KODAK, Tenn. — The saying she lights up a room truly applies to one local lady. She's a powerhouse business owner with a work ethic she learned from her mama.
The second we sit down with Patricia Bible, we are laughing.
"B-i-b-l-e, basic instructions before leaving earth," says Bible as she spells her last name.
She is a spitfire and a dynamo in the business world as founder, president and CEO of KaTom Restaurant Supply. Patricia is always going for that wow factor and it's working. The facility in Kodak is gorgeous with water features, bright flowers and kitchen gadgets galore in just about every color you can imagine.
"Whether it is the first impression when you come across the hill or if you are a truck driver and you are backing into the dock and you are thinking wow, where am I?" says Bible.
Patricia Bible has had quite a life that started in Morristown where she was born and raised.
"We grew up on the poor side you might say, but we didn't realize that because we had a grandmother and a mother who loved us tremendously," says Bible.
And she has been working as far back as she can remember.
"We all worked in the garden. We all sold those fruits and vegetables all over the neighborhood," says Bible. "All four of us worked at this pool. All those monies were collected. We didn't know, but that's what actually paid the rent. My mother worked three jobs as she went to school at night to get her LPN license."
"I've always been surrounded by very, very strong women," says Bible.
She learned what work ethic was all about. Things started happening when she met the man she would eventually marry.
"I met this man who I just thought was my knight in shining armor and guess what? He ended up being my knight in shining armor. Tim Bible, he was absolutely fantastic," says Bible.
He was an entrepreneur and they worked side by side. "You might find me on the back of a tractor in a bikini. Those were long days ago. Or you might find me on a construction site," says Bible.
They had a construction business and owned several Western Sizzlin steak houses. "I trained the waitresses. He trained the meat cutter. We both worked in the salad department. He trained the cooks. I trained the cleanup service," says Bible.
They made a lot of friends over the years at restaurants all over the region. "They started calling saying I need a refrigerator. I need a thermometer. I need some additional containers to hold my salad things in and so Tim was a good old boy and he would find these resources," says Bible. "One day we were sitting at the dining room table and he said, 'Gosh, we're doing all this work. Let's make a business out of this.'"
And KaTom was born, named using a mix of their young kid's names.
And it has evolved over the years from a mainly catalog business into an international e-commerce company selling everything from an entire kitchen to a hot dog cart.
The company went through a tough time in 2001 with the passing of Tim Bible, but they stayed the course.
"Nobody gave up. Everybody pushed right through that very difficult, dark time in KaTom's life and we came out stronger, better and continued to grow," says Bible.
From a garage business with just two employees to now 95 employees. And those toddlers the company was named for all those years ago, they are now a vital part of the company. It's no surprise things are going well with Patricia Bible at the helm.
10News Anchor Abby Ham asked her the question, "Are you always this happy.?"
Her reply, "Oh, ouch! (laughs) If you ask me, I'm going to say I'm always fabulous. If you ask the other people, my children who work here, they may say 'Oh, there's a bit of a dragon in there.'"
She's sentimental about East Tennessee, a place that's always been there for her.
"It's warm. It's inviting. It's accepting," says Bible. "To see the gorgeous brilliance that God has gifted this whole area with is more than you can really describe."
Patricia Bible, a whirlwind of energy, a force of nature, making things happen for a family company close to her heart.
One of Your stories. There's no place like this one.
You can go visit KaTom's headquarters in Kodak. They have a retail store and a test kitchen open to the public.
Click here for the KaTom website.