Was in Mammoth with the family for Peanut’s Far West ski racing championships when we randomly walked into a restaurant for breakfast called Toomey’s…
When we entered, there just so happened to be baseball paraphernalia EVERYWHERE…
David Wells, Trevor Hoffman and a BOAT LOAD of Kansas City Royals gear inundated the entire restaurant…
When I saw a wall dedicated to former KC Royals LEGEND and great friend of mine, Mike Sweeney, I asked the waiter what the connection was between the restaurant and baseball.
Apparently the owner, Matt Toomey, was good friends with Wells, Hoffman and Sweeney. A few minutes later, he came out to introduce himself…
We quickly figured out that we actually met back in 2010 when Toomey was in town visiting Sweeney when we were both in Spring Training playing for the Mariners. Ironically, Toomey recalls me, Sweeney, Ichiro and Ken Griffey Jr. playing an opposite field home run game which I can vividly remember as well… It wasn’t everyday I got to hit in a group & play home run derby with 3 Hall of Fame caliber BAD ASSES…
What I really remember more than anything though is that was the exact moment when Sweeney gave birth to the term: “Oppo Taco.” 🌮
According to Sweeney, he had never heard the term or so much as ever uttered it out of his mouth. It was an impromptu response to the oppo homer game we were playing and had a ring to it that would forever change how I would refer to an opposite field homer…
Fast forward 9 years and Toomey & I meet again…
Toomey’s story is incredible; he became a food network sensation when he opened a restaurant inside the Mobile gas station just outside Yosemite, and it became a full blown tourist attraction that went from being your standard mini mart to producing 4 million dollars a season. 😳 That’s right, they were only open for a few months out of the year!!!
Toomey eventually opened his own restaurant in Mammoth that continues to thrive on a year round basis. He has made appearances on the Today Show and several more on the Food Network and in the process gained a ton of notoriety as one of America’s most famous chefs.
How did he go from working at a hole in the wall restaurant at a GAS STATION to becoming an icon in the food industry???
A complete and total commitment to his craft and the people he surrounds himself with…
Over the course of the next 5 days, we ate at Toomey’s at least once a day and to watch how he treated customers and employees was an absolute treat and inspiration to how WE ALL should treat people.
I don’t care if it was Roy Disney (who I had the pleasure to meet) or the bus boy in the kitchen (who I also had the pleasure to meet), Toomey treated everybody the exact same, with a positive vibe and an infectious energy that rubbed off on just about EVERYONE in the restaurant.
If you think it is luck that carried this dude from the Gas House to the PENTHOUSE, you are on crack. Matt Toomey has dedicated himself to becoming the absolute best chef & restaurant owner he is capable of becoming.
The last day, a couple older women came in looking for doughnuts which is not on Toomey’s menu. He recommended a place that was about a mile down the road, but the women said they didn’t have any transportation. Naturally, Toomey said, “No problem, I’ll give you a ride.”
Off to the doughnut shop they went…
Sustained success in life and in business isn’t predetermined by luck. It’s achieved through a lifestyle committed to our craft and simply being a good person…
Novel approach, isn’t it. 🤷♂️
-EB