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Fascinating People in the Austin Restaurant Biz Tom Davis: It’s All About the Journey
Tom dove into the restaurant business head first and proved to be a quick study. He learned about food and liquor costs, margins, the TABC, staffing both the front and back of the restaurant, and all the rules so critical to succeeding in a service business. As Sam Irwin veered more into the music industry with his band Duck Soup, Tom's responsibilities increased. But problems with the franchisors in Houston soon put up an insurmountable roadblock for Biraporetti's and it closed in 1988. A second attempt at a restaurant known as the Watermelon Café followed at the same location but was very short lived. By this time, Liz Davis had finished law school and was beginning her practice. At the same time, Tom had a serendipitous moment while driving down S. Lamar. He turned right on Barton Springs into the parking lot of a BBQ joint that had long since closed. He tracked down the owner and negotiated a lease, got an insanely small loan from a local bank, enlisted the help of several ex Biraporetti's employees, and the Green Mesquite was born. Tom opened the Mesquite about two weeks after he signed the lease: and on his second night of business, did $6,000 in sales. The place soon became a mecca for local musical talent, from Kelly Willis to Robert Earl Keen, and while the music at the Mesquite is a bit more subdued these days, the place has a boatload of loyal regulars. Tom and Liz complement each other: a personality test revealed that she was 90% thought and 10% action while Tom was just the opposite. He is a risk taker who accepts errors of commission while loathing errors of omission. He's got a great sense of humor and his employees tend to stick around for long periods of time. My waitress the other day at the Green Mesquite has been there, on and off, for eight years. And, as she told me, when she started the job she was a vegetarian. She now eats BBQ on a regular basis! Tom's impetuousness led him to his current relationship with Scholz's. The building is owned by a group of older German gentlemen. The food service under previous proprietors had always been rather haphazard. Attending a function there one night about 14 years ago, Tom was annoyed that the establishment didn't seem to be maximizing its opportunities. He said that he could do better. And he pitched a new menu and bar operation to the founding father's of Scholz's. They liked what he had to say and the rest is part of Austin restaurant lore. In 1996 Davis turned the ancient building around, changed the food, and went back to the basics of great German beer around which Scholz's had gotten its start a century ago. What's the next challenge for Tom Davis? Well, it'll probably begin with a chance encounter with some thing or some one. The next thing you'll hear is: "I think we could make this work." A word of advice from your faithful scribe: don't bet against him. Sharon Watkins: Here's to the Ladies who Lunch! Sharon Watkins
She closed the other Chez Fred stores and concentrated on the location at 2222 and Mopac. She renamed it Chez Zee and began to do what she always does best: work the neighborhood. She went to civic organizations, ladies groups, and virtually every Rotary club in town talking up her new restaurant. She used her extensive network of social contacts. And she made sure that the product at the restaurant was first rate. It wasn't an overnight success, but gradually Chez Zee began to turn the corner. Then she did the unthinkable: working with the SBA in 1996, she got a loan to buy the land and the building, in effect becoming her own landlord. These days, Chez Zee is packed almost
every day for lunch and dinner. The weekend brunches are SRO. Sharon's
children Will and Sara have joined her in the operation. And Sharon
is every bit as passionate about Chez Zee today as she was in the beginning.
She has single-handedly turned the launch of her Crème Brulee
French Toast into a slam dunk success. She's now selling it on line
as well. Sharon Watkins has no intention
of slowing down. Plans for a second store are in the works. Not bad
for a woman who ventured into "male turf." Not bad at all. Chris Cristiano: Bringing NoRTH to the Domain Chris Cristiano
While working in Los Angeles, he met
an actor named Jeff Fisher who ultimately introduced him to a budding
Arizona restaurateur named Sam Fox. Things clicked, and today Fox Restaurant
Concepts has a number of different concepts including Wildfire and NoRTH.
