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FOREIGN FOOD
ZOMBIES ATTACK
Our executive editor
shares observations
from her overseas dining
experiences.
DESIGN DOS & DON'Ts
Find a safe haven—and houseinfused spirits—at the uniquely
designed and undead Donny
Dirk's Zombie Den.
Thoughts from our columnists
on best practices when
designing a restaurant. Hint:
Experience matters.
FOODSERVICENEWS
The News and Information Source for Restaurants and the Foodservice Industry
Volume 25• Issue 9
November 2014
www.foodservicenews.net
Back in
the Game
Dunkin’s
Minnesota
Return
By Laura Michaels
O
By Robert Lillegard
D
Executive Chef Andy Vyskocil (left) and GM Rob Delmont say the game
options at Rival House, adjacent to the DoubleTree Hotel in St. Paul,
make the restaurant that much more appealing to hotel guests and local
customers alike.
Photo by Laura Michaels
hotel guests, FireLake launched a
new menu earlier this year following
renovations to the restaurant that
added décor features such as wood
from Minnesota barns, rustic lighting
and a modern color scheme. The menu
from Executive Chef Jim Kyndberg
incorporates ingredients from more
local farmers and producers, and new
craft beers on tap help give guests an
authentic sense of place.
“We really want people to trust us and
know we can go up against any of the
great local restaurants,” says Holt of the
changes that were part of a $28 million
remodel of the hotel. “We definitely need
to make sure we have our game elevated
unkin’ Donuts is not a
brand to shy away from big
plans. In 2005, the Canton,
Massachusetts-based brand closed
its last store in Minnesota, but loyal
fans waited for its return. After years
of yearning, they heard the news. The
brand announced plans to triple its U.S.
franchises within the decade, including
100 stores in the state.
That was 2008—and it didn’t add a
single one.
Six years and two “bring back Dunkin’”
Facebook groups later, the chain is back
with a decidedly more modest goal of
50 stores. With franchisees lined up and
a store already open in Rochester as of
this summer, plans are progressing. But
can the brand overcome the problems it
faced in 2005 and 2008?
Dunkin's | page 18
Beyond Calorie Counts
Dietitian Sara Bloms (left) and chef
consultant Polly Pierce provide nutrient
analysis and recipe development services
to local restaurants through their
business, The Everyday Table.
Melissa Berg Photo
nce an afterthought in
the grand scheme of lodging
operations, hotel restaurants are
looking to make a comeback—with one
important distinction: the removal of
“hotel” as a descriptor.
As consumers continue to favor more
casual restaurants with local flavor, hotel
management is working to position their
concepts to compete with freestanding
locations for neighborhood diners,
instead of focusing solely on in-house
guests. They’re going after a previously
missed—and now more profitable—
dining sector, and one way of doing that
is through independent branding of the
restaurant.
“We do try to hide the fact that
we’re part of the hotel,” says Kristin
Holt, general manager of FireLake Grill
House, part of the Radisson Blu hotel in
downtown Minneapolis. The restaurant,
“adjacent to” (using Holt’s preferred
language) the hotel, has its own address
and its website makes no mention of its
relationship to Radisson Blu or parent
company Carlson Hotels.
Since FireLake’s opening almost 12
years ago, Holt has witnessed a shift
in the perception of hotel restaurants.
“Whatever happened in the culture
of dining society, hotels started really
cutting back on food and beverage and
it lost the trust of the clientele,” she says.
“Hoteliers were making so much
money off rooms and they realized it was
hard to squeeze profits out of food and
beverage,” notes Ben Graves, president
of Graves Hospitality Corporation. “A
hotel’s restaurant was an afterthought
and people were not looking at them as
compelling places to actually dine.”
In an effort to change that perception
and increase its customer base beyond
Back in the Game | page 14
By Laura Michaels
W
hether the display of
nutrition information on
restaurant menus leads
consumers to order a more healthy meal
is up for debate. What’s not, it seems, is
that consumers want this information—
and increasingly, they expect it.
In Jodi Schoenauer’s last two years
as director of marketing and sales at
Nath Companies, which runs Axel’s and
Bonfire restaurants, requests came in
daily from customers wondering where
they could find nutritional information.
And when Schoenauer tried to explain
why—because Nath has fewer than 20
locations it isn’t required to provide
nutrition counts—she was met with
hostility.
Beyond Calorie Counts | page 16
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Foodservice News • November 2014
FOODSERVICENEWS
November 2014, Volume 25 Issue 9
Editor
Nancy Weingartner
[email protected]
Managing Editor
Laura Michaels
[email protected]
from the editor
Kitchen efficiency and the importance
of hiring the right people
Advertising
Amy Gasman
[email protected]
Laura
Michaels
Graphic Design
Stephen P. Hamburger
[email protected]
webmaster
Jenny Worland
[email protected]
Production Manager
Greg DeMarco
[email protected]
Conference Services Manager
Gayle Strawn
Administrative Staff
Danielle Ianiro
Abbi Nawrocki
Liz Olson
Accounting
Jill Evans
Contributing Writers
Mecca Bos
Danielle McFarland
Dan “Klecko” McGleno
Jonathan Locke
Julie Brown-Micko
Joey Hamburger
Jane McClure
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Entire contents copyright 2014.
All rights reserved.
Managing Editor
A
t first glance—or even
second and third—the workings
of a restaurant kitchen can appear
chaotic. Hands flying from pan to pot,
cooks hollering in their own language,
dishes and plates moving this way and
that, a dance in tight quarters.
There's no hiding the human element
in cooking, but what of the old adage
that a workman is only as good as his
tools? In a restaurant kitchen, equipment
and design matter, as I learned first hand
while checking out what Russell Klein
calls his "dream kitchen" at Brasserie
Zentral in downtown Minneapolis.
In the kitchen, custom designed by
Premier Restaurant Equipment, Klein
started by showing off his Jade Range
island suite stove, with its French top
cooking surface that he says offers a
much more efficient way to cook.
"Because you adjust the heat by
moving your pan around, rather than
messing with the flame all the time,
it saves time—and even a couple
minutes in a restaurant kitchen makes a
difference," says the chef and owner.
"People like to say it's not the tools, it's
the carpenter," he continues, "and that's
true to an extent but the tools matter,
and this is the best tool there is."
Early in the design process Klein
traveled to New York City to tour some of
the city's most cutting-edge kitchens and
get ideas to bring home. For example,
Klein's signature schnitzel gets its own
station, where each piece of turkey or
veal is individually pan fried.
He also worked closely with Premier
sales director Brian Cepek, who Klein
says was instrumental in keeping the
project focused.
•
•
•
•
Restaurants
Taverns
Hotels
Motels
•
•
•
•
Brasserie Zentral's kitchen centerpiece, a Jade Range island suite stove.
"The goal with the layout was
efficiency," notes Cepek. "Everything was
designed so that there are as few steps
as possible and everything flows the way
it's supposed to."
With about $800,000 invested in
the equipment—part of an estimated
$4 million build-out for the entire
restaurant—Klein says he still just
scratching the surface of his kitchen's
capabilities. He's also learned more about
the importance of what he calls "design
and flow." "The art of the project is not
just the equipment," he stresses. "It's the
design and flow and being able to have
the equipment used the way it's meant to
be." That capability, he continues, comes
with working alongside suppliers such as
Premier, who "recognize that this is our
livelihood," and bring years of industry
experience and expertise to the table.
This month two of our columnists
tackle the issues of space planning and
restaurant design—and the importance
of industry experience in executing each.
Jonathan Locke shares his secret of
strategic laziness on page 23, and invites
Liquor stores
Night clubs
Resorts
and more!
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No AccouNt too SmAll or lArgE
you to avoid making the same design
mistakes as some other restaurants out
there by hiring the right people and
using a little common sense.
Klecko spends some time at St. Paul
favorite Fabulous Fern's, talking with
owner Charles Senkler, who we come to
learn is an accomplished space planner.
Learn from his industry observations
when you turn to page 24.
And don't miss Mecca Bos and her
take on the restaurant industry's "get to
know you" period, otherwise known as
the stage.
Elsewhere in this issue we cover the
comeback of hotel dining as it looks to
compete with the rise of independent
restaurants, and explore how diners'
expectations are influencing the
nutritional information restaurants
provide on their menus.
Executive Editor Nancy Weingartner
shares her observations from traveling
overseas and dining in Bruges and
Amsterdam, and she offers some
interesting information on the evolution
of Bloody Marys.
No doubt, we've packed a lot into this
issue, so please take your time and don't
miss a thing.
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WhEN oNly thE bESt Will do!
November 2014 • Foodservice News
3
server
sponsored by
speak
What lessons have you learned the hard way?
Joey
Hamburger
Billy Manuel
Position: Front of house manager/
bartender/
Years in the industry: 23
Mason’s Restaurant Barre,
Minneapolis
Cool down. My rule
for a decade and a half
is whenever I’m in a
negative situation and
I feel like I’m going
to lose my lid, I go
into the freezer and scream. It’s good
for two reasons: nobody can hear you
and you actually cool down your body
temperature.
Brent Mayes
Position: Manager
Years in the industry: All of them
Convention Grill,
Edina
Edd Devine
Position: Chef de Cuisine
Years in the industry: Over 16
Mendoberri Café & Wine Bar,
Mendota Heights
I have a problem. I
have not learned any
hospitality lessons
the hard way! Which
makes me think the
hard lesson is in the
near future … I’ve had it easy!
I was working for a private country
club. Everyone in the kitchen got to show
their skills in the day-to-day specials. I
decided to put a lobster saffron risotto
on the main course selections. I figured
the members would be drooling at the
mere mention of saffron alone. Then
I would throw lobster on top of that!
All we had to tell the chef about was
what we wanted to put in our dishes.
There wasn't any pre-service involved
with what we served, not even a tasting
for the chef. The night went on, and all I
heard was how the members didn't care
for my risotto. Each and every plate came
back partially eaten. Finally the lead line
cook told me that he wanted to try one.
I made one and sent it down the pass.
He only took one bite, and the lead line
cook dropped his fork, stared me down,
and blurted, “Did you season this at all?”
It took a bit of getting over my deflated
Kate Renaldo
Position: Server
Years in the industry: 10-plus
Bulldog Lowertown,
St. Paul
Be sure to write
things down. I once
rushed from table to
table taking everybody’s orders and got
back to the kitchen
and forgot everything. Then you have to
go back and ask it all again.
ego, but I finally realized, “If it doesn't
taste good, nothing else matters.” The
moral of the story: taste your food every
single time. Period.
Michael Hugh Torsch
Position: Host/Server/Assistant
Manager
Years in the industry: Newbie
Gianni’s Steakhouse,
Wayzata
Patience. A guy
came in for a table and
I told him we had a
wait. He made a fuss
because there were
two tables that had
just opened up. We still had people in
front of him on the waiting list, but I
decided to seat him to avoid creating
an angry customer. As I was seating him
he asked me where I went to school. I
said I’m not in school right now. He said,
“That’s what I thought.” I was aghast.
Vanessa Steir
Position: Server/Bartender
Years in the industry: 2 1/2
Whitey’s Saloon,
Minneapolis
My tattoo represents being your own person,
since that’s really all that matters. And if people
aren’t going to like you for doing that then they
can just go… you know.
