First of all, congratulations on your James Beard recognition as a semifinalist for Outstanding Restauranteur. How did you hear the news, and what was your reaction?

“Thank you. I was really shocked! It was pretty early in the morning, and (Seven Days food writer) Jordan Barry texted me, ‘Congratulations, Leslie.’ The thing is, for some reason I didn’t have her number in my contacts, so it didn’t translate. I was like, ‘Who is this?’ And she said, ‘Congratulations on the James Beard Award…that’s amazing.’

“And I’m like, ‘Right.’ You know, there are so many crazy things that come through. I didn’t know what time they sent these things out or when they get decided. So I Googled it, and sure enough, that morning they had announced it. I looked at the announcement and was really blown away.

“I feel like we ALL deserve this. We’re in a place where all restaurateurs are coming through such a difficult time. We’re working so hard to support each other, so it felt like, ‘Okay, I’ll represent.’ Vermont and Burlington have such a share of people who are doing great things in the restaurant business, and being acknowledged for it.”

You’ve been part of the food and wine world here for quite a long time. Over all those years, can you think of something you still feel the area needs, restaurant-wise, that nobody has done yet and you’d love to see?

“It’s wonderful that there are so many ethnically diverse restaurants starting up. That would have been my go-to answer, but I see that we’re doing much better in terms of having more diverse food offerings and people in the business.

“I think really just making sure we support people who may not speak English as their first language and making sure they know all the support that’s out there for them. During COVID, we kept talking about the fact that there are 1,400 restaurants in Vermont, and how are we going to make sure everybody knows what’s available to them?

“Food-wise, I think we’re improving. I’d just like to see us continuing to grow culturally diverse and culturally appropriate food for our community.”

Now you’re opening a market in about a week, which is very different from opening a restaurant. What have you found to be the most challenging part of that process?

“My biggest challenge was just having the energy to do it! I’ve wanted to do it for a really long time. I love Eataly and the concept of going into a place and having all these different options. And also fresh markets like (her business partner) John (Rao) did so many years ago. I love the concept of going in somewhere and having all these different options.

“All three of our restaurants are open only at night. I have friends that just don’t come out at night…they go out for lunch. So I thought it would be nice to have our products and the way we do our thing available during the day. We’re calling it more of a pantry…an Italian pantry type of place where you can get a little of this and a little of that.

“The hardest thing is that I still have to do the rest of my jobs! I take care of my sheep, all of our crazy animals at home, and the restaurants. I could not do any of this without my strong team of people who run our restaurants. I’ve had an opportunity to pursue the sheep farming and to serve on boards, and I could not have done any of that without them.”

Bonus Question: You’ve got a farm, sheep, restaurants, and now the market coming. Most people would pick one or two of those and say their life is pretty busy. Is there anything that makes you slow down? And if so, what do you do with your free time?

“(My daughter) Ellington had her daughter, my first grandchild, on December 12th. I called her and said I was going to open a market, and she said, ‘Mom, I thought you were going to be here to help me with the baby!’

“I felt awful. But I told her I’ve still got some life in me to hang out with her and my grandchild, but I still have dreams and visions, and I’ve got to pursue them, you know? I haven’t figured out how it’s all going to work yet. But it will. The universe has its way of making things work.”