Evansville restaurant owner gives second chances to people with a criminal history

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Years ago, Gary “Gatrick” Boyd got a break, and he knows his life might have been very different if a stranger hadn’t extended a helping hand.

Now the local restaurateur is reaching out to help other young men in need of a second chance.

He told us his history.

“There was a man named Andy Preske from Haubstadt,” Boyd said. “I was detailing cars, and he brought one in and asked why I was wearing a dress shirt and pants to detail cars. I told him I’d been locked up and I didn’t ever want to wear jeans and t-shirts again. He told me they had nice uniforms at his copper shop and asked me to come work for him. He took me in like his brother.”

Boyd worked at Preske’s Copper Shop for 15 years and learned how to be a businessman, and the two are still close friends. 

Eventually, Boyd followed his passion for cooking and catering and now owns Gatrick’s Bar-B-Que and Fine Dishes on Kentucky Avenue. As Boyd hires his own workforce, he makes it a point to search out employees from a population many business owners would avoid — those recently released from prison.

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“I saw how nobody would give a person a break who has been incarcerated,” he said. “When you get out they’d say, ‘We’ll see you back.’ I want to give a guy a chance. I try to bring young men because their chances are slim enough, and I’m looking for family men, people who want to get back into society to be around their kids and loved ones. I see those that are straddling that fence because I straddled that fence.”

'They’re ready to change'

Boyd has contacts within the Volunteers of America correctional re-entry services department who recommend likely candidates. He’s been taking them on, two at a time, for about four years.

As far as their pasts and convictions, if it doesn’t include murder, he believes anyone, even with a long or violent record like many have had, can be deserving of help.

He has had a total of seven proteges, two of whom, Ryan Hicks and Darius Staten, are with him now.

We asked if any of those Boyd has brought to Gatrick’s have returned to prison.

“No,” he said flatly. “Every person I’ve brought in from Volunteers of America has finished their time with me and gone on to work in the culinary field, and none have gone back to prison. It’s all working great, for now.”

“I know everything about them,” he continued. “I know what they’ve done. They’ve been in prison; they’ve paid their debt to society. And I know they’re ready to change because I have some father and son conversations with them, and I can tell bull because I’ve been there.”

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He has conditions though.

His employees, who he considers mentees, may not drink or do drugs. They must get rid of street lingo and speak respectfully to men and women alike.

They must attend a church or read the Bible. On Sundays at 8 a.m., everyone listens to the Rev. Adrian Brooks of Memorial Baptist Church on the radio.

After working at the restaurant, his mentees dove deeper into the culinary world

At first, those under Boyd’s mentorship help with whatever needs doing around the restaurant and eventually are trained as assistant chefs. After a minimum of six months, they have the skills and a reference enabling them to find a good job at another restaurant or go on to culinary school.

Even later, they come back to work during busy times and help with events.

Five of Boyd’s proteges have graduated into the broader restaurant world. Two are attending Ivy Tech for culinary arts. One enrolled in the culinary program at Sullivan College in Louisville.  And two are now employed at major local restaurants – one a cook for a large steak chain, and one as a manager at one of Evansville’s most upscale restaurants.

The hiring managers at these locations have spoken to Boyd and are aware of their employee’s pasts — and their progress — before hiring them, but the employees’ privacy is respected, and they are not required to disclose the information to coworkers.

'It feels like family,' not work

Boyd’s current proteges, Darius Staten and Ryan Hicks, are both from Evansville. They are friendly, polite and seem happy at work. They are also covered with tattoos and have an appearance Boyd knew would make it difficult for them to gain an entrance into many workplaces. Both also have extensive criminal histories.

“I have been gone six years and got out two weeks ago,” Staten said during a recent interview. “I was young and dumb and made bad decisions, and now I’m ready to make a change. This gives me experience in the cooking field, and it’s a learning experience. I can learn at my own pace and it feels like family, it doesn’t even feel like work.”

Staten is a part of Volunteers of America’s halfway house program. He is not in prison but to stay in the house he must keep a job and account for every hour he is away from the house by showing hours on a check or pay stub. This requirement will last to the end of his original sentence.

Hicks spent four and a half years in prison and said it's challenging to get a job and stay gainfully employed once released.

“Here, (Boyd) gives you a chance and an opportunity to learn. It’s a blessing being able to be around good people in here," He said. "It’s not uptight; you don’t have to worry about not fitting in or sticking out like a sore thumb. You can come and work and get along with everybody. Being on parole, one of the stipulations is having a job, and I’m glad I got to come here. Evansville needs more people like Gary.”

Boyd said, “people need to give people a chance. Everyone makes mistakes and nobody’s perfect. It’s hard if you don’t have a family behind you; it's why people return to prison. Nobody wants to help someone who’s been gone, but they need guidance.

"It’s like if you hurt yourself playing basketball and try to fix it yourself instead of going to the doctor; it’s not going to heal right. I was just turned loose, but I had someone offer me guidance. Nowadays, the police chief, prosecutor, sheriff, city council members all come here and eat and talk to me.

"If you have a chance to grow, people don’t look at you as someone who was in trouble, they look at what you have achieved and who you are now.”