But I get the impression that Cristiano has a special affinity for the
modern Italian cuisine of NoRTH. Cristiano is an engaging guy
whose passion for his craft is obvious. He has put the very talented
Peter Linquist in charge of NoRTH but Cristiano has been very present
as the restaurant has gone through its critical opening phases. And
he looks for talent. FRC recently interviewed our own Steve Loicano
late of Bellagio. They never put the deal together but that will give
you some idea of the caliber of chefs that Cristano looks for at his
restaurants. And with chefs like that at the helm, the food is just
going to be flat out good. We hope to see more of Chef Chris at NoRTH
in the future. John and Raymond Yim: A Dynasty of Dim Sum at Shanghai John and Raymond Yim
But they saved money, starting raising daughter Nancy and eventually opened their own restaurant north of the city. Alice, however, thought the climate was just too cold and the family moved to Houston. John saw an ad for an Austin restaurant named Shanghai in a Chinese newspaper in Houston. He flew to Austin ion 1981, like what he saw, called Alice, and she came in and brought the growing family, now with two daughters and baby son Raymond. Thus was born the legendary Shanghai on Koenig Lane: arguably the first great Chinese restaurant in Austin. John was a skilled chef but he was not fluent in the art of dim sum. This is a Chinese tradition that goes back hundreds of years and is originally associated with the drinking of tea. Gradually, light finger foods started to accompany the tea. Dim sum is typically lighter fare including pot stickers, steamed buns, and the popular shomai (small steamed dumpling with pork inside). Chinese dim sum houses often open at 5am and run around the clock. Many Chinese workers combine their breakfast and lunch with a dim sum feast. John Yim headed back to China while Alice ran their new Shanghai restaurant on Koenig. He apprenticed himself to a restaurant where he began his day at 3am and for nine months immersed himself in the fine art of making dim sum. Armed with his new knowledge, he returned to Austin and Shanghai became the first restaurant in the city to do dim sum. Years later the Yim family sold the restaurant and opened the outstanding Marco Polo at the Clarion Hotel off I-35 at Oltorf. An accident forced Alice to move to Marble Falls and there they opened another successful place, Shangrila. But son Raymond, now a culinary academy graduate was restless and with Alice on the mend, the family looked for another opportunity in Austin. Appropriately, they called their new restaurant at Middle Fiskville Road and I-35 Shanghai. And they are doing dim sum from 11am-3pm on Saturday and Sunday. However, the regular menu at Shanghai is extraordinary. Raymond has raised the bar and has dishes on the menu that are amazing. The Chef's Special Tofu with minced shrimp is one of my favorites. Also the Pepper Steak Flat Noodles with Black Bean Sauce. Typically, the weekends are packed with happy Chinese families munching away. But more Anglo families are needed for this place to work. So start with some dim sum on the weekend, and then come back during the week and avail yourself of some of the finest family food in Central Texas. David Jabour: It's All in the Family David Jabour
At that point, the next generation of Jabours gradually became involved: David, another brother and his sister Margaret. And there was an initial point of contention: the siblings wanted to move the store toward a broader, more sophisticated range of wines and way from the MD-80's and Boons Farm products that dominated the low-end market. David and his sister prevailed and the timing couldn't have been better. American consumers had survived the dreadful time of the 60's and 70's where Gallo's Heart Burgundy, Blue Nun, Riunite and Mateus were the big names in wine. And things were ripe for change in the early 80's. Many baby boomers were growing up and developing an interest in finer wines; more importantly the discretionary spending ability was there as well. And Twin Liquors stepped into the breach. Today, depending on location, some Twin stores actually sell more wine than spirits. The family has also developed a thriving wholesale business selling to bars and restaurants. While David spent some time in the banking business in the 80's, he was never too far from the Twin Liquors stores. As the business began to expand, he came on full time and put his banking business experience to work. His expertise in site selection proved to be invaluable. Twin made some very astute purchases under David's guidance including popular local brands like Dan's and Rueben's. Just recently, another acquisition was made in San Marcos giving the company 53 stores with more to come. Entrepreneurship may have its rewards
but for David Jabour everything revolves around the family. You can
also see David's joy as he talks about his wife and children. Beau Theriot
A colleague used to join Beau for lunch
at a quaint restaurant called The Ant and the Grasshopper. The place
sold antiques as well. Another restaurant that inspired Beau was The
Little Mushroom in Dallas, a spot that was popular with those in the
furniture industry. The young restaurateur took great pride in decorating his restaurant. And he evidently impressed many customers because they began seeking Beau out and asking him to work on interior design and or decorating projects for them. Though he had no formal training in either field Beau had a great eye and he soon became one of the most sought after designers in the entire southwest. He bought a vacation home on Lake Travis in the late 70's. He was driving down Comanche Trail one weekend when he noticed a ranch for sale with over 500 acres, many of which overlooked the lake. He asked the owner if she would sell him a parcel of the land but she refused. Months later, noticing that the FOR SALE sign was still up, he called the owner and said he would buy the entire tract if she carried the note for him. She agreed, and in 1981, Beau opened The Oasis restaurant with seating for 300. For Beau, the Oasis was always about comfort food, good drinks, and great sunsets. And the restaurant on the hill flourished and became one of the great tourist destinations in Texas. It became so ingrained in the Austin psyche that I was surprised to learn that the Oasis mentioned in the Garth Brooks song Friends in Low Places was not our Oasis. Now I'll be the first to admit that I was never a fan of the food at The Oasis during this time. But Beau finally built a larger kitchen, hired Sean Bradshaw who redesigned a substantial part of the menu, and a newer more interesting Oasis emerged; not Hudson's on the Bend by any means, but that was never the intent. The food took a huge leap forward to the extent that I was actually very comfortable reviewing it. At this time, Beau also built a magnificent repository across from the Oasis for his art and antique collection called The Treasury. It was June, 2005 and the restaurant
was just cranking up for its huge summer season when tragedy struck.