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5
around the Twin Cities
Local beer wins gold while local restaurants beautify the streets
history and “People Behind the Food”
profiles of local farmers. Recently picked
up by Barnes & Noble, the cookbook
is available at locations in Minnesota
and Wisconsin, along with several
independent bookstores. Lillegard will
return to the Twin Cities next month
for three book signings, the first on
Saturday, December 6, from 11 a.m.-1
p.m. at Bibelot (1082 Grand Ave., St.
Paul) as part of the Grand Meander.
Later in the day, from 2-4 p.m., he’ll
be at the Eagan Barnes & Noble (1291
Promenade Place, Eagan). The Galleria
Barnes & Noble in Edina (3225 W.
69th St.) will host a signing Sunday,
December 7, from 2-4 p.m.
Minnesota was well represented last
month at the Great American Beer
Festival in Denver, with six breweries
earning awards. Badger Hill Brewing and
Steel Toe Brewing brought gold back to
Minnesota for the first time in three years,
with Badger Hill’s White IPA taking the
top spot in the American-Belgo-style ale
category and Steel Toe’s Wee Heavy beer
winning gold for Scotch ales. Earning a
silver medal for its Mexican Honey Beer
was Indeed Brewing. Bronze medals
went to Summit Brewing Co. for its Extra
Pale Ale, to Bent Paddle Brewing Co. for its
14° ESB (an extra special bitter), and Town
Hall Brewery for its Buffalo Bock, a woodand barrel-aged strong beer.
Author Robert Lillegard signs a copy
of The Duluth Grill Cookbook for
Lynn Wilson at the Roseville Barnes
& Noble.
Badger Hill’s gold award winningWhite IPA.
The Duluth Grill is bringing its
menu of local, organic and seasonally
focused food to home cooks
throughout the upper Midwest with
The Duluth Grill Cookbook, a collection
of 110 recipes from the long-standing
restaurant. Author and Foodservice
News contributor Robert Lillegard
collaborated with Duluth Grill owner
Tom Hanson on the cookbook, which
also offers a look at the restaurant’s
Four Minneapolis restaurants were
recognized for their efforts in creating
and maintaining public green spaces
downtown. Brit’s Pub and neighbor
Former longtime Dakota chef Ken Goff
is back in the kitchen after spending nearly
a decade teaching culinary students at Le
Cordon Bleu in Mendota Heights. Among
Gluek's entryway space.
The Fish Guys is moving its wholesale
seafood supplier business from
Minneapolis to St. Louis Park early next
year, putting its freezing and processing
operations all under the same roof in a
36,000-square-foot facility that formerly
housed a Nestle factory near Interstate
394 and Highway 100. A test kitchen will
also come with the new headquarters,
along with additional capacity to
double sales and quadruple seafood
processing.
Brit's Pub and Vincent, A Restaurant
sponsored by
coffee Talk
Black Sheep Pizza is expanding, this
time to the south Minneapolis Eat Street
space formerly occupied by Eat Street
Buddha Kitchen. Chef Jordan Smith and
co-owner wife Colleen Doran have Black
Sheep locations in the North Loop and St.
Paul. The new spot, set to open later this
month, will offer an expanded menu with
steaks, chicken and sausages, in addition
to the signature coal-fired pizza.
Vincent, A Restaurant, received Best
Outdoor Café honors in the fifth annual
Downtown Greening & Public Realm
Awards, while Gluek’s earned the Best
Entryway Greening and Seven the Best
Façade Greening awards.
the first Minnesota chefs to focus on local
sourcing, Goff is now leading the cooking
team at Bryant-Lake Bowl. He previously
cooked at several top Twin Cities spots,
including the Loring Café, Faegre’s and
Nigel’s.
St. Paul native Timothy Fischer is now
the executive chef at Loews Minneapolis
Hotel, which Graves Hospitality sold
earlier this year. Fischer, who in 2011
was a James Beard award semifinalist
for Best Chef in the Midwest while at
Hotel Donaldson in Fargo, will revamp
the menus at the hotel’s in-house Cosmos
and Cask Cookhouse restaurants, plus the
Relevé lounge.
Agra Culture Kitchen & Press owners
Andrea and Aaron Switz opened
their third location of the organic- and
health-focused restaurant, this time in
Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Agra Culture
takes the place of Grain Stack, which
was operated by Stock and Badge, the
partnership behind Dogwood Coffee Co.
and Rustica. The Switzes also founded
Yogurt Lab, which has 10 locations in
the Twin Cities and suburban La Crosse,
Wisconsin.
One Two Three
Sushi is on the verge
of opening its fifth location and its third
in the downtown Minneapolis skyway.
The eatery, owned by Eagan-based Sushi
Avenue, will open next month in U.S. Bank
Plaza, in a space formerly occupied by
TimeScape watch repair. One Two Three
Sushi has skyway spots in the IDS Center
and near Target headquarters, along with
one in the St. Paul skyway and a store in
Dinkytown.
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6
7
Culinary
Q&A
Stephanie Shimp on the Changing Restaurant Scene
F
rom
working
at
her
hometown Dairy Queen in Lake
City and later serving at the
venerable Nicollet Island Inn to now
owning eight Twin Cities restaurants
(and opening new Minnesota State
Fair spot the Blue Barn) with business
partner David Burley, Stephanie Shimp
has made a career in foodservice
and hospitality. Since launching the
Highland Grill in 1993, Shimp and
Burley have grown their collection of
neighborhood restaurants into Blue
Plate Restaurant Company (Groveland
Tap, Edina Grill, Longfellow Grill,
3 Squares, Scusi, The Lowry, The
Freehouse), fusing comfort food with
distinctive dishes at each location.
Here Shimp, now leading Blue Plate’s
marketing efforts, shares some of her
thoughts on the Twin Cites’ restaurant
scene—including a few favorites places
outside Blue Plate.
Where is your favorite spot in the
Twin Cities (excluding Blue Plate
restaurants) and what makes it so
special?
If I’m with my children it’s Lucia’s. We
can grab a healthy bite in the bakery/
take-out side, including a chocolate sea
salt cookie or a piece of walnut cake. If
I’m meeting a girlfriend you’ll finding
me in the wine bar, where the wine list
is expertly curated by Victoria. I always
know I’ll find an interesting glass of
wine and I love the petite steak with a
side of frites.
What's your go-to food for the fall
season?
A big pot of homemade soup,
probably one that contains root
vegetables or squash, and often kale.
Where's the best place to get
brunch?
I like to eat in on the weekend
mornings. I love to cook my own eggs
with whatever leftovers I can find in
my refrigerator. I’ll turn pot roast into
a beef hash or roasted root vegetables
into a red flannel hash.
Burger joints are plentiful in the
Twin Cities. In your mind, what
makes a perfect hamburger?
It HAS to be juicy … where it drips
down your wrist … with a soft-ish bun
that has been caramelized on the grill.
Who’s mixing up the best cocktails?
I love the bar at La Belle Vie. The
cocktails are imaginative and crafted
with care, and the ambiance is exquisite
... perfect for an intimate conversation.
What type of food does Minnesota
do best?
Comfort food, but we also have a
great selection of Southeast Asian food
on Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis and
University Avenue in St. Paul.
What do you wish we had more of
in Minnesota?
Fresh fish and a year-round growing
season for produce.
What is it about the restaurant
industry that makes you keep
coming back for more?
I love making people happy and
having the opportunity to meet so
many cool people in our communities.
I got to experience that feeling again
when we opened our Blue Barn at the
Minnesota State Fair.
What’s changed most about the
local restaurant scene since you first
opened the Highland Grill?
Diners
have
gotten
more
sophisticated
and
chefs
are
responding. There are lots of fantastic
choices in every neighborhood ... not
just downtown or Uptown.
What’s your favorite food memory
from being involved in the industry
over the years?
Standing across the street from the
Highland Grill with my business partner
and recognizing that it was operating
without us.
— By Laura Michaels
Photo credit:
© Eileen K Photography
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food
trends
Out in the World
What we can learn from dining in Bruges and Amsterdam
By Nancy Weingartner
T
he United State’s budding
legalized pot industry could learn
something from Amsterdam’s
long-standing custom of allowing soft
drugs in its coffeehouses. On a recent
trip there, I spotted abundant signage
for head shops and invitations to drink
and smoke inside. The smoking, of
course, refers to marijuana, not tobacco,
which is forbidden in restaurants
there. Ironically, you can be tossed out
of an eating establishment if your lit
cigarette contains even the smallest hint
of tobacco; it has to be 100 percent
marijuana to be legal.
The guide on a walking tour pointed
out Amsterdam’s history of tolerance was
being tested. Some locals wanted a ban
on foreigners visiting their coffeehouses
because of their inability to hold their
marijuana. Nothing is worse than trying
to enjoy a good cup of coffee and a toke
while having to put up with some foreign
novice’s high jinks. I witnessed a couple
of loudmouth examples of this—and,
yes, they were Americans—and no, I
wasn’t one of them.
I’ve commented several times that a
good toilet is hard to find when you
travel overseas. In Europe they all
seem to be down or up narrow, steep
stairways. The public water closets in
Belgium require an investment of onehalf euro. Sometimes an attendant will
be on hand to make change, but in the
train stations you need exact change
and a strong bladder. A cheaper option
was to head to a pub for a glass of beer
or wine every few hours and use their
facilities for free.
In picturesque Bruges, I encountered a
nose-numbing experience. While dining
al fresco—there was a line of about six
quaint outdoor restaurants in the main
square—a truck parked in front of the last
restaurant and began pumping out the
septic tank—at 11 a.m. A visitor can put
up with the odor of horse manure in the
street, because a charming horse-drawn
carriage preceded it, but there’s nothing
remotely charming about human waste.
Even the horses were appalled.
A complimentary “relish plate”
at a small French restaurant served
something I didn’t really relish—small
snail shells with what looks like a pearl
hatpin to extract one of the ugliest
creatures known to diners. I ate a few,
but I couldn’t help but think about all the
snails that left a slimy trail on my patio
in San Diego years ago. This was not the
escargot variety where the butter and
garlic makes everything go down better.
The accompaniments were large red
radishes with the tops barely trimmed
and oily olives. A delight for the eye as
well as the palate.
Here are some things I thought worthy
souvenirs:
• A chandelier made up of several
table lamps, complete with shades;
• Dutch “cookies”: mashed potatoes,
apples and mustard formed into a
round patty and lightly fried and
served on top of pickled cabbage;
• A salad divided: one half a pile
of rough prosciutto; the other a
delicate salad of edible flowers and
tiny carrot curls;
• A dark meaty Flemish stew made
with one of the local stouts and no
vegetables to get in the way of the
chunks of beef;
• A fast-casual restaurant hung
cocktail napkins diagonally as a chair
rail, featuring customers comments,
drawings and doodles.
9
Culinary
Curiosities
Sundae Special
The story behind the famed ice cream sundae—including how its spelling changed
By Julie Brown-Micko
T
he humble ice cream sundae
may seem passé in a world where
ice cream novelties crowd the frozen treat market. But there is something
about this classic American dessert that
never really goes out of style. Whether
as simple as a scoop of vanilla topped
with chocolate syrup and a cherry or an
elaborate concoction involving multiple
flavors, sauces, fruits and toppings, a
sundae signals celebration—or maybe
just another Tuesday night.
But in the not too distant past,
Tuesday night was out; sundaes were
for Sundays only. Why? Ice cream was
primarily available to only the rich
and elite. Sugar was expensive, ice
and flavorings hard to come by. Until
technology like hand-crank churns
and insulated buckets allowed for
ease in making and keeping the treat,
common folks rarely enjoyed ice cream.
