FLAVOR OF THE BARRENS: Hidden Hickory’s success brings blessings

By JENNIFER MOONSONG
Glasgow News 1

In 2021, Nichole and Dakota Walden of Barren County were working full-time public jobs, but secretly longing to pursue lives as small business owners.

“In the fall of ’21, I hosted a baby shower for my sister. After the event there were so many positive reviews and I had people reaching out and asking why I wasn’t catering full-time,” Nichole said. Nichole was already well-known for her connection to the local food industry. She grew up working at Big Moose’s BBQ. And later took a job as the executive chef at the Glasgow Country Club.

With ample experience in the food industry, she began asking herself the same question, and wondered if it could be a change of direction for her and her husband, Dakota.

“A few weeks before Thanksgiving my wheels began spinning and I told Dakota I wanted to try it, just to see what would happen. So we posted on my personal Facebook page that we were going to offer family sized meals for pick up on Thanksgiving day. The response was immediate, and within two weeks we knew we had as many orders as we could possibly fill. Thanksgiving quickly rolled into December and folks were messaging me asking for holiday treats and party trays. I decided the extra money would be nice at Christmas and started saying ‘yes’,” Nichole said.

At that juncture the young couple were juggling lots of things, and wearing many hats.  They were still working public jobs, and when they arrived home in the evenings, they went to work filling the next day’s food orders.  On top of that, the couple are parents to a little girl named Hallie.

They continued to fill orders and build a small customer base until one day right before Christmas, Nichole’s sister told her the business needed a name, because the dream had become a reality.

“We didn’t need to sleep on it anymore,” she said.  The name had to have meaning. 

Early in Dakota and Nichole’s marriage, they dreamed and kicked around the idea of one day paying off debt and building an open-air venue on their property. “We had visions of an open cathedral and a very woodsy, earthy type feel. Once the catering took off, we knew it could obviously play a huge role in the event venue business. Our property has tons of pine and cedar trees, but hidden deeply in the middle — where we wanted to place the venue — was one beautiful hickory tree. And that’s how Hidden Hickory was born,” Nichole said.  

Once the holiday season passed, they thought life would revert to a more normal pace, but it didn’t.  The popularity of what they were offering superseded all else. “Orders for larger, and larger events kept coming in and my planner was beginning to look pretty crazy. We quickly realized that our lives were about to change completely and decided together to just let the cards fall as they please,” she said.  They did just that, and things moved quickly.

“We reached out to good friends who owned a small restaurant and asked for permission to use their commercial kitchen, luckily they told us yes. But, the amount of time we needed in the kitchen only kept growing and we didn’t want to be a burden, so we purchased a food truck to work and prepare out of,” Nichole said. “Not long after that, we had a couple from here in Glasgow who own the Ole French Restaurant event venue approach us and ask for business cards, so they could distribute them to individuals renting their property. We met one Monday afternoon and that conversation quickly transformed from dropping off business cards to whole different ballgame. We were asked if we had any interest in managing the property and using it as our commercial kitchen space.”

All of these changes took place in just six short months.  It was a whirlwind of activity. 

“At first, the thought of going back into the industry full-time was almost scary. I was terrified to leave the job I was comfortable in and loved, but Dakota pushed me out of my comfort zone and challenged me to make it happen, thankfully. Together, with the help of family, we restored the kitchen at the Ole French Restaurant, and started our journey of putting it back on the map. Three short months later, we had become so busy that Dakota decided to leave his full time job as well,” Nichole said.

Hidden Hickory’s first holiday season at the restaurant was a huge success. 

“We hosted events almost every single day of December and also offered off-site catering as well. 2023 has only continued to bless us. We work seven days a week almost weekly and love it. We are only looking ahead and are so excited to see how Hidden Hickory continues to grow and expand,” she said.

Along with all the other other unexpected blessings of Hidden Hickory, there is one the Waldens are especially thankful for. 

“I think the greatest blessing in all of this is being able to show our daughter, Hailee, what true hard work and determination look like. If she applies herself she can have the world,” Nichole said.