Full Name: Grace Atwood

Blog: The Stripe

Hometown: Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Current Location: New York, New York

Tell us about your Map Necklace.  The front is engraved with a map of my childhood neighborhood with a diamond to represent the house I grew up in (where my parents still live).

Tell us about the message engraved on the reverse side of your Map Necklace. The back says, “Home is Where the Food is."  

What does this Map Signify?  My parents are Restaurant owners and own one of the best restaurants on Cape Cod, which is incidentally attached to my childhood home.  

My dad is the head chef and my mom runs the front of the house. Owning a restaurant sounds very romantic and quaint, but it is hard, hard work. Growing up, I did every odd job… from washing dishes to running food to ultimately waiting tables (which was one of my favorite jobs, ever – the tips were great and I loved talking to customers about our Family business and food)! Food has always been incredibly important to our whole family.

We always eat there when I return home, and when my parents visit me in New York, the pressure is on to find somewhere amazing to take them. For the Atwood clan, there’s no better way to spend time together than to share a meal (preferably at our family restaurant). My family is extremely close and food to us is pretty much synonymous with family, so by saying that "home is where the food is," I’m really saying, "home is where family is."

Read the whole story on Grace's blog, The Stripe.