By the mid to late 19th century, ice
cream was more readily available and
demand increased. Ice cream parlours
flourished and the soda jerks' stockin-trade, the ice cream soda, was an
affordable indulgence. Many religious
leaders, however, frowned upon the
morally questionable habit of eating
frequent sweets. Several states passed
“blue laws” banning the consumption
of carbonated soda on Sundays.
The truth of how the sundae was
created may never be known. Many
cities argue for bragging rights as
business
the birthplace of the classic dessert.
Two Rivers, Wisconsin, has the earliest
claim, dating to 1881, when George
Hallauer asked Edward C. Berners,
owner of Berners' soda fountain, to
pour some chocolate sauce on his ice
cream. Berners was doubtful, but tried
it. The “Sunday” was served only on
Sunday until legend says a 10-year-old
girl asked for some ice cream “with that
stuff on top.” Berners agreed and soon
the ice cream sundae was a fixture on
the menu. The spelling of “Sunday”
to “sundae” may have changed when
customers could get it any day of the
week. Others say a glass salesman
changed the name because of the
canoe-shaped serving bowl used.
To address the morally
questionable habit of
frequently eating sweets,
some states passed 'blue
laws' banning consumption of
soda on Sundays.
Or maybe the spelling was altered
to placate local clergy, who disliked
the idea of a dessert named for the
Lord’s Day. In 1890 in Evanston, Illinois,
no ice cream sodas were permitted on
Sundays (remember: no alcohol or soda
for sale), so an enterprising man served
an ice cream soda without the soda.
The soda-less “Sunday” was born: ice
cream with syrup but no carbonation.
Yet another story suggests druggist Mr.
Sonntag named the dish after himself,
Sonntag being German for “Sunday.”
Ithacans take issue with the
Midwest’s claim to the sundae, arguing
that Ithaca, New York, has the first
historically documented evidence of
the treat. On April 3, 1892, Unitarian
minister John M. Scott, visiting the
Platt & Colt Pharmacy, poured cherry
syrup and candied cherries over ice
cream and christened it the “Cherry
Sunday.” An advertisement for it
appeared two days later in the local
newspaper. The residents of Two Rivers
took umbrage at Ithaca’s challenge and
passed a city council resolution in 2006
rebuking Ithaca’s claim. They also have
a “Sundae Fight Song” in which proud
Wisconsinites sing: “Topped with
chocolate, or with cherries/And with
lots of nuts/Try to claim our sundae
and/we'll kick your butts!”
The fanciful origins of the sundae
often lead devotees to other kinds of
bold experimentation and invention.
What's the biggest sundae? The
longest? The Guinness Book of World
Records is constantly called in as
hopeful communities constantly build
bigger, heavier, longer sundaes. Ed
Debevic’s in Chicago may hold the
record for the smallest: a mere two or
three spoonfuls of ice cream and sauce
to satisfy your sweet tooth.
The most
expensive
sundae?
Go to New
York’s famed
Serendipity 3
for the Golden
O p u l e n c e
Sundae. Be sure
to call at least two
days in advance
as the Tahitian vanilla
bean, rare chocolates,
dessert caviar, gold
leaf and truffles
may need to be
flown in. The price
tag? A mere $1,000. A better value
might be Disney’s Kitchen Sink Sundae.
For around $30 you get an ice cream
creation that feeds six and has cupcakes,
five kinds of ice cream, brownies, candy
bars, cookies and is served in—what
else—a kitchen sink.
America’s love affair with the sundae
shows no signs of slowing. National
Sundae Day is November 11 this year.
Don’t let it falling on a Tuesday stop you.
As you know, sundaes, big or small, are
for any day of the week.
Julie Brown-Micko was raised on sugar cereals
and lots of hamburger casseroles, but survived
and thrived in a Le Cordon Bleu culinary
program. A sometimes writer, candy maker
and pastry chef, she’s happiest combining
her love of food and writing. Her work has
appeared in restaurants such as The Bayport
Cookery and publications such as Minnesota
Monthly and Foodservice News.
advice
Celebrity Chef Visit
Robert Irvine shares what it takes to run a successful restaurant
By Laura Michaels
K
nown for his no-nonsense
approach to turning around failing
restaurants on the Food Network’s
“Restaurant: Impossible,” it’s no surprise
Robert Irvine is straightforward and direct
with his responses off camera.
“I don’t believe in trends,” Irvine says
simply when asked what he sees as the
next big menu craze. “The things that
stand the test of time are simple food,
quality ingredients with very little done
to them. It’s just simple food done well.”
In town earlier this fall for Sysco
Minnesota’s Ingredients for Success event,
Irvine, who’s been the executive chef at
several top properties including the MS
Crystal Harmony and Trump’s Taj Mahal,
spent some time before his presentation
talking about what he considers “the
most difficult business to be in.”
“People think it’s easy, but it depends
so much on consumer preferences,” he
says.
Through his work on the show with
more than 100 restaurant owners, Irvine
says the impending demise of a restaurant
10
results from three key downfalls: lack of
knowledge, lack of leadership and lack of
money. Many of the issues he sees—be
it poorly trained servers, dirty floors or
failing infrastructure—happen because
operators are not continually reinvesting
in their restaurants. “They don’t put
money away to take care of these things,”
says Irvine. His advice? “A percentage of
your weekly gross should be put into a
fix-it fund.
“Because what was good enough two
years ago isn’t good enough any more,”
he continues. “People want that sense
of freshness—they’re not going to come
back to a place with dirty carpets, with
scraped paint.”
New technologies are also driving the
restaurant industry, and owners who
don’t adapt won’t survive, says Irvine.
“Technology is taking over everything.
And it’s not just consumer facing, but
POS, inventory management, customer
service. Those that don’t accept change
will go out of business, and that’s sad to
see.”
Social media is one area of technology
Irvine believes many owners aren’t taking
advantage of, and are
losing sales as a result.
“Social media is a part
of our society," he says.
"It’s happening and it
doesn’t matter what I
think of it personally.
As a restaurateur, I have
to do what’s best for Chef Robert Irvine signs a copy of his book, Mission:
my restaurant.”
Cook! for Leslie Marrinan (left) and Ellen Held of
Stepping
before Schweich Bar & Hotel in Kenyon.
the audience, Irvine’s
restaurant’s brand. [Servers] shouldn’t just
advice shifted to his three ingredients for
sell food, they should sell an experience in
success: quality products, a high level of
your restaurant.”
service, and taking advantage of available
Menu planning and back-of-the-house
resources and technology.
operations are part of that experience,
Consumers are more educated about
says Irvine, and Sysco’s business reviews
food now than ever before, says Irvine,
cover both areas and more. Chefs and
and they expect it to be the highest
restaurateurs often like to think they know
quality. A customer since 1997 and a Sysco
everything, he continues, but asking for
partner since 2012, Irvine highlighted
help and taking advantage of available
the company’s Portico seafood line and
resources are key marks of a successful
Hereford Beef products. “By improving
operator.
the quality of the food, you improve its
“Don’t worry about the other
value,” he says.
competition. Keep your menu fresh,
On the service side, employees can
keep it interesting and listen to your
make or break your business, he stresses.
customers,” he says.
“Your staff is an extension of you and your
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11
Oysterfest
2014
Shell Game
Oysterfest slides into St. Paul’s streets
P
aula Leslie will only head
south for the winter once St. Paul’s
Meritage Oysterfest has run out of
oysters. As one of the elite oyster eaters at
the event, and one of its biggest fans, she
and her husband paid $120 each to get
the Platinum Pass, which entitled them to
a smaller crowd for endless oyster tasting.
When we talked to her early in the day,
she had already lost count of exactly how
many she had tried.
October 12 was its the fourth annual,
and Leslie says she's attended all of them.
Oysterfest is just like it sounds: a festival
of oyster tasting, entertainment and
education. Shuckers were expecting to go
through about 21,000 oysters for the oneday festival, according to Mecca Bos, who
was helping man the Hama Hama Oyster
Farm booth. That’s a lot of shells to recycle.
An oyster-shucking contest is one of the
highlights, and this year Bryan Hernandez,
Meritage’s own oyster virtuoso, took home
the honor, besting last year’s winner, chef
Kale Thorne of Travail.
Meritage and fellow concepts Brasserie
Zentral and Café Zentral were the
sponsors. And those who had their fill
of oysters could purchase pumpkin or
nutella crepes and München Dogs, thanks
to Zentral.
—Nancy Weingartner
Brian Gjerde shucks representative oysters from Alaska.
Elite oyster eater Paula Leslie
enjoys one of countless oysters.
12
Bryan Hernandez (center)
shucks his way to the
Oysterfest title against chefs
Vincent Francoual (left) and
Kale Thorne (right).
FSN columnist and oyster
shucker Mecca Bos at the
Hama Hama booth.
Beverage
focus
Safe Savories
Bloody Marys keep reinventing themselves while
staying true to their reign
Visit our showroom:
By Nancy Weingartner
S
avory cocktails may be high
on consumers’ list of adult beverages,
but that’s not why Bloody Marys
are still popular for breakfast, brunch and
evenings. The number of Bloody Marys on
menus at U.S. bars and restaurants climbed
8.2 percent from the third quarter of 2013
to the third quarter of 2014, according to
Technomic, a Chicago-based foodservice
research firm.
The drink has an 80-year history and is
easily refreshed by changing ingredients
to up the inventiveness of the drink, while
staying faithful to the original intent.
Infused vodkas and toppings such as mini
cheeseburgers, bacon strips and crab claws
add to the adventurous transformation of
tomato juice. Even the Bloody Marys on
Delta beat out the complimentary coffee
in the morning.
Some other findings from the Technomic
Trends in Adult Beverages studies include:
• 33 percent of consumers order
Bloody Marys once a month or more
frequently;
• 58 percent who order the cocktail
drink two or more per occasion;
• 54 percent prefer the house-made
mix to canned varieties.
A popular feature of the drink is that
it often comes with a meal. For instance,
the toppings at Ike’s Food and Cocktails in
Minneapolis on weekends include: a celery
stalk, cheddar cheese cube, beef stick,
shrimp, pepperoncini, house-pickled green
bean, black and green olive, lime and a
half-and-half spice- and salt-encrusted rim.
The drink sells for $10.50 on the weekend
and a less enhanced version rings up at $9
during the week. A nice touch was on the
day we visited, Mary prepared the drink.
Bloody Marys are often served with beer
chasers to tame the spiciness. Pairing the
two offers another chance at creativity
with the variety of beers now available.
Another fan favorite is at Hell’s
Kitchen, where they skip the “show-off
salad,” according to the menu, in favor
We Build Success Stories
At Ike’s, the Bloody Mary garnishes
are almost a meal.
of a house-made mix and chipotle-and
orange-infused Finlandia vodka. The glass
is rimmed in the owner Mitch’s spicy-sweet
rib rub. It’s topped with a slice of pickle
like an upside-down mustache and a beef
stick.
While on a franchise trade mission to
Mexico for our sister publication Franchise
Times, we discovered the Spanish version
of the drink, Sangrita, which translates
to “little blood.” A server at one of the
restaurants we visited wrote the recipe on
a napkin for us. It varies from restaurant
to restaurant and depending on whether
you are in Mexico City or Monterrey. In
Monterrey, it’s served in a large shot glass,
along with a shot of fresh lime juice and
one of vodka. Spicy salt—one version
included ground worms—can be added to
the Sangrita or licked off your hand before
downing the tequila.
