When the seller called and surprisingly accepted her “very low” offer, “I just remember going, ‘Oh, s–t,'” Ina said, laughing. PBS Newshour In 2017. “what did I do?”
While she had a business background, this was her first career move that had nothing to do with food, with her previous experience only being a home cook. But, Inaaya remembered sunday seat, Jeffrey gave her “the best advice one could ever get: ‘If you love it, you’ll be really good at it.’ I liked it, so I did it.”
In hindsight, she said, “It was incredibly brave of him to leave behind everything we had. Well done.”
Ina sold the store in 1996 (by which time she had moved it to a larger location in East Hampton), attributing her success to the festive atmosphere she created from day one, which always included upbeat music, complimentary coffee, and her own signature menu. There were lots of goodies for the customers. pattern. Armed with a well-heeled clientele, lots of good buzz and a savvy publicist, her 1999 publishing debut, The Barefoot Contessa CookbookIt was a hit.