Meet Ben Walter: Chef + Coffee Roaster

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ben Walter and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ben, what’s your definition for success?
There are as many definitions of success as people, for good reason, everyone has to define it for themselves. For me, I have been struggling to figure out what it means for me. It could mean structuring my endeavors to have more time for my wife and son, or it could mean there’s always enough money to pay my people and make it to the next pop up or catering gig. I think success for me is basically this: when I built something that makes me available to those I love and continuing to get up no matter what knocks me down.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I founded Household in 2019, a collective dedicated to gastronomy, coffee, and hospitality. But, it hasn’t always been as succinct of a business as that tag line. We started off as a little bake shop and coffee pop up and then have pivoted from multiple things until we arrived here back in August. So we focus on electric foods, single origin coffees, and building community. I have explained my little endeavor in the following way: “Household is a band. Our food concepts and coffee program are like albums. And our pop ups are like touring those albums.” We essentially are building this weird conglomerate of catering business, food truck, coffee roaster, and media company. A lot of the things we are dreaming up aren’t even fully formed or out there yet, but our biggest export is our Japanese sandwich pop up called, Sekushi Sando. We pop up with that food every Tuesday and Friday at HopFusion Ale Works in Fort Worth, Tx and we are currently building out our coffee and media programs. It’s a lot of fun and really brings together my background in food, design/media, and philosophy.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
First, Black Cat Pizza for a slice. And then down to HopFusion for a couple of beers. Grab a little aperitif at Nickel City, before heading to Four Sisters or Shinjuku Station. And round of the evening with a couple of night caps from Boiled Owl Tavern.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to dedicate this to one of my good friends, brother in arms, and greatest mentor I have ever had Jaime Fernandez (chef and owner of Black Cat Pizza in Fort Worth, Tx). And the entire Black Cat fam for believing in my crazy ideas, supporting me along the way, and letting me grab ice and gloves when I need them.

Website: www.wearehousehold.com
Instagram: thebenwalter

Image Credits
Dawson Turner (@dawsonthecreative)