We’ve included the recipe below, and
a quick look at Wikipedia gave us some
measurements:
5 parts tomato juice, 2 parts fresh lime
juice, 1 part orange juice; season with
the remaining ingredients: salt, pepper,
Granada syrup, Worcestershire sauce,
maggi and Tabasco to taste.
No recipe for the ground worm salt,
sorry.
Tomato juice
Lime juice
Orange juice
Salt
Pepper
Granada syrup
Worchester sauce
Maggi
Tabasco sauce
Showroom – 2015 Silver Bell Road, Suite 150
Eagan, MN 55122
612-331-1300 • 888-283-1300
www.hockenbergs.com
13
Back in the Game | from page 1
Executive Chef Jim
Kyndberg shows
off the FireLake
food truck, which
made the rounds at
events this summer
to promote the
restaurant’s new look
and menu.
The new look of FireLake in downtown Minneapolis..
to stay competitive with the caliber of
other restaurants opening around town
… And we definitely hope to see the
return on our investment.”
FireLake also turned its makeover
mobile, taking advantage of the Twin
Cities’ food truck obsession by creating
its own rolling restaurant that promoted
the new menu throughout the summer.
No doubt hotel operators are turning
toward creative concepts to entice diners
and build brand awareness. Case in point:
Rival House Sporting Parlour.
Developed by Minneapolis-based
Graves Hospitality in partnership with
Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures following
the Mille Lacs Band’s purchase of the
DoubleTree by Hilton in St. Paul, Rival
House opened—again adjacent—to the
just the way Graves likes it. That access
presents an opportunity, he says, as
diners may have an initial interaction
with the restaurant and in turn think of
the hotel for future events or recommend
it to out-of-town guests.
“Before at the DoubleTree, the
business was all inward looking, and
the only interactions were with hotel
guests,” agrees Joseph Nayquonabe Jr.,
Mille Lacs’ commissioner of corporate
affairs. “We needed a way to interact
with the community and the way we do
that is through food.”
The menu focuses on wood-fired
artisanal pizzas and sharables from
Andy Vyskocil, Rival House’s executive
chef. “The aim is to have a fun menu
and complement the theme of the
hotel in June.
With its atmosphere of interactive
entertainment—find pinball machines,
skee-ball and a host of board games
inside—Rival House is strategically
positioned to appeal not only to hotel
guests but also local residents in search
of dining and nightlife options.
“We like to have our restaurants stand
on their own and not be embedded
into the hotel,” says Graves of his
management company’s approach. “It’s
not just an amenity for the hotel, it’s an
amenity for the neighborhood.”
With no street-level access previously,
part of the DoubleTree renovations
included a separate Rival House entrance
with bold signage and outdoor seating,
putting the restaurant “front and center,”
restaurant,” he says. The food also works
well alongside the restaurant’s 24 on-tap
craft beers and list of beer-focused
cocktails.
Rival House was also developed
as a concept that could someday be
taken on the road, says Nayquonabe
Jr. “We wanted something that could
eventually stand on its own or do well
in another hotel property,” he says,
with an eye toward profitability as Mille
Lacs Corporate Ventures continues to
evaluate other hotel and hospitality
opportunities.
Like Nayquonabe Jr., Holt sees a
better future ahead for hotel dining: “It
seems that we’re turning the corner of
restaurants in hotels being valid choices
again.”
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15
Beyond Calorie Counts | from page 1
“Customers really didn’t care (about
regulations) and they just got flat out
angry,” said Schoenauer, even as she
attempted to tell them how much of a cost
burden it is for small operators (the two
concepts have 10 locations between them)
to have their recipes analyzed. “I looked
into Nath doing it in-house but quickly
found it was cost-prohibitive.”
Still, Schoenauer sought a solution
because “there’s been a stratospheric
rise in consumers interested in this
information,” she continued, citing a recent
USDA Economic Research Service report
that showed 76 percent of adults would
use the nutritional information provided
on restaurant menus.
Eventually Schoenauer learned of
Healthy Dining Finder, whose culinary
dietitians provide nutrient analysis—with
a focus on calories, fat, saturated fat and
sodium—and identify allergens while
the service’s marketing arm promotes
participating restaurants on its website
(www.healthydiningfinder.com), allowing
consumers to search for eateries that offer
healthy options in their area.
“Guests these days are a lot more
interested and cognizant of nutrition,”
explained Erica Bohm, vice president and
director of strategic partnerships for the
San Diego-based service. “They’re looking
for solutions when they go out—where
can they go and what can they order that
won’t break the bank nutritionally.”
Restaurants that offer healthful options
position themselves as being part of the
nutrition equation, said Bohm, but for
independent owners and small operators
with multiple concepts it becomes quite
costly to have an entire menu analyzed.
Which is why Healthy Dining Finder offers
options. For a nominal monthly fee,
restaurants get analysis of four menu items
(including all recipes and sub-recipes),
along with visibility on the website,
promotion through social media and
marketing tools such as window stickers
and a certificate of recognition.
“We guide [the restaurants] to choose
the menu items that make the most sense
to analyze,” noted Bohm. “We wouldn’t
analyze the deep fried cream cheese
poppers, for example.”
“It’s just all around a really good option
for restaurants who want to provide
this information without the hassle,”
said Schoenauer, who recommended
the service to Nath before leaving the
company earlier this year. “It takes a lot of
the labor off of someone like me having
to answer questions like that …. Healthy
Dining Finder is the perfect bridge and
it gives something as added value to the
consumer.”
Locally, Sara Bloms is also working to help
chefs and restaurant owners provide the
information they know their guests want.
The registered dietitian and nutritionist
founded The Everyday Table last year and
offers not just nutrient analysis but also
recipe and menu development, and menu
labeling to ensure health claims meet FDA
standards.
“Maybe it’s changing the oil, changing
the nuts or reducing portion size,” said
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A screenshot of HealthyDiningFinder.com.
Bloms. “We’ll meet with the chef, identify
their needs and go through where and
how the information will be posted.”
Bloms and chef consultant Polly Pierce
work together on any recipe changes.
“Chefs value taste and a lot of times they
think of dietitians as just cutting out all the
flavor,” said Bloms. “They have a lot more
confidence when working with another
chef.”
Agra Culture Kitchen and Press,
which has three Minneapolis locations,
connected with The Everyday Table
because, the restaurant’s vice president
said, “We wanted to be 100 percent
transparent about what we’re serving our
guests.”
“There’s an expectation with the
style of our restaurant that we’d have
this information, so we want to meet
those expectations,” said Diana Bassett,
noting Agra Culture’s focus on organic
ingredients and health-conscious dishes.
Menu descriptions denote items that
are vegetarian, dairy and gluten free,
along with those that fit Paleo and vegan
diets; complete nutritional information is
available online. Bassett said Bloms also
provided training to her staff so they could
accurately share information with guests.
“This is a new wave in menu design,”
said Bloms. “Consumers are spending
half their food dollars on eating out and
they’re wanting to be more informed.”
The Monitor
Published monthly, the
Restaurant Finance Monitor
provides readers with an indepth analysis of the restaurantfinancing marketplace. It’s the
most complete understanding of
the financing markets available
anywhere in the restaurant
industry.
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1415 L’Orient Street, St. Paul, MN 55117 651-487-8000 800-642-9514
17
industry news
To Market
Food co-op Mississippi Market moves ahead on third St. Paul location
W
By Jane McClure
ork is underway on the
long-awaited
Mississippi
Market in St. Paul’s Dayton’s
Bluff neighborhood, with the goal of
opening the food co-op in August 2015.
A groundbreaking ceremony was
held October 13, allowing crews to get
to work on the former Hospital Linens
site and ending several months’ work
at city hall on needed zoning, historic
district and property sale approvals. The
$11 million project had to go through
the city’s Planning Commission, Heritage
Preservation Commission, Housing and
Redevelopment Authority (HRA), and city
council for the various approvals, ranging
from a conditional use permit to a noise
variance for construction work.
The arrival of a food co-op on St. Paul’s
East Side is a dream for many residents,
but the Mississippi Market project ran
up against its share of opposition, with
some neighborhood residents and union
officials raising concerns. There have also
been objections from Chicano-Latino
community members, who resent claims
that the East Side is a “food desert.” They
point to the community’s small mercados
and other ethnic grocery stores, and say
those should not be ignored.
Efforts to start a food co-op on the
East Side began three years ago, as 100
people turned out for a September
2011 meeting to determine interest in
such a project. A group calling itself the
Gateway Food Cooperative formed and
began researching options. Leaders
Sarah Geving and Beth Butterfield began
working with a community development
corporation, the East Side Neighborhood
Development Corporation (ESNDC),
to assist in developing a co-op. That
prompted the ESNDC to start the Gateway
Food Initiative to support healthy foods
programs
“It’s thrilling to see Mississippi
Market coming to our neighborhood,”
said Butterfield of the project, which
is expected to create 60 jobs at the
beginning of operations with the
potential for 30 more jobs in the following
18 months.
Mississippi Market has 14,000
community owners and about 200
employees. The new East 7th Street
location will be the third for the 35-yearold food co-op, said General Manager
Gail Graham, and its largest, at 26,000
square feet. Plans include a 2,600-squarefoot mezzanine level for offices. The site,
purchased for $550,000, will also have
St. Paul Roundup
The Turf Club’s full kitchen opened to
positive reviews recently, including those
from Hamline-Midway neighborhood
residents who were invited in before
the full opening. The live music club at
1601 University Ave. West is now offering
lunch and dinner service every day, with
weekend brunches.
Aptly named Paleos, a new Lino Lakes
restaurant is catering to Paleo diet diners
with a menu that’s completely gluten free,
soy free and dairy free. The menu also
boasts 100 percent grass-fed beef and
fresh fish and seafood. Owners Elizabeth
and John Pavlick opened their eatery
last month in the former Red Oak space
on Lilac Street. The family also owns Ol’
Mexico in Roseville.
Work to reopen St. Paul mainstay
The Lexington is continuing, though
the building configuration has brought
delays to the renovation of the kitchen
and interior of the restaurant. What diners
knew as one structure actually began as
three separate structures. Owners Josh
Thoma and Kevin Fitzgerald of Smack
Shack and chef Jack Riebel, formerly of
Butcher and the Boar, expect to begin
construction soon. They are hoping to
expand the second floor and add ballroom
space. Look for a late spring 2015 opening.
In the meantime, the trio opened their
kitchen at Half Time Rec, dubbing it
Paddy Shack at The Rec. The partnership
with the Como neighborhood Irish bar
launched its menu last month.
better than they were in 2008 and 2005.
Store development agreements are in
place in Minnesota for 12 stores and the
brand is actively recruiting.
“We've improved our processes around
franchisee selection, site selection,
training and operations support,” Rafferty
writes. “Due to our continued, contiguous
expansion across the U.S., we've also built
out our national supply chain.”
But Hooker says he’s not worried about
the competition. He says no amount of
systems can change the labor-intensive
nature of the donut business, and in the
Midwest, the chain won’t be able to lean
as heavily on beverages for revenue as it
has elsewhere.
“Dunkin’ now is concentrating on
anything but donuts,” Hooker says.
“They’re going to find out that their
business model is a tough sell. West
of the Mississippi the name does not
have the power that it does on the East
Coast.”
Lunch sandwiches and coffee, he
says, are a different business than the
donuts Minnesotans are expecting.
