Champions for Children: Daniel Auffenberg

Daniel, a native of Tulsa, OK, always enjoyed cooking but never considered it a career. Instead, he decided to play it safe and earn a business degree from TCU. After working in sales for a year, Daniel realized it was not the right path for him. He quit his job and enrolled at the International Culinary Center in Manhattan.

After culinary school, Daniel secured a job at Gramercy Tavern, where he worked in various positions, including assistant butcher, honing his skills in whole-animal butchery. Eventually, he decided to return to Texas to gain front-of-house experience. He took on a management role at a restaurant, overseeing high-volume shifts of 300 to 600 covers per night. During this time, he met his wife, Claire. After some soul-searching, Daniel chose to step back from the restaurant industry to prioritize family.

He transitioned into restaurant real estate, representing restaurant owners and landlords in lease negotiations. During this time, Daniel and Claire traveled extensively, an experience that profoundly influenced the cuisine he now creates at Dorothy’s. Eventually, they decided to move to St. Simons to pursue their dream of opening restaurant. After many bumps and roadblocks, they finally opened Dorothy’s—named after Daniel’s maternal grandmother—in May 2021.