Looking out across the lake one morning from his lovely home atop Lake
Travis, Beau was horrified to see flames shooting a hundred feet into
the air. The Oasis was burning. The fire was extinguished but Beau's
restaurant had suffered devastating damage. The decks and the kitchen
were gone along with most of the upper dining areas. Priceless antiques
were vaporized. Beau told me recently that his
goals for the restaurant on the cliff are simple: Mike "Hutch" Hutchinson & Sam Kattan Mike "Hutch" Hutchinson
Hutch and Chuck deep-sixed the music that Hut's used to have because the band area simply took up too much space where potential customers could sit. And besides, the majority of Hut's revenues have always come from food sales anyway. Wine and beer make up less than 7% of gross sales. Hutch and Gist eventually bought out Larry Smith and kept fine-tuning the little 6th St. restaurant. They understood who their core customers were and made sure the standards stayed high: and the prices reasonable. They were also the first burger joint to introduce a veggie burger in Austin. And they didn't buy it frozen from some vendor. They made their own recipe. They introduced daily blue plate specials which have become quite popular. One hiccup in an otherwise successful run was the brief opening of Hut's Diner in 1991 down at the east end of 6th St. "We went away from our core competencies" said Hutch. "It was a totally different crowd down at that end." So they folded the diner and went back to their original store. But Hutch, whose mother is Italian, wanted to do something else. They had the opportunity to purchase the building behind Huts in 1995. And they opened an Italian eatery known as Frank and Angie's. The restaurant was funded from Hut's cash flow and barely hung on for the first couple of years. A lot of the recipes were from Hutch's family. Finally, the restaurant started to break even and then turn a small profit. But had Hut's not been there to bankroll Frank and Angie's, Hutch is the first to admit that they probably would not have made it. Now, Frank and Angie's is packing them in. Their cannolis are among the best in the area (lovely sweet ricotta cheese) and the pizzas are very good. Hutch, whose brother owns a restaurant in Buffalo (called Hutch's), can boast of many long-time employees. His partner Chuck has retired due to a bout with Hepatitis C but the co-founder is still as enthusiastic as the day he wrote his first check which nearly emptied Starting From Scratch's account. He's an amiable guy who has made one rule work: do what you love and love what you do. And for those who love the burgers, fries, and shakes at Huts, it's easy to see why Hutch has been having so much fun for the past 26 years. Sam Kattan: From Damascus to The
Veranda
Eventually, the Sheraton named him General Manager. Sam was only 26-years-old at the time and was the youngest GM in the entire chain. A move followed to another Sheraton property in Florida. But Sam missed Austin and returned after several years. He started a restaurant called Indigo at 38th and Lamar [where Waterloo now sits]. He sold Indigo in 1984 and was told of a property on Greystone that was owned by the Thundercloud folks. He bought it and opened the long-standing Mesa Hills Café in 1986. While Sam's heritage may have been Middle Eastern, he wasted no time in understanding the demographics and cultures of his Northwest hills customers. They wanted burgers and sandwiches: upscale casual was the word and he was happy to give it to them. Mesa Hills, situated just north of Chinatown, flourished with a fiercely loyal client base. Gradually, Sam began to experiment with a broader, more cosmopolitan menu. He added cuisines from the Mediterranean area, from Mexico, and from North Africa. And then he realized that it was time to do the restaurant he had always wanted to do: welcome to The Veranda at Northcross Mall. The prior restaurant at the Veranda had been a Hooter's. Sam gutted the entire place and started over. He crafted a very comfortable restaurant, but did not indulge in upscale accoutrements. He wanted to keep his price points reasonable while offering a wide variety of food. In my opinion, he succeeded. The Veranda will offer up anything from Pate of Grilled Chicken Livers to Crawfish Pasta to Lamb Kabobs with cous cous. The food is international and it reflects the owner. Most restaurateurs would cringe at the thought of taking on the behemoth known as Walmart. Not Sam Kattan. He held his ground as the giant retailer filed plans for building at the Northcross and he believes he and The Veranda will come out better for it. Sam has two children: one daughter
in school at Boston University and one restaurant off Anderson Lane.