Furthermore, in light of the brand’s
previous failures to launch, Hooker says
he’s not sure it’s going to have as much
success as executives are predicting.
“It’s one thing to say you’re going to
do it,” Hooker says. “It’s another thing to
actually do it.”
classroom and deli preparation space.
Graham and 11-year Mississippi Market
employee Hector Martinez said the co-op
will be a good community partner, and
will offer programs that will help lowincome residents join the member/owner
program.
The block where Mississippi Market
will be located, between Bates Avenue
and Maple Street, was originally eyed as
the site for 60 new single-family homes.
The city acquired the property between
2004 and 2006. But when the housing
market collapsed, the housing project
was abandoned.
In June 2012 the city released a request
for proposals for the site. Mississippi
Market and Dominium Development were
selected out of a field of three candidates.
The project won tentative developer
status in December 2013. For its part of
the project, Dominium proposes a 113unit senior housing project. It will start
construction next year.
Dunkin's | from page 1
Steve Rafferty, senior director of
franchising for Dunkin' Brands, says yes.
“We did not have the proper
infrastructure to expand at the time,”
Rafferty writes. “We have learned a great
deal since then.”
Edwin Shanahan agrees. The executive
director for the Dunkin’ Donuts
Independent Franchise Owners says
earlier issues were primarily a question
of unpredictable suppliers.
“Essentially what we had back then was
a more erratic supply chain,” Shanahan
says. Costs were “volatile depending on
how far away you were.”
Dan Hooker, however, suggests the
problems went deeper. The current
owner of Donut Connection and
Kaleidoscoops in Austin was the last
franchisee standing when the chain left
the state in 2005. He says his 15 years
with Dunkin’ were a good experience,
but the company’s priorities shifted.
In 1994, Dunkin’s owner Allied-Lyons
bought spirits marketer Pedro Domecq,
changed its name to Allied Domecq, and
took a new approach with the donutand-coffee company.
“As time went on, what happened to
Dunkin’ was what I call the McDonaldization of Dunkin’,” Hooker says. “By that
I mean old-time executives left and new
executives were brought in by Allied
Domecq. Dunkin’s philosophy changed.”
Hooker says the chain was emphasizing
larger franchisees and he asked to get
out in 2005, even though his franchise
agreement didn’t end until 2012.
“The road we were going on with
Dunkin’ was getting narrower and
18
narrower,” Hooker says. “Remodels,
equipment purchases, concept change
really didn’t fit us anymore. They sent us
some paperwork that we had to spend
10s and 10s of thousands on equipment
in the next few years. There’s no way
we were going to borrow that kind of
money.”
Brian Weidendorf, owner of Hinckleybased Land and Lease Development, has
the northern territory that includes the
city of Duluth. This July, the Minneapolis
Star-Tribune reported he would be
opening up seven units starting in 2015.
He declined to speak to Franchise Times.
“It’s not the right time for an article,”
Weidendorf says, “I just need to put it off.
I only own one territory—there’s guys
who own bigger territories than me.”
He mentioned Rochester Retail
Services, a developer that opened its first
store in Rochester to great fanfare this
July. The franchisee is listed as Donuts
Non Traditional LLC, but no owner
has come forward to speak to media.
Manager on duty Matthew Jacobson
said traffic has been very high, even at
10:43 a.m. on a weekday.
“Oh yeah, it’s a great location,”
Jacobson says. “It is doing fantastic. I’m
in the middle of a rush right now.”
Last year, Dunkin’ increased its
presence in Dallas, Houston and Salt
Lake City. While they, like Minnesota,
are far from the chain’s East Coast roots,
Rafferty says the brand’s troubles are
behind it. As of press time, it had 7,821
U.S. stores.
Rafferty says whether it’s Texas or
Minnesota, Dunkin’s processes are far
theme
spotlight
Undead by Design
Minneapolis bar offers infused cocktails—and a chance for zombie apocalypse survival
By Joey Hamburger
I
n the case of a zombie attack,
where do you go? One might speed
off in a boat and take shelter up
north, deep inside the boundary waters.
Someone else might set up a barricade
in the sporting goods section at the
Mall of America. Ask most people these
days in a world post “World War Z,” and
“Walking Dead” and they will have their
own zombie survival plan.
Me, I’ll be at the bar.
Thanks to Donny Dirk’s Zombie Den,
a zombie safe haven standing strong
for the past five years, I know the safest
place to go.
Donny Dirk’s was created and
designed by Leslie Bock, who is the force
behind the quirky Minneapolis family
of Saint Sabrina’s, Psycho Suzis, and
the upcoming Betty Danger’s Country
Club. Through her exceptional work this
zombie bar is just as thematic as it is
practical. I expected to find the sort of
bar with a gift shop blocking the exit,
ensuring you didn’t leave without your
“I Survived the Zombie Apocalypse and
All I Got Was This Stupid Shirt” apparel.
Instead I discovered a relaxed lounge
with a beautifully creepy interior and an
overall aura of a place where I’d want to
have a couple drinks.
The building at 2027 N. Second St. has
been used as bar since the turn of the
20th century and was inhabited by a dive
called Stand Up Frank’s before Donny
Dirk’s opened in 2009. Bock created
something new in Donny Dirk’s while
preserving the mystique of an aged
bar with her multi-directional undead
design. Just as the sign above the bar
says “Undead Frank lives,” you can find
remnants of life before Donny Dirk’s in
the embalmed etchings from previous
patrons lining the walls and original bar
top. Entering the bar is like stepping
into the night of the living disco ball.
The whole bar can be described as
1950s Vegas lounge meets ‘80s Travolta
stuck in time collecting bits and pieces
of memorabilia along the way.
The varied aesthetic of Donny Dirk’s
leaves ample room for any style of
patron to come in for a drink. What sort
of clientele would one expect to find on
a typical night?
“As dull of an answer as it sounds,
we get a good mix of everyone,” says
bartender Ryan Eklund, who’s worked
between Donny Dirk’s and Psycho Suzi’s
for the past 11 years. “We get an older
crowd, a young hip crowd, your folks just
looking for a good cocktail, musicians,
local artists, to even what you’d call your
‘cosplay’ people. The kind of people you
find at Comic-Con who get dressed up
in full zombie costume at 7 p.m. on a
weekday night.”
Don’t worry about any real zombies
showing up, however, because Donny
Dirk’s is fully prepared as a zombie safe
haven. The exterior of Donny Dirk’s
is the classic Northeast Minneapolis
fortified brick compound. Combine
that with the steel door and nothing is
getting inside except for the occasional
resupply. Near the entrance is a video
monitor with feeds to cameras on
all sides of the exterior and interior.
If zombies somehow make their way
past the bouncer and through the
door, you’ll find the wall lined with
suitable weapons for a zombie defense:
a baseball bat, a cricket mallet, a pool
cue sharpened into a shank, a machete,
a samurai sword, and most importantly,
a chain saw inside of a case that reads,
“In case of zombie attack break glass.”
Being holed up while the zombie
apocalypse is happening outside could
become quite the experience. Donny
Dirk’s specialty and No. 1 seller, its
house infused alcohol, will keep you
hanging out and the party raging
through to the new world order. There’s
strawberry-jalapeño-infused tequila,
cinnamon-hibiscus-infused gin, and
even apple-infused whiskey. There’s
also the option to create your own
cocktail, which isn’t used so much these
days but the potions keep the back wall
looking like the lab of a mad scientist.
As a full-service bar, Donny Dirk’s
A sign at Donny Dirk’s Zombie Den pays homage to its dive bar predecessor,
Stand Up Frank’s.
doesn’t serve food, but Bock’s Undead
Frank’s Food Truck is a frequent street
side supplier. The menu includes
“zombie bites,” a take on pizza rolls,
and “melties,” a panini-meets-burrito
creation. Sure, leaving the safe haven
to grab some grub from a food truck
might not appear the safest option
in the apocalyptic world, but hey an
apocalyptic survivor has got to eat when
an apocalyptic survivor has got to eat.
Donny Dirk’s serves up equal parts
zombie kitsch, unique atmosphere
and original drinks. And I’m now quite
excited for what the newest member of
the family, Betty Danger and her giant
Ferris wheel, will bring to the Twin Cities
dining scene when it opens later this
month.
The undead are fond of Donny Dirk’s
drinks.
Ask us about
Preventative Maintenance
for your drains!
Waterjetting
Drain Cleaning
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19
Minnesota Restaurant Association report
Informing Immigration Reform
With coalition partners, MRA supports path to permanent residency for U.S. immigrants
Islamic Center of Minnesota
Unite Here Local 17
Dan
McElroy
A
common complaint we
all hear is about gridlock in
government and how hard it is
for policy leaders and politicians to work
across the political aisle to solve serious
problems. The Minnesota Business
Immigration Coalition is an interesting
and timely example of groups in
Minnesota working together to find ways
to fix our current broken immigration
system. The very diverse members of this
coalition have come together in a unique
policy partnership.
The Minnesota Restaurant Association
is one of the founding members of the
coalition and has been engaged on
this issue for a long time. Our board
has taken a strong position in favor of
comprehensive reform because of our
concern about the need for a skilled
workforce and the fact that we know
many immigrants to Minnesota as our
employees, guests and friends. Other
members of the coalition include:
Minnesota Agri-Growth Council
Minnesota Chamber of Commerce
Minnesota Nursery & Landscape
Association
Service Employees International
Union
Minnesota Milk Producers Association
Midwest Food Processors Association
Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota
Family & Children’s Service
Jewish Community Action
Minnesota Council of Churches
American Immigration Lawyer's
Association Minnesota
Isaiah Ministries
UFCW Local 1189
League of Women Voters
The coalition agreed on guiding
principles for reform in a joint statement
developed earlier this year. We support
comprehensive federal reform that
recognizes the needs of our economy;
protects national security; and is
humane. Successful reform will modify
immigration policies without creating
more obstacles for workers to connect
with employers and vice versa. Thus, the
following must occur simultaneously:
• Reform should include a timely
and affordable way for current
immigrants and their families,
regardless of status, to become
documented legal participants
in
our
society.
Successful
businesses require stable families
and communities. We support a
path to permanent residency
for all immigrants residing in
the United States who are not
otherwise excludable for reasons
such as criminal convictions. We
also support a timely reduction
of backlogs where families and
professional workers have been
waiting to emigrate for many years.
• Reform should include a simple
and accurate status verification
that is affordable and accessible,
especially so for small businesses.
Reforms should protect workers
and employers who act in good
faith regarding the law.
• Reform should include a simple and
timely approach to the future flow of
immigrants, including permanent
and temporary status. New rules
should allow sufficient immigration
to meet the needs of all industries
(including agriculture) as well as
large and small businesses alike
and afford workers all protections
under current laws.
There is more information about the
coalition online at: www.mnbic.org
The 4th Annual
Charlie Awards
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Pantages Theatre
Awards begin at 3:30 p.m. The afternoon will continue with a
post-party in the IDS Crystal Court, followed by a 6:30 p.m. chefs
dinner at Windows on Minnesota.
Buy tickets for the 2014 Charlie Awards online at
www.charliesexceptionale.com and at the box offices of the State,
Orpheum and Pantages theaters.
Celebrate the Twin Cities’ restaurant, food and
beverage industries with the Charlie Awards!
20
Long-term reform needs to occur
at the federal level and will take an
agreement between the administration
and both houses of Congress. Minnesota
should resist the national trend for state
governments to become more involved
with immigration policy. Most state
proposals place a greater burden on
employers to check employee immigrant
status, and, in effect, enforce federal law.
