Turlock restauranteurs Leroy Walker and Mohini Singh said running two separate businesses has been a labor of love.

But at some point, love was outpaced by labor, and running two restaurants simply became too much.

“I’m 58 years old,” said Walker, his voice trailing off as he searched for his next words.

He didn’t need to finish. Nearing 60, Walker knows that retirement is much nearer than it used to be. He wants to finish his run as Turlock’s most well-known chef by focusing on First & Main, the restaurant that Singh and he opened together seven years ago on the eve of the COVID-19 pandemic. Walker sold his stake in the popular Bistro 234 – he was either the minority owner or majority owner for the past quarter-century – to his chef, Nestor Jacobo, and friends Tom and Christine Murphy.

“We got through COVID; we survived post-COVID, but with two restaurants I felt I was just too divided,” said Walker. “I wasn’t accomplishing anything anymore because I didn’t have that young blood in me where I could just go 16 hours straight. So, I started paying people to do things; that becomes expensive. We decided we were spinning our wheels and not seeing a whole lot of growth.”

So, they decided to focus on running just one restaurant and put the word out that they were looking to sell.

“We’ve never had a chance to fully focus solely on this restaurant,” said Singh, director of the culinary arts program at Pitman High School.

But just because Walker and Singh are pulling back, it doesn’t mean they’re slowing down.

“I still love what I do,” said Walker. “Sometimes I don’t like it, but I love it. I really do love it. I’m not the best chef in the world, but I’ve always told the other chefs around me that I know what flavors should be, and I will out-grind anybody.

“And even though we’re only open five days a week, this is a seven-day-a-week job. And it dawned on me this past year that with the two places, I’m not in the moment anymore. I’m staring into space thinking about other things.”

And that’s the point: as he enters the backstretch of his career, Walker wants his love of preparing food to be less about the grind and more about the art.

“Some of these young chefs think they’re going to come out and just become star chefs, but that’s not reality,” said Singh, who met her husband when she recruited him to be part of the CalChef operation headed by noted Modesto restauranteur Dan Costa. “Leroy is a true blue, hard-working chef. A true chef is somebody who has grinded it out with their team, and put in years and years of work, and is a leader by example.”

Not classically trained, Walker took a less conventional route to becoming a chef. A self-admitted poor student as a youngster, he started by taking home economics courses in junior high, then took a food class as a freshman at Turlock High School.

“For whatever reason, I was always good at cooking,” Walker said.

After Walker showed an aptitude in the food class, a counselor moved him into the THS culinary program midway through ninth grade. He spent the next three and a half years under the tutelage of instructor Gene Womble. That led to work in Womble’s catering operation, and to jobs at the Stagecoach in Modesto, and Angelini’s in Turlock, where he was virtually part of the original crew. Singh, meanwhile, learned to cook as young child in her native Fiji.

Walker credits his wife with recruiting some of her culinary arts students to work at First & Main and giving the place a young energy.

“A very diverse group of people dine here,” said Singh. “All of Turlock is represented, and there’s something here for everyone.”

Now, the couple will focus on the restaurant that they opened together, perfecting a menu that focuses on the flavors of the Asian continent.

“We’re able to funnel the love into First & Main that it deserves,” said Singh.