Jayme Fichtner

I am a native of Ashland and landed in Lexington after living in Ponte Vedra,  Florida and Dallas.  I began my career in finance at PNC Bank and after enjoying a long tenure in leadership I took an entrepreneurial leap and opened my first of two Interior Design boutiques.  After my 2 sons, Nick and Jeremy, went off to college I went back to school to become a paralegal.  I specialized in real estate closings, which I thoroughly enjoyed.  It combined my financial knowledge with my love of talking to people.  I loved getting to be a part of client’s special day when they purchased their homes.  After years of networking in the Lexington market, I was offered an opportunity to join the team at TOPS as VP of Community Relations.  After a year at TOP Marketing group, I was promoted to President of the Lexington and Louisville markets.  During my tenure, we were blessed with unprecedented sales growth which allowed us to hire quality sales reps with competitive incomes.  I practiced servant leadership and wanted to create long tenures for the ladies that were a part of our sales force. We all remain friends to this day.

Last September, I married Mark Fichtner, owner and founder of Carsons Food and Drink. I left my position at TOPS to become President and Owner of Palate Restaurant Group and owner of Carsons. Leaving TOPS was one of the hardest professional decisions that I have ever made.  We really had a dynamic sisterhood that made coming to work and celebrating each others’ victories really special.  As a child I can remember my dad encouraging me to set a goal to one day be my own boss. Thanks to my husband, I now have that chance.

During its 8 year history, Carsons on Main has been blessed with over 18,000 guests every month. Our newest venture, Carsons at Andover, looks to grow our second location to over 21,000 guests each month.  Carsons at Andover also features a private event venue called the Hudson that can host  from 35-140 guests.

My goal now is to learn as much about operations and the restaurant business as possible from my husband while combining my knowledge of finance, law, marketing and customer service to grow our brand. Being an owner gives me the opportunity to help not-for-profits and other community organizations that we feel passionately about to continue their missions in Central Kentucky.  I try to think that since much has been given, much is expected and I make an effort every day to positively leave an impact on our community and our team members.  I’m too blessed not to!