If states continue on this path, a system
that is now cumbersome, at best, could
become confusing and expensive to
manage—and be unfair to workers and
employers alike.
Our board has taken a
strong position in favor
of comprehensive reform
because of our concern
about the need for a skilled
workforce and the fact that
we know many immigrants to
Minnesota as our employees,
guests and friends.
The one aspect of the immigration
issue that states can address is driver’s
licenses. Currently, about a dozen states
have passed laws allowing residents
that meet the age requirement, pass
a driving test, and have appropriate
insurance to be issued a driver’s license.
The experience in these states, so far, is
encouraging:
• The number of people driving
without insurance has gone down
• The number of accidents has gone
down, although the new driver’s
license may not be the only factor in
the reduction.
• Immigrants are more likely to keep
their jobs and support their families.
The Board of the Minnesota Restaurant
Association has adopted an issue brief
supporting an immigrant driver’s license
in Minnesota. We expect the Minnesota
Business Immigration Coalition to take
an active part in this debate during the
2015 legislative session.
The regulation of liquor
licenses in the City of
Minneapolis has gotten a
great deal of attention during
the last few months. The city
council passed an ordinance
replacing the food to liquor
ratio (generally 60 percent
food to 40 percent liquor) for
most restaurants outside the
downtown area with a new
and more specific definition
of a restaurant and a clear
provision for the management
of the neighborhood impacts of
serving alcohol. The MRA and
a large group of license holders
worked with city staff and
members of the city council for
almost two years to develop this
resolution.
If you are reading this before
the November 4 election and live
in Minneapolis, don’t forget to
Vote Yes on charter amendment
No. 2 to remove the current
language from the city charter
that regulates liquor licenses
in residential neighborhoods.
There is more information
online at www.yeson2mpls.com.
Kudos to Molly Broder and the
many other license holders who
worked hard on this charter
amendment.
Dan McElroy is executive vice president of the
Minnesota Restaurant Association and president
and CEO of Hospitality Minnesota, which also
includes the Lodging and Resort & Campground
associations.
30 day free trial
•
•
•
•
•
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www.bogopogo.com
Commodities report
Good News, Bad News
Protein and dairy markets benefit from lower crop prices; beef supplies remain low
David
Maloni
T
he 2014-15 corn and soybean
har vests
have
basically
culminated with better than
initially expected total output. Growing
conditions for the crops have been
some of the best in the last 20 years,
which is behind the USDA forecasts
for record corn and soybean output.
Consequently, corn, wheat and soybean
oil prices all fell near five-year lows this
fall. This is what the doctor ordered
for the protein and dairy markets.
Profitability has improved greatly
for dairy and protein producers this
summer and this is a trend that is likely
to continue. Thus, protein and dairy
production expansion is underway or
will be during the next several months.
BEEF-Prices are by the pound and based on f.o.b. Omaha
carlot.
9/25/148/28/14 Difference 9/26/13
Ground Beef 81/19
2.50 2.58 <0.08> 1.83
168 Inside Round (ch.)2.65 2.90 <0.35> 2.02
180 1x1 Strp (choice) 4.23 5.59 <1.36> 4.00
112a Ribeye (choice) 6.70 7.24 <0.54> 6.58
189a Tender (select) 10.41 10.53 <0.12> 8.25
189a Tender (choice) 12.18 11.28 0.90
10.16
Veal Rack (Hotel 7 rib) 9.73 8.97 0.76
8.35
Veal Top Rnd(cp. off) 16.05 15.60 0.45
14.97
OIL AND RICE-Prices per pound based on USDA
Reports.
9/25/148/28/14 Difference 9/26/13
Crude Soybean Oil .340 .345 <0.005> .416
Crude Corn Oil
.345 .380 <0.035> .385
Rice, Long Grain
.263 .263 -
.290
Milk farmers have been adding to the
milk cow herd for the better part of
this year. The milk cow herd next year
is projected by the USDA to climb to
its highest level since 1996, causing
milk output to expand by the largest
amount in 30 years. Chicken production
is forecasted to rise between 2 and
3 percent in the coming year. And
even pork output is anticipated to
expand despite the challenges with
Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv).
The total protein supply next year is
forecasted by the USDA to be a record
high. All good news for commodity
buyers. The bad news: Beef supplies
are anticipated to remain limited as
production declines to a 22-year low.
But we're hopeful that the better
availability of chicken and pork could
temper beef demand and the impact
of the smaller beef production on
beef prices. We can dream, eh? Import
and export trade will be important
to monitor around these protein and
dairy markets. A higher valuation in the
U.S. dollar would be welcomed.
PORK-Prices are by the pound and based on f.o.b. Omaha
carlot.
9/25/148/28/14 Difference 9/26/13
Belly (bacon)
1.09 1.11
<0.02> 1.52
Spare Rib (3.5& down)1.57 1.72 <0.15> 1.49
Ham (23-27#)
1.27 0.94 0.33
0.89
Bbybck Rib (2-1.75#) 2.30 2.44 <0.14> 2.16
Tenderloin (1.25#)
2.86 2.69 0.17
2.43
PRODUCE-Prices are by the case and are based on USDA
reports.
9/25/148/28/14 Difference 9/26/13
Limes (150 ct.)
7.50 13.00 <5.50> 11.00
Lemons (200 ct.)
28.90 28.90 -
20.78
Cantaloupe (18 ct.) 6.50 6.00 0.50
7.25
Strawberries (12 pts) 19.00 15.00 4.00
14.00
Avocds (Hass 48ct.) 33.75 33.25 0.50
44.50
Idaho Potato (70 ct.) 7.75 7.50 0.25
10.50
POULTRY-Prices are by the pound except for eggs
Yellow Onions (50 lb.) 6.08 6.38 <0.30> 6.63
(dozen) and based on USDA reports.
Red Onions (25 lb.) 12.49 14.46 <1.97> 10.64
White Onions (50 lb.) 21.68 19.35 2.33
20.56
Tomatoes (5X6-25lb.) 6.95 10.45 <3.50> 7.95
Chicken
8/28/148/28/14 Difference 9/26/13
Roma Tomatoes
13.71 8.26 5.45
18.33
Whole Birds (2.5-3#) 1.14 1.13
0.01
1.06
Green Peppers
11.31 6.71 4.60
11.95
Wings
1.591.46 0.13 1.56
Iceberg Lettuce
16.03 16.84 <0.81> 17.32
Bone In Breast
1.25 1.27 <0.02> 1.15
Leaf Lettuce
9.68 11.29 <1.61> 9.39
Bnless Skinless Breast 2.20 2.16 0.04
1.93
Romaine Lettuce
12.45 13.84 <1.39> 11.71
Eggs
Broccoli (14 ct.)
15.01 15.35 <0.34> 17.23
Large
1.141.15 <0.01> 1.10
Medium
0.910.89 0.02 0.87
Miscellaneous
*Covered party (as defined below) shall not be liable for any direct,
Whole Turkeys (8-16#) 1.13 1.10 0.03
1.03
indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages of any kind
Whole Ducks (4-5#) 2.09 2.09 -
2.04
DAIRY-Prices are by the pound and based on USDA
reports.
Cheese
9/25/148/28/14 Difference 9/26/13
American
2.512.34 0.17 1.97
Cheddar (40#)
2.49 2.31 0.18
2.18
Mozzarella
2.632.45 0.18 2.03
Market information provided by David Maloni of the American
Butter(AA)
Restaurant
Association Inc. The American Restaurant Association
One pound solids
3.06 2.74 0.32
1.61
Inc. publishes the “Weekly Commodity Report,” and provides
Class II Cream
food commodity market information to over 200,000 food service
Cream
4.083.53 0.55 2.09
professionals. For more information call 1-888-423-4411, email at
[email protected] or on the Internet at
www.AmericanRestaurantAssociation.com.
whatsoever (including attorney’s fees and lost profits or savings)
in any way due to, resulting from, or arising in connection with the
Monthly Commodity Report, including its content, regardless of
any negligence of the covered party including but not limited to
technical inaccuracies and typographical errors. “Covered Party”
means the American Restaurant Association Inc. and the employees
of. © 2013 American Restaurant Association Inc.
Authorized Service and Parts for
Foodservice Equipment, Refrigeration and HVAC
Serving Those Who Feed the Nation
Call: (952) 944-5800 / (800) 279-9980
email: [email protected]
21
Mecca’s
musings
All the World’s a Stage
Why the restaurant industry is spot-on when it comes to hiring protocol
Having been on both sides of the
equation, I offer six more tips for the
hopeful employee.
Mecca
Bos
Dufresne’s four, in abbreviated form:
1. Know whose name is on the door
and plan on speaking only these
words to him/her: “Oui,” and
“Chef.”
I
magine if every industry had
a “get to know you” period. One
where your first days or weeks were
like the dating warm-up period: Do I like
this person? Is he a snappy dresser? Can
he even tie his shoes? Dos he have bad
breath? What about chivalry? Vegetarian
or omnivore? Can he laugh at himself?
Perhaps none of the above would
matter in a work setting (although some
would), but so many other factors do
when it comes to arriving at a good
employer-employee match.
I’ve been in the industry so long that
it seems crazy to me, looking back on
previous endeavors in other sectors, to
think that something as weighty as a job
offer/acceptance could be arrived upon
without a trial period, no matter how
short.
Imagine if you were applying to work
in an office setting. Wouldn't it be nice
to check out the culture, the vibe of
your co-workers (whom you’ll spend the
majority of your waking hours with), the
space, and to test drive the exact tasks
and expectations you'll be expected to
perform?
And while the stage typically indicates
you’ve come knocking in search of a gig
and all eyes are upon your performance,
I’d suggest this is also your chance to get
a real-time pulse on what is happening
in this kitchen—beyond the menus, the
reviews and the hype.
Chef (I’d call him more of a wizard) Wylie
Dufresne has recently come out with a list
of four tips for stagiaires—good ones, too.
But I humbly opine that there are far more
than four thoughts one ought to keep in
mind when embarking on this admittedly
nerve-wracking, yet useful endeavor.
2. Bring this attitude: “I'll do anything,
anytime, anywhere, anyhow.”
3. Only ask to see it once, and get it
right the first time.
4. Be available without restrictions.
And mine—not so abbreviated:
5. Keep your mouth shut. Your
stage is not the time to be joking,
swearing or wearing swagger of
any kind. Your chef is not looking
for all the cool things you think
you know how to do, but whether
or not you can perform the tasks
he needs done in this kitchen.
Nobody cares if you can sous vide,
especially if what you need to do is
roast. And, as the story goes, you
can’t listen if you're talking.
6. Put things back where you found
them, and ask first. An unfamiliar
kitchen is stressful for the best
of us, and even a mind reader
can’t find every last item. If you’re
unsure about whether you should
be using that knife over there
on the prep table, you probably
shouldn’t. And even seemingly
innocuous items like oil and towels
are in their places for a reason.
Someone is going to come looking
for them, and if they aren’t in their
place, you’re screwing someone
in an environment where seconds
count. So use them, use them
quickly, and be considerate at all
times.
Enhance your pastries
and baked goods with
the explosive flavors of
Fabbri Paste
& Marblings.
7. Do not cut corners and do not
ad-lib. Now is not the time (nor is
it ever) to put in parsley instead of
basil because you think no one will
notice. Instead of looking savvy,
you are going to seem lazy and
dumb. Can’t find the basil? Ask,
even at risk of getting your head
bitten off.
