Kathy Webb helped Capi Peck put running for the Little Rock Board of Directors in perspective.
Webb, who represents Ward 3 on the city board and previously served in the state Legislature, owned and operated Lilly’s Dim Sum Then Sum restaurant till she left the restaurant business in 2011. Peck owns and operates Trio’s Restaurant.
“Running a restaurant is exactly like running a political campaign. Your clientele are your constituents,” Webb told Peck. “You’ve got to communicate with so many different kinds of people from so many different socioeconomic backgrounds and get along and delegate and make quick decisions. You are in politics, sister. You may not realize it, but you are.”
Earlier this month, Peck won her race for Ward 4 on the city board, a nonpartisan post, taking the spot occupied by Brad Cazort for 20 years.
Asked how she was going to mix running a restaurant, a demanding job even in the best of circumstances, with serving as a city director, Peck expressed confidence. “I don’t think it’s going to be that challenging because I’ve always, especially for the last 10 or 15 years, done a lot of civic and charitable work and commission work at the same time as being a restaurateur. I think that’s one of my strong points, juggling without dropping any of the balls.
“And I have great staff here. They really proved that to me during the campaign. I was able to run a successful campaign, which ended up being a lot more work than I thought, and they held down the fort. After 30 years in business, I’m good at delegating.”
Peck, who with then-husband Brent Peterson opened Trio’s in 1986, would like to remain on the Little Rock Advertising & Promotion Commission, which she chairs, but may cut back on some of her other volunteer projects.
Peck’s priorities as director include infrastructure issues, traffic problems (specifically on Cantrell Road, Rodney Parham Road and Pleasant Valley Drive) and public safety. “Going around and talking to neighbors, which was something that I really dreaded, knocking on strangers’ doors, but it ended up being the most fun part of the campaign, just getting to know people,” Peck said. “The primary thing that they talked about was public safety, and with the police substation now in Pankey, that’s going to be very helpful as far as addressing ‘hot spots’ and having more patrol cars on the street.”
Her other big concern is the Little Rock School District. Peck has met with Superintendent Michael Poore several times, and “as a product of Little Rock public schools, I want to make sure that our city invests in the schools so that we can compete with charter schools, that we can attract new businesses. New business is not going to come to Little Rock if we have a crummy public school system.” Peck particularly wants to see the district move toward returning control to the local school board.
Peck wants everyone in Little Rock to feel represented, she said, stressing inclusivity and equal rights for all “to start healing some of this divisiveness and this tension that has erupted” in the latest political cycle.
“On the city level, you can get things done,” she said, compared with the gridlock sometimes seen on the state and federal levels.
Peck has deep roots in the city and in the hospitality industry. Her grandparents, Sam and Henryetta Peck, ran the Sam Peck Hotel (now the Legacy Hotel) in downtown Little Rock, and Trio’s serves some of the dishes that were favorites there.
Peck, 63, said, “I’ll never retire. I love what I do. I can’t imagine not doing it. It feeds my creative juices. I just love it. It’s hard as hell, but I thrive on it. And I thrive on being busy.” Her bottom line, she said, is her love for Little Rock. She thinks serving on the city board is the biggest contribution she could make “beyond the little four walls of my restaurant.”
Peck knows she has a lot to learn and has already had some meetings with the city manager and the mayor. “I’m a pretty quick study.”
Peck also knows public service can mean difficult decisions and dealing with contentious issues, but the restaurant industry is nothing if not a public-facing industry. (And not mentioned in our conversation but worth noting is that Peck remains a partner in Trio’s with Peterson, her former husband.)
“I think the best skill I bring is my ability to work with people,” Peck said. “I have really good people skills, and it’s from being in this business for 30 years.”