As a pre-teen, Aaron spent parts of his summers and holidays at the restaurant owned by his aunt and uncle. It was humble work—cleaning pots, scrubbing pans, and peeling vegetables—but it planted the first seeds of his love for the culinary arts. By the summer between his junior and senior years of high school, his skills had advanced enough to earn him a position as the Rounds Cook at the Hotel Touraine in Boston.

A Rounds Cook had to be a jack-of-all-trades, filling in for any chef on their day off. When the Garde Manger, the salad chef, was out, Aaron prepped hors d’oeuvres, canapés, and pâtés, doing his best to match the kitchen’s high standards. When the Saucier took a day off, Aaron tackled Hollandaise and Béarnaise sauces, carefully whisking them to perfection—or as close as Walter, the head chef, would allow. Walter, however, was not one to entrust his prized sauté pan to an eager teenager, especially after the infamous incident when Aaron cleaned it with soap and water. Walter’s reprimand came swiftly, punctuated by a sharp boot to Aaron’s buttocks and an unforgettable lesson in preserving a pan’s seasoning.

In his senior year of high school, Aaron’s life took an unexpected turn. Accused of something he didn’t do; his deeply ingrained sense of justice couldn’t tolerate the unfairness of it. Despite being elected Class President, Aaron quit school. He climbed into his car and drove aimlessly until it ran out of gas in Tonawanda, New York. After wandering through Niagara Falls, still searching for direction, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force.

The military gave Aaron the discipline and structure he needed, along with his first taste of law enforcement. His squadron commander, recognizing his potential, assigned him to the Provost Marshal’s office, where Aaron gained invaluable experience working for what was akin to a base Attorney General.

When his service ended, Aaron returned to what he knew best—working in restaurants. He took a position at the twin Howard Johnson’s on I-95, a place where, as a teenager, he had once lived in the basement, working all three shifts during the summer months.

One February morning, during a relentless nor’easter, Aaron was the only employee who made it to work. As he unlocked the front door, a green Cadillac inched through the snow and parked out front. A man in a suit stepped out, shaking off the cold.

“Good morning, sir,” Aaron greeted him, holding the door open.

“Morning,” the man replied, stamping snow off his shoes. “Can I get some breakfast?”

“Absolutely, sir,” Aaron said, leading him to the counter.

The man ordered coffee, two eggs over easy, bacon and hashbrown potatoes. Aaron poured his coffee, cooked the meal, served it, and later rang him up at the register. As the man prepared to leave, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a business card, and handed it to Aaron.

“Son, if you’re ever looking for a good job, give me a call,” he said before heading back into the snow.

The card read: O.J. Enright, Food Service Director, Reese Brothers Food Services. The next day, Aaron called. That call marked the beginning of a transformative chapter in his life. Under O.J.’s mentorship, Aaron helped open eight new restaurants and gained an invaluable education in leadership and communication.

O.J. wasn’t just a mentor; he was the first person to draw Aaron out of his shell. Aaron, who once said, “I didn’t say twenty words between first and sixth grade,” blossomed under O.J.’s guidance. O.J. introduced Aaron to a world where people could earn a living not with their hands but with their words—talking, motivating, and persuading. To Aaron, whose childhood role models were farmers and factory workers, this was a revelation.

In his mid-twenties, Aaron realized the importance of formal education. He worked tirelessly, juggling shifts in restaurants and pursuing his love of music while earning a BA in Business Administration, majoring in Hotel and Restaurant Administration with a minor in Economics. Later he earned a Master’s in Research Education.

After working for others for so long, Aaron opened his first Professor Remember’s Roadhouse & Bakery Café. It was more than a restaurant; it was a haven for creativity and community.

It was there that Aaron met Jimmy Rogers, a young man with raw talent and an unpolished charm. Jimmy practiced guitar and sang with his cousin David Perkins’ band, The Rhythm Kings, at Remembers. Aaron saw in Jimmy the same spark of potential that O.J. had seen in him years before. That connection would form the foundation of a lifelong bond between Aaron and Jimmy, one that would shape both their lives in ways neither could have predicted.

Remembers became more than just a business. It was a sanctuary for dreamers, a stage for storytellers, and a place where second chances were given freely to those who dared to believe in something greater. For Aaron, it was the culmination of his passions for music, food, and justice—all wrapped into one extraordinary endeavor.