Tim Healion only does stuff he likes.
From cycling to live jazz, local restaurateur Tim Healion, 65, is a firm advocate that doing things you like is the only way to be successful.
Healion has been in the restaurant business for over 30 years. He’s been the face behind old Reno classics like The Pneumatic Diner and The Deux Gros Nez, self-described previously as the “original magical mayhem coffeehouse.”
Healion started getting involved in serving people during his time working in a monastery’s kitchen.
“My first food and beverage job was at a Catholic Priory of the Dominican sect in Dover, Massachusetts. It was a place where kids would go to school to learn how to be priests. It was a weird place,” he says as we sit down at one of few empty tables at The Laughing Planet Cafe.
When I prompt him with advice to young people looking to start their own business, his notable friendly smile dims.
“ I don't know if I'd recommend the restaurant business to anybody,” he said matter-of-factly. “Things are going to get really hard. Everything is going to cost more. If you want to sell food, it's going to cost more to sell it. If you want to employ people, it's going to be hard to keep people employed if you don't pay them enough.”
There are clear challenges currently in keeping a local business afloat. Healion likes to stay focused on what brings the community together. Every Wednesday, Healion hosts a Jazz Jam at his current business, Laughing Planet Cafe, across from the University of Nevada, Reno.
“I knew Hans Halt in the jazz department,” he said. “So I was talking to them and asked ‘Do you want to do music here once in a while? Maybe once a week? Kids can come over and play?’ And it just morphed into this.”
The weekly Jazz Jams have become a staple within the community, with packed crowds and a flood of musicians eagerly waiting to play.