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The Spark of an Idea – A Restaurant is Born

28 Sunday Jul 2013

Tags

business ideas, chefs, creativity, entrepreneur, ideas, restaurants, restaurateurs

Are you an idea person? Maybe you are more of an implementor. Or are you a bit of both? Does this picture represent you:
* I can’t stop my brain from working overtime
* I have lists of ideas everywhere
* I have many sleepless nights while new business ideas keep me awake
* I think about the next great restaurant while in the shower, driving to work, having dinner at another restaurant, preparing my mise en place at the restaurant where I am currently employed, or just walking through a number of unrelated businesses and seeing something that sparks that creative thought process.
* How many times have you designed that next killer restaurant on the back of a bar cocktail napkin?
* Do you scribble business ideas on a legal pad while suffering through another pointless business meeting?
* How often have you said, “you know what would work great in that building”?
* Maybe a friend, lecturer, announcer, business colleague says something that sends you into “another creative thought utopia” never to return to the original conversation.

The question is, what do you do with these ideas? How do you focus your creative thought process and move beyond idea to concept and bring that concept to fruition? What keeps you from being the next wildly successful entrepreneur?

When I was in the classroom I would ask young culinary and hospitality students how many wanted to own their own restaurant. The vast majority would raise their hands. I would always follow up with “I hope to convince you not to take that route”. Why would I ever say that? I felt justified because of the statistical data that demonstrated incredibly high failure rates among entrepreneurs. My job, I thought, was to help them put these thoughts of owning their own on the shelf and concentrate on becoming successful employees. Well, I was wrong!

Every decent chef that I know has or had a dream to be a restaurateur. It is, after all, the great American dream. Entrepreneurship is a right of every citizen and no country in the world is more open to welcoming private business than the U.S. What was terribly wrong with my classroom approach was attempting to stifle that creative gene that so many chefs have. That desire is an itch that needs to be scratched.

No one ever really gets ahead by playing it safe. A few will succeed and some will fail, but everyone should have an outlet for those ideas that keep them up at night.

So what keeps you from taking those ideas and running with them (hopefully it is not just teachers who are trying to help you to play it safe)?

Here are a few classic responses and solutions:
* I don’t have the money (find a partner who does and who believes in you)
* It is too risky and I am afraid (no pain, no gain). The beauty of being in the restaurant business is that if you fail at entrepreneurship, you can always go back to working for someone else.
* I don’t have the time right now (sooner or later you really won’t have the time – act on the idea now)
* I have too many current commitments (that will never change unless you begin to adjust some of your priorities)
* I have a well-grounded life-partner who tells me to chill and be happy with what I have (if they are truly your partner it is time to have that “I need to do this” conversation)
* I don’t have the business knowledge (go back to school and build that knowledge base)
* I lack the confidence to follow through (take the leap, learn as much as you can, practice and you will be impressed with how your confidence with change).
* I am too old (Please!!! There are many examples of entrepreneurs who started in their seventies.)

As I sit in front of the TV and watch another episode of “Shark Tank” I am really disappointed as the “Sharks” step on another dream and watch the rejection on their faces. To many, that great idea is what helps them to be complete. It needs to find a home or those sleepless nights will continue until they find an idea that sticks and builds enough traction to fulfill their creative dreams.

Do you have that next great restaurant concept tucked away in your subconscious? Light a fire under it, do your homework, find answers to those roadblocks and take that entrepreneurial plunge. Capture the excitement, it is what makes this country great.

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The Importance of the Neighborhood Restaurant

30 Thursday May 2013

Tags

Casa, chef, entrepreneur, neighborhood, restaurant, Saranac Lake

The Importance of the Neighborhood Restaurant

I have waited some time before writing this post – I needed to let the significance of the event sink in. Anyone who ever spent time in Saranac Lake over the past 30 years knows Casa del Sol. “Casa” as it was known, was the consummate neighborhood restaurant. It was a staple in everyone’s diet and an important memory for those who moved on from the Adirondacks at some point. This past year, “Casa” closed its doors. Maybe its time had come. Quite possibly it was a victim of the economic downturn. It could be a result of too much competition in a small town or maybe a changing population demographic. Whatever the reason, an important part of our community culture is gone. I felt it was important to talk about the role of the neighborhood restaurant in American society along with some history of this landmark restaurant.