8. Don't make assumptions. That
person you’re talking down to
because you think she’s a server
or pastry chef? She might be your
boss. Treat everyone equally and
with respect at all times.
9. Be
preemptive.
This
one
encompasses three facets I live and
die by in any kitchen: cleanliness,
preparedness and organization.
Do not leave anything to chance.
The one thing you haven’t prepped
is 100 percent, for absolute sure, is
going to be the thing that gets
ordered first. Keep surfaces and
areas so clean people think you’re
neurotic. Gather equipment and
tools with militaristic efficiency.
10.Finally, if all of the above seems
terrifying, remember not to get
too bent out of shape. If the staff
seems a little hard on you now,
it’s only because you’re being
considered for a cohesive team—a
fraternity—and they need to
know whether you’ll be able to
withstand the heat. If you can pass
the initiation, you’ll be glad in the
end. This business is hard, but
rewarding.
Now, go and order your much
deserved shift drink, and wait for that
job offer to come rolling in.
Mecca Bos has been cooking, eating and
drinking around the world and especially the
Twin Cities for the better part of 15 years. She
is a cheesemonger, caterer, server, former
Food Editor of Metro Magazine, product
spokeswoman for The 0ilerie Twin Cities, and
occasional volunteer farmhand. She currently
writes about her obsessions for Foodservice
News and VitaMn.
174 Restaurant Projects.
77 Unique Concepts.
3 Rooftop Restaurants.
One Contractor.
UP Coffee Roasters
Craft Coffee Roastery
Allied Products & Creative Café
1901 Traffic Street NE • Minneapolis, MN 55413
www.upcoffeeroasters.com • 612.728.7208
22
Organize with surgical precision.
Really.
952-929-7233
WWW.DIVERSIFIEDCONSTRUCTION.COM
Masu
Figlio
Common foodsense
Strategic Laziness
Choose a designer experienced in foodservice—or suffer the chaotic consequences
Jonathan
Locke
T
omorrow we are having a
new furnace put into our 95-yearold house. The installers will
come in through a tiny back door, make
a left turn, inhale, and head down a
narrow, rickety wooden staircase to the
dungeon. They will pass the rack without
commentary (professionals, you know),
turn left at the manacles, ease around
the iron maiden, and finally reach the
old furnace. Steps will be repeated as
needed throughout the day.
It reminds me of almost every
restaurant I’ve ever opened. There are
two basic ways to start a new place.
1) The Dream of Heaven: You have
buckets of cash and can build anything
you want anywhere you want it. Or,
much more often: 2) The Awakening
to Purgatory: Your broker, after a year
and a half of fruitlessly searching for
a property that meets your carefully
researched requirements for square
footage, parking, ventilation and local
property tax, has found something that
satisfies the only two criteria still left on
your tattered checklist: it’s standing and
you can sort of afford it.
This means, of course, that certain
elements of design and access are
dictated to you. Some of your vocabulary
will likely need adjustment as well:
“logistics” becomes “gymnastics,” “mop
closet” becomes “extra deuce” and “ADA”
becomes “over-regulation.” And before
you ask, I know they’re large, but no, you
may not stick a table in a wheelchairaccessible bathroom.
You should not, however, feel
completely constrained by the
idiosyncrasies of your new home. Nor
should you, the restaurateur, feel you
are responsible for every detail of its
rehabilitation. This is what designers are
for: Go get one. You should approach
this as if you were a master painter in the
Italian Renaissance—you are the concept
artist, sketching only the broad outlines
of your masterpiece on the canvas of
your seraphic vision. The minions do the
actual work.
And they do it better than you. If
you choose well, a designer experienced
in foodservice will sit down with you
and your menu (and your chef, if you
have one) and try to figure out how to
turn your ideas into pretty, functioning
reality. And you have to have both,
though “pretty” is a tendentious word,
and should be understood to refer to a
relationship. Menu and décor must suit
one another, whether it’s the smokestained walls in the glory days of Al’s
Breakfast or the hanging paper parasols
in Midori’s Floating World.
Décor and merchandising should
coexist, too. Luxurious, deep booths may
be a nice design element, but if they
seat five on a side, how often are you
going to fill a booth? You’re going to see
them occupied by two people each on
Valentine’s Day, and all that extra room
means you’ll have to monitor behavior.
If you want tables of 10, push two fourtops and a deuce together. Buy them so
they’ll fit.
It helps to deal with a shop that
does both sides of the kitchen wall,
too. Kitchen design is its own arcane
specialty, but you’re looking for
a combination of aesthetics and
functionality in your restaurant and
each should have a happy coexistence
with the other throughout the process.
I have worked with a restaurant—a very
attractive one—that was designed by a
nationally awarded architect, and was
built from the ground up with no back
door. No back door! All garbage went out
through the dining room, all deliveries
came in the same way the customers
did. My suggestions, which had to do
with lawsuits and/or explosives, went
unheeded. For their second restaurant,
they found someone with experience in
kitchen design.
I worked in another place, also put
together from scratch, where all dishes
passed to and from the dishroom
through a walkway that bisected the hot
line, across which cooks had to pass food
from the broiler to the pickup window.
There was motion in each of the possible
directions across this uncontrolled
intersection throughout the night. You
can ask a traffic cop how well this would
work out.
It’s nice to think that you can do all of
this stuff yourself, but there’s a reason
for hiring it out. The best recipe I can
think of for longevity in this business is
a strategic laziness: find out who does
which job best, pay ‘em to do it, and if
you’ve chosen well, the ROI will take care
of itself. And then you could go relax, if
you were sensible. As it is, you’ll probably
just start another restaurant.
Jonathan Locke is celebrating his 40th year
in the foodservice industry (yes, he’s old). He
is the founding chef of FoodSense restaurant
consultants, and is a chef-instructor at Hennepin
Technical College. He can be reached at
[email protected] or 612-236-6463.
restaurant solutions
The cost of accepting cards in many
restaurants has gone down. Has yours?
Unlike most payment, payroll and gift/loyalty card
processors, Heartland is always looking for new ways to
help our clients tackle their most pressing challenges.
Lorin WiLson | Division Manager
612.250.6868 | [email protected] | www.HeartlandPaymentSystems.com
C o m m i t t e d
t o
y o u r
s u C C e s s
23
hangin’ with klecko
Spatial Challenges
Why scale is crucial, and other design planning notes from Fabulous Fern's Charles Senkler
Klecko
N
ot last night, but the night
before, I stopped in at Fabulous
Fern’s to grab a pint of Peroni and
decompress after another tumultuous day
of circling the bread empire. Before I even
got a chance to take a sip, my attention
was diverted to a conversation between
Charles Senkler (president and co-owner
of Fern’s) and some other guy. They were
talking about what it would take to build
hospitality contacts in Russia.
Having some knowledge of dealing in
the Motherland, I waited for the other
guy to scram and signaled for Charles to
join me. It turns out he was half playing
around with the idea of working with
clients close to where the summer
Olympics took place.
For the last couple of years I’ve known
Charles as one of the five most interesting
guys in St. Paul to drink beer with, but what
I didn’t know was what an accomplished
space planner he was.
Some guys kill time at the bar doing
crossword puzzles. Others might
bombard you with card tricks, but Charles
loves to pull out his legal pad and ask all
comers to name the bars in the Twin Cities
where they like to drink.
I start rattling off my list of favorites:
Glockenspiel, Forepaugh’s, Groveland
Tap, W.A. Frost, Nye’s and Whitey’s World
Famous Saloon.
I only paused half a second to think of
other watering holes, but Charles gave a
sly smile and used this as his cue to start
my education.
After pulling a legal pad and pen out of
his briefcase, the master paused, stroked
his pepper beard and then with precision
he started drawing up floor plans of all
the concepts I mentioned. Not only did
each submission resemble a Picasso, but
also every detail was spot on. This guy
knew the count of their electrical outlets
and what type of light bulbs they used.
“The first thing you want to keep in
mind, Klecko, is that you want to keep
the customer ‘in scale.’ If that doesn’t
happen a person will feel uncomfortable
without even knowing why,” he said.
“Let’s start with tables. Your standard
informal table is 41.5 inches, where your
formal is closer to 28.
“Let’s say some guys stop in after
bowling. Let’s say they won their match
and are in a good mood. If you put them
at the 28-inch table, it’s going to affect
their attitude. They aren’t going to have
as much fun, and that means they aren’t
going to spend as much money.”
While our conversation was taking
place, customers were coming in and
out; most of them waved or politely
intruded on our conversation to thank
Charles for a good experience. In almost
every case he knew their name.
When I point out how impressed I was
with his superb recall, he smiled and said,
“I can sit here all night long and talk to
you about the science of space planning,
but it doesn’t mean a thing unless you
work hard and know your customers.
People aren’t fools. They know when
somebody is or isn’t sincere. That’s why
the independents are crushing corporate
restaurants. They have more invested.
On any given day in addition to doing
what it is I do regularly, I also have to
find time to lend chairs to charities that
can’t afford the rental fee, or run down
the street and cut a check to the church
to place an ad in their bulletin. Those are
the types of things you have to do to let
people know you actually care.”
Now I look over at a guy. He’s alone and
he looks anchored to the bar. I pointed in
his direction and asked Charles if he is a
regular.
“Sure, that’s Mike. He works down the
street and he’s here every week for three
or four meals. When people sit at the
bar alone, comfort is very important. If
they don’t feel at home, often times they
won’t stay. Look at that soffit hanging
overhead. It cost $15,000. I know that
seems like a lot of money. In fact, that’s
50 percent of what the bar cost us, but
the bottom line is if it’s not there people
don’t feel at home. They just stare up at
the ceiling. People really need to stay in
scale with their environment.”
At this point, my beer is almost
finished. As I wondered if I should have
another, I asked, “What are the most
common mistakes new concepts make
when designing?”
That smirk appeared before Charles
replied:
“First off, if they don’t hire me that’s
a mistake. If they can give me 40 to 120
hours of dialogue and between $2,000
and $5,000, I’m going to draw everything
up and run it on my AutoCAD. Without
a doubt I will be looking for pitfalls
these people have never considered
addressing. In most cases, my fee is made
up within the first month of business.”
“Also bar placement is a big problem,”
he continued. “Once I was working in
Cameroon with an owner who only spoke
French. Since we couldn’t communicate,
I got my point across by tearing his bar
off the wall with a crowbar and dragging
it to the middle of the floor.
“Freestanding bars typically do better.
In this case, within months he had a
client base that was driving in from 180
miles out.”
I asked Charles if he had ever done any
other overseas gigs and he mentioned
that he scoured Central America and
worked a spell at Paris Disney.
Often times I’ve noticed when people
are experts at what they do they are
quick to criticize other people’s efforts,
but nothing could be further from the
truth with Charles.
“Ya know, Danny, if you ever want to
see who knows what the hell they’re
doing, go over to the east side and look
how thoughtful the layout is at the Strip
Club. They’ve done a wonderful job
with that space, and Smack Shack, those
people have done wonders. I really enjoy
how well thought out it is.”
If I had more column space, I’d love to
keep ranting about the importance of
lighting, parking lot security and how to
design the ultimate smoking patio. But
then again, if I did that you’d have no
reason to head over to Fabulous Fern’s,
grab a beer and talk to one of the most
interesting people I have ever met in the
Capital City.
