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New years is here, and with it brings the possibility of change.

As one behavioral scientist put it, first starts are really powerful.

So as you head into 2023, LifeKit is a great resource to help you plan your life and tackle changes, both big and small.

Listen to the LifeKit podcast from NPR.

Hey, welcome to How I Built this Resilience Edition. I'm Guy Ross.

So most Wednesdays and Fridays, since much of the world shut down in March, I've been sitting down for live video chats with different founders to find out how they're coping with the crisis.

And on Thursdays and Saturdays, we're posting excerpts from those conversations right here.

By the way, if you're looking for our regular episodes, they come out every Monday.

Okay, so on to today's episode. We've got two conversations with two chefs and restaurant owners.

Later on in the show, we'll hear from Daniel Hume, the chef of 11 Madison Park in New York City.

But first, we're going to hear from Kyle Connitton, the owner of Single Thread Farms in Heelsburg, California.

Single Thread has been named one of the 50 greatest restaurants in the world, and it's one of just 14 Michelin 3 star restaurants in the United States.

But the past 18 months have been challenging.

First, a flood nearly destroyed the farm that grows most of its fruits and vegetables. And then last October, a massive wildfire in Sonoma County forced the restaurant to shut down for a period.

But Kyle says that nothing could have prepared him for the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kyle spoke to me from Single Thread where he's preparing donated meals during the day and selling takeout meals at night.

Kyle, a lot of people don't understand that restaurants and good times operate on very thin margins. Like they need people to come in to be able to employ the people they employ.

A tiny number of restaurants make a lot of money. So even in good times, it's really tough. This is unprecedented, right?

You've been shut down for weeks and weeks. What's your situation at Single Thread right now?

First of all, to your point, restaurant business is incredibly tough margins are very, very slim. It doesn't really matter if you're a really small, small operator or a larger sort of like find out an operator.

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