He loves them both fiercely. Mesa Hills has closed temporarily due to
a dispute with the landlord, but knowing Sam, all will be well sooner
rather than later. He is a fascinating man: possessed of many tales
over his varied life. We've spent several hours together and yet I feel
I've just scratched the surface in getting a glimpse of Sam Kattan. Lori Simon: From Queens to Mars
Finally, she bit the bullet and assumed ownership of Mars nine years ago. Frustrated by the lack of space in the smallish house where the restaurant was located, she eventually opted for larger digs in a sparkling new building on S. Congress adjacent to the new Cicci's Market. The regentrified SoCo area is hot-hot and rents are steep. But this was the chance to take Mars a couple or rungs up the food ladder and make it a player: capable of catering large events as well as adding lunch and serving a larger dinner crowd. This is the kind of move that is the ultimate roll of the dice for a restaurant entrepreneur. The financial stakes grow almost exponentially. Lori is not a chef. She'll be the first one to admit that. But she knows what she likes and what her customers like, and she has a good palate. She also has the managerial wherewithal to run a complicated food operation. And she has an executive chef in Reggie Ferguson [what you were expecting someone named Huang Lee?] who knows his way around Pan Asian cuisine and who can take Lori's vision and execute it to perfection. Mars is a reflection of their efforts and of a dedicated and diner-friendly staff. And the beauty of this new location is that it doesn't take twenty light years to get there [small galactic joke]. Parind Vora: The Doctor knows best at Jezebel
Parind is one of those guys who just flat-out gets things done. After operating a restaurant in Ruidoso, NM, he moved to the River City. He wielded saw, hammer, plumbing wrench, and just about every other construction tool as he built out his Congress space himself. He even plowed on through a broken foot suffered during the construction. He mans the kitchen, and on the night we were there, turned out every dish himself. His energy is amazing and his selfless dedication to the culinary arts is a pleasure to watch. He's also one hell of a chef. He has a light hand in the kitchen: but his dishes are alive with flavor and texture. His wine collection, every bottle personally picked by Parind, is nothing short of amazing and it's not even finished. He's even had to contend with some
of Austin's more vitriolic PETA picketers who march up and down on the
small sidewalk outside Jezebel several nights a week in protest of Parind's
practice of serving of foie gras. Parind is just the type of restaurateur that we need more of in the River City. And independent thinker and a lover of sophisticated food and the grape, he is making Jezebel into a must-visit destination. Bick Brown: An Austin Original
Brown, like so many others one meets in this business, is a genuinely nice guy. He's apparently a good guy to work for as well because he has many long-term employees, a rarity in the restaurant world. He cares about customer satisfaction as well and is constantly tinkering with new menu approaches and different tastes. His commitment to his customer base is unwavering. Matt Luckie: The King of Cool Flaxen-haired Matt Luckie hails from Minnesota. He grew up playing ice hockey and relishing the colder climes of the upper Midwest. But his parents moved to Austin when he was a teenager. And as is so often almost always the case, end of story. He was hooked on the charms of the River City. He began tending bar as soon as he
was old enough and worked, in his own words, "literally up and
down 6th St." The bar and nightclub business is a tough one but
Luckie paid attention, taking note of what seemed to work and all the
while planning the way his own bar would look.
Then he and a partner opened the uber-cool
bar Oslo at the corner of 6th and Lavaca. It was also red-hot, for a
while. But that restless crowd of early adapters and trend setters that
Luckie characterizes as the "fickle 500" (in Dallas and Houston)
and the "fickle 250" in Austin can depart just as suddenly
and inexplicably as they come. Oslo started to lose some of its luster. Luckie at 38 is single, has a self-deprecating sense of humor and clearly doesn't take himself or his accomplishments too seriously. (His grandmother and mom and dad help this along by regularly offering critiques of his businesses.) And so I'm told, he has never strayed too far from his old bartending days. Rumor has it that he can still stir up one hell of a Margarita. But he is totally serious about
his commitments to his partners and his customers. And like Bick Brown's
at Hyde Park, that commitment appears to be an undeniable recipe for
success. 08/03/2007
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