Dan “Klecko” McGleno is the CEO at Saint Agnes
Baking Company in St Paul and can be reached
electronically at [email protected], at
the office at 651-290-7633, or on his cellular
device at 651-329-4321.
SELLING DE SERTS
The Selling Desserts Show® is the only event focused on building after-the-entrée sales for restaurants and
other foodservice operations. It’s the perfect opportunity to promote your products—dessert ingredients
ranging from chocolate to herbs and spices, beverages from coffee to liquor, to all manner of cheeses, readymade desserts and other creative supplemental products and dishware.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015 | Midland Hills Country Club – Roseville, MN | 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
For more information on the show and exhibit opportunities contact
Amy Gasman at 612-767-3215 or [email protected]
www.sellingdesserts.com
24
show
season
For more show photos visit FSN’s Facebook page.
Top Performers
Food show vendors tout array of new products
Performance Foodservice invited customers to indulge in new recipe ideas and
ingredients during its fall show October 15. Held at the upscale Wilds Golf Club in Prior
Lake, the event brought together dozens of vendors to show their products heading
into the holiday season.
Jeff Andersen, the company’s vice president of sales and marketing, said customers had the opportunity to sample a range of products, including select Angus beef
cuts from Performance’s Braveheart program and a Guinness-infused tri tip from the
Guinness Bold Entrées line.
Photos by Laura Michaels
Nathan Garcia (left), with son Alex, show a variety of Catallia tortillas.
By Amy Gasman
Account Executive — Foodservice News
Meet Reinhart Foodservice. Owned by the Reyes brothers, who with their Reyes
Holdings company have been successful in the world of food and beverage distribution,
Reinhart is a national business that places importance on getting involved with
the local community. To Paul Bailey, helping great people succeed while bringing
quality food to the table are the best
aspects of serving this industry. As
the president of Reinhart’s Twin Cities
Division, Bailey understands it can be
difficult to run a successful restaurant,
which is why he makes sure his team
is continuously anticipating changes
in the market to be on the forefront of
emerging trends for their operators.
That same team also wants to ensure
their restaurants are set up for success,
which is why Reinhart offers TRACS
Direct, a user-friendly ordering
platform that incorporates strategies
proven to increase the operator’s
bottom line by 5 percent, on average.
The system has benefited from 23
years of consumer feedback, leading
it to be accessible 24/7 across various
technology platforms. Check it out at Paul Bailey, president of Reinhart’s
Twin Cities Division.
www.rfsdelivers.com.
This month we're also spotlighting The Red Table Meat Co. Owned by salumiere
Mike Phillips, former chef at Craftsman and Modern Café, along with partner Kieran
Folliard of 2 Gingers and Irish pubs fame, Red Table Meat Company sustainably sources
heritage breed pigs from six local Minnesota farms to perfect the art of crafting high
quality salumi and cured meats. The studied ancient craft is transparent and can be
viewed at Red Table’s newly remodeled building in the heart of NE Minneapolis that
also houses 2 Gingers and the future Skyway Creamery. For its wholesale business, Red
Table utilizes Minneapolis agricultural coordinator Plovgh, which offers a cloud-based
delivery system that is efficient and environmentally friendly. Learn how to upgrade
your charcuterie platter by visiting www.redtablemeatco.com.
Co-owner
Mike
Phillips (left) and
Sales Executive Peter
Ireland (right) slicing
the clean way with a
vintage machine that
dates back to the
early 1900s.
Rasmussen sales manager Troy
Rognrud offers shrimp samples.
Executive chef John Van House,
also a center of the plate specialist
for Performance, slices samples of
Braveheart Black Angus Beef.
Upcoming editorial highlights in FSN: The December issue will focus on specialized
dining and include the 2014 Top Chefs Book with back stories and recipes from the best
of the Twin Cities.
Are you interested in promoting your business to buyers and decision makers in the
foodservice and hospitality industries? Contact me for
more information on advertising and brand marketing
strategies.
Chef ambassador Todd Davies talks
about Performance’s Guinness
braised beef selection.
Gold ‘n Plump displays a selection
of chicken options for restaurant
menus.
612-767-3215
[email protected]
25
ACF news
services directory
Minneapolis Chapter
Kids Café
Tuesday, November 18; 3 p.m. arrival
Perspectives Family Center: 3381 Gorham
Ave., St. Louis Park, MN
Though not necessary, chefs are
encouraged to try new and interesting
dishes for the kids. Contact Chef Dan
at 952-926-2600 ext. 2518 with your
planned menu and to go over the
nutrition guidelines. Visit the chapter
website, www.acfmcc.com, for more
information and to register.
2014 Awards Dinner
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Faribault Golf and Country Club:
1700 17th St NW, Faribault, MN
Celebrate the 42nd year of the ACF
chapter by attending the annual awards
dinner, with a special menu being
planned by Chef Virgil Emmert, the
2013 Chef of the Year. The cocktail hour
begins at 5 p.m., with dinner at 6 p.m.
Ticket prices: $75 for juniors/seniors; $75
for professionals and guests; purchase
a table of eight for $575. Register and
purchase tickets online at www.acfmcc.
com, or mail a check made payable to
ACF Minneapolis Chef’s Chapter to: ACF
Awards Banquet, C/O Chris Dwyer, 6101
Cedar Lake Road S., Minneapolis, MN
55416.
Monthly Meetings
The November meeting is scheduled
for Tuesday, November 25. Meetings are
held on the last Tuesday of each month.
Visit www.acfmcc.com for information
and signup.
With the aim of supporting the
Wizardz Special Olympics team,
Minnesota’s foodservice and chef
community came together October 12
for the annual ACF/MCC Chili Cook-Off
in Belle Plaine. The event, organized
by ACF Minneapolis Vice President
Scott Parks, brought in more than
$1,700 and increased the total amount
raised in three years to $5,900.
This year’s first place winner (chosen
by the judges) was the “Dream It,
Do It” team of Chef Robert Velarde
and wife Christine; second place
was Hockenberg Newburgh’s Tracy
O’Brien; in third was Chef Dan Cleary
of Dellwood Country Club. The
Montgomery Hunting Minions team of
Chris and Sherrie Silda took first in the
People’s Choice voting, followed by
Sauk Rapids/Rice High School ProStart
Team 1, and the Westmen’s Melanoma
Warriors team of Mike and Anita
Westman and Mary Smith. Melanie
Hupf and Amanda Newton claimed the
table design award with their Wizardz
of Hogwarts theme.
ACF member Bill Niemer has
opened T.H.A.T. Cooking School in
Lilydale and is now taking private
parties and corporate team-building
activities. Niemer, who has worked
as an executive chef at the St. Paul
Athletic Club, University Club and
Afton House, and with Le Cordon Blue
in Mendota Heights, is planning to also
create a dining room for events and
have the school accredited by the ACF
to start a degree program. Find out
more at www.thatcook.com.
All ACF chapters are invited to send event listings and story ideas to
[email protected].
Commercial
Kitchen
Services
installation • Parts • service
Committed to quality. Committed to Customers.
Service
Chili Cook-off
Fundraiser;
Cooking School
Now Open
www.commercialkitchenservices.net • 651-641-0164
ICE SYSTEMS & REFRIGERATION
HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING
763-441-6620
We specialize in Icemaker Sales, Service, Lease/rentals
www.Articicesys.com
[email protected]
Don Pfleiderer
CECS, CESI, President
Enviromatic Corporation of America, Inc
5936 Pillsbury Ave S. • Minneapolis, MN 55419
Local 612-861-3330 • Toll Free 800-325-8476
Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning
Nationally renown, locally owned
“We just don’t say its clean, we prove it!”
Servicing all areas of the Midwest
w w w.enviromatic .com
events calendar
November 3
Feast Local Foods Tradeshow
Mayo Civic Center
Rochester, MN
9 a.m.-5 p.m.
FMI: www.local-feast.org
(The Feast Festival is open to the public
November 2.)
November 9
Hospitality MN Education
Foundation
Stars of the Future Fundraiser
The Living Room at the W Hotel
Minneapolis, MN
4-6:30 p.m.
FMI: www.hospitalitymn.org
November 10-12
Restaurant Finance Monitor’s
Restaurant Finance & Development
Conference
Bellagio, Las Vegas
www.restfinance.com; 800-528-3296
November 16
Charlie Awards
Celebrating Twin Cities Food & Drink
Pantages Theatre
Minneapolis, MN
3:30 p.m.
FMI: www.honorthyfood.com
November 24
Minnesota Restaurant Association
Holiday Party
Radisson Blu
Bloomington, MN
FMI: www.hospitalitymn.org
March 24, 2015
Third Annual Selling Desserts Show
Midland Hills Country Club
Roseville, MN
FMI: Interested exhibitors contact Amy
Gasman, 612-767-3215 or agasman@
foodservicenews.net
Restaurant Brokers of Minnesota, Inc.
FEATURE PROPERTY inFORmATiOn
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Terms: Cash or Terms acceptable to Seller
Property Taxes: $35,195.56
Assessed Land Value: $660,900
Assessed Bldg. Value: $294,900
Total Assessed Value: $955,800
Size: 6,012 SF approximately
Size of Lot: 1.69 acres, 73, 438 SF
Equipment: List available, Fully equipped majority
owned by Landlord
• Zoning: Commercial
• Currently operating restaurant next to 3 hotels, located
in the “Golden Triangle” by Hwy. 35E and 35W. Full liquor
license. . Great office or non restaurant use.
Ernie’s Pub and Grille
14351 Nicolett Court, Burnsville
A showing can be arranged through RBOMN. Due to the confidentiality of this property you must
make ALL appointments through agent! DO NOT SPEAK WITH OR CONTACT TENANT!
952-929-9273
26
•
FeatuRed LIstIngs
^ NEW! Restaurant in Burnsville 6000 SF 750K Fully equipped
^ NEW! UPTOWN Bar & Rest. 6500 sq. ft. 250K
^ NEW! RJ Tavern in Hastings & 2 apt. 795K
^ NEW! PIZZA Dntn. Mpls. Skyway 195K Sales 450K
^ NEW! So, Mpls beer/wine Includes Bldg. 425K SOLD!
^ NEW! KFC Closed next to McDonald’s For sale or lease
^ NEW! Gas & Grocery – 5 Locations
^ NEW! Subway St. Paul Asking $225K
^ NEW! Bar/Restaurant So. Mpls Sales 900K Ask 265K
^ NEW! Ethnic Eagan Seats 140 / Patio 295K
^ NEW! Deli 3-locations office café 35K to 195K
^ NEW! Sushi Uptown Seat 130 + Patio Ask 299K Beer & Wine
w w w. re s t a u r a n t s f o r s a l e . c o m
GIVING
Y U
MORE
PALATE PLEASING PIZZA
TRIPLE STACK CONVEYOR OVENS DELIVER LEGENDARY RESULTS
©2014 CenterPoint Energy 140088
Randall Hubin, owner Pizza Ranch of Andover; Rafael Rola, general manager;
and Brad Zimmer, contract sales and design for TriMark/Strategic, display
Tuscan Roma, Steak & Onion and Prairie pizzas.
Kitchen equipment has to live up to high expectations when a restaurant’s mission is to give its customers a
legendary dining experience every time – whether it’s dine-in, carryout or delivery. That’s why Randall Hubin,
owner of Pizza Ranch of Andover, chose the Middleby Marshall conveyor ovens.
800-892-8501
•
TriMarkUSA.com
ENERGY EFFICIENCY was a key focus for