I remember moving back to the Adirondacks in 1976 and starting work at the Mirror Lake Inn as a chef/manager. Like most chefs, I still had a gnawing desire to run my own place (thank God I never followed through) and always had an eye open for the right opportunity.

At the entrance to Saranac Lake stood a French Restaurant/Motel combination called Le Petite Francaise. The couple who owned and operated the establishment were ready to retire and the shop was up for sale. My mind was spinning with ideas. Of course, I would make it a classic French Brasserie with all of the classic dishes that I was trained to prepare. People would flock to try my food (that’s what I kept telling myself and my wife Sharon). Fortunately, I didn’t have any money and the restaurant would require more funds than I had access to.

Harry Tucker bought the building and took a year to renovate it. Harry was going to build a Mexican restaurant in Saranac Lake, how absurd. He opened a year later and the place was packed from that day forward. He had the right concept, in the right location, at the right time. Whether it was genius or luck, I will never know, but it worked. Over the years Harry added many pieces of original Mexican art from his trips South of the Border, but rarely changed the formula: great margaritas, simple but tasty food, and most importantly: a place where everybody knew your name.

The neighborhood restaurant serves many roles, but most important is a gathering place for friends and soon-to-be friends. In most small towns, it is the role of the restaurant to provide a forum for people to talk, argue, laugh, clink glasses and enjoy the reality of where they live. Restaurants with great food come and go, it is the neighborhood restaurant that typically survives swings in the economy and changes in customer tastes.

It is quite disheartening to see certain very important community focal points call it quits and put that closed sign on the front door. Bookstores, Movie Theaters, Newsstands, Groceries, Restaurants and even Churches are falling victim to a disturbing trend. Sometimes it is the convenience of the chains, the pricing that can’t be beat, or the ease of clicking on amazon.com (I am just as guilty as most) to get what we need, but in the process we destroy the soul of our towns.

As we collectively adopt the need for supporting farmers and local producers of raw materials we must also look at the sustainability of our communities. We need to protect the core of what made America great: the small business, and in this case, the neighborhood restaurant.

After 25 years in business, Harry Tucker threw a party for the community to celebrate his restaurant and thank his neighbors. Traffic was stopped, whole goats were being roasted outside, a mariachi band played, and EVERYONE in Saranac Lake came out to toast its important landmark.

A few years later Harry passed away leaving the operation of Casa to his wife and seasoned employees. They did a great job for a few years but as is the case with many restaurant folks, grew tired of the relentless work schedules. Casa was sold to Bryan Morgan, son of Saranac Lake’s most infamous restaurateur: Dew Drop Morgan. Bryan is a seasoned restaurateur in his own right and took his role as operator of a Saranac Lake icon very seriously. Casa was back! Unfortunately, in a few years, the restaurant just could not sustain and closed its doors in 2012.

Saranac Lake is not void of other neighborhood restaurants, nor is it lacking new ones opening up, but Casa was special.

Saranac Lake still has The Blue Moon, Left Bank Cafe, The Belvedere and even the Red Foxx to lean on. Bryan Morgan even reopened a family restaurant called Morgan’s Grill just a few months ago. We wish all of these restaurants well and implore the residents of our community and those passing through to support the small businesses that work so hard to maintain a sense of community.

All across America people must rally around the idea of the neighborhood restaurant. This is, after all, the center of the community, the place where we meet our friends, toast to their good health, break bread and relish the places where we live.

Small business is the backbone of our country and the heart of free-enterprise. Think small!

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