Episode 58 of the Decarceration Nation Podcast
I first met Rob Perez at the Celebration of Second Chances event in Lexington Kentucky hosted by the US Justice Action Network. He is the owner, with his wife Diane, of DV8 Kitchen which is staffed entirely by people in recovery (many of whom are formerly incarcerated).
Now, as you likely know by now, my personal belief is that training for reentry and new employment should start day one whenever someone enters prison (or jail). But that is, unfortunately, not the system we have and I always try to bring attention to people who are doing great work to help folks returning from incarceration.
Most impressive, Rob’s restaurant was recently named the number 40 restaurant in the United States by Yelp which should put directly to bed any of the pushback against building a restaurant business around second chances.
And that high rating is for real, I tried the food at DV8 Kitchen first at the Celebration of Second Chances event and then again one day later for brunch and it is an AMAZING (highly recommended).
Anyway, all of this led me to interviewing Rob on episode 58 of the Decarceration Nation Podcast. We had a great wide-ranging conversation ranging from building a second-chance business to Rob’s feelings about reentry.
You can listen from the link above or find us on iTunes, Spotify, Google Plus, Pocket Casts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Josh is a 100% reader-funded blogger and freelance writer. Please consider following him on Twitter, throwing a tip into his hat on Patreon, or adding his blog OnPirateSatellite to your feeds. He is also the host of the Decarceration Nation Podcast.
