that I named my firstborn after that legacy.
It was love at first sight. I knew as soon as we got into the Uber that I had to keep him.
That does sound like love at first sight. So I’m curious – what’s your favorite thing about dog parenthood?
The companionship, I guess. That there’s someone to come home to, hang with in the morning.
I have three restaurants now, and a lot of employees, and I bring him to the restaurant and everybody feeds him and plays with him. He digs up the Olmsted garden and we have to put it back together, but it’s just nice having some lovable antics around. It breaks up the monotony.
As exciting as it is to own a couple restaurants in Brooklyn, it’s also mundane at times, too. It’s hard enough getting my mind off of things. It’s just nice to be able to have something that’s unequivocally not restaurant-related (but that isn’t a child).
He’s like a breath of fresh air, huh? Would you say there are any challenges?
It was rough for 3-6 months and then it peters out. The worst thing you have to do is walk them a lot. All the peeing and pooping in the house sort of ends, and it’s worth it.
That does seem like a turning point. Do you have any advice for other dog parents you can share?
Build a routine that’s sustainable and healthy for you both. Like getting up and going to Prospect Park in the morning. I love to get up and get a coffee, maybe meet a friend there. It’s something to look forward to that really isn’t a big thing.
For me, I’m opening up this restaurant and then another one in early 2022, so I don’t have the luxury of doing anything else. So a trip to the dog park and trying to stick to that weekly/daily schedule is really therapeutic.
Love it. Thanks so much for the chat, Greg! Can’t wait to try the new restaurants when they open.
