About this sponsorship: In honor of the 60th anniversary of Sir Edmund Hillary’s historic ascent of Mount Everest, Patch and Grape-Nuts are teaming up to highlight those who inspire people around them to climb their own mountains.
Brian Maloof is lightning quick to point out that he’s not changing the world in the way that Sir Hillary did. But as the owner of Atlanta landmark Manuel’s Tavern, Maloof is making a big difference in the lives of quite a few people in his hometown. He is well-known for giving back to the poor and homeless in his neighborhood, and for helping ex-convicts reenter society by giving them employment.
Here, Maloof talks about why and how he helps others through the business established by his father, Manuel Maloof, in 1956.
Q: What’s the biggest challenge you’ve taken on?
It may sound funny, but my father’s business was probably the most difficult. When I first started, it was for all the wrong reasons. I’d gotten so frustrated trying to do it just for profit. When I started doing it out of a sense of love and duty and started giving back, that’s when things started flowing and became easier. The biggest hurdle was coming to this realization that it’s not about me, but about what I can do for other people—helping others and viewing the business as more of a funding institution for charitable deeds.
We run the place with a lot of grace and give people the benefit of the doubt— some people say too much so. Some days it’s like Disneyland here, it’s amazing what happens. Keeping the place running is what allows us to pay it forward and do what we do.
Q: What inspired you to take on this challenge?
Basically, I’ve clearly made some mistakes in the past, and I’ve been granted a lot of grace and the opportunity to fix them. Because of that, for me to continue to receive the blessings I get, I need to pay it forward.
Q: Do you feel you’ve succeeded?
We hire a lot of people from a prison work-release program. They have no credit, and when they apply for work, they don’t have much of a chance to get a job over someone without a prison record. We have 10 people who’ve completed the work-release program and have stayed on with us. It’s nice to see them taking classes and building up a credit history. We have five people who are still incarcerated, and they work and go back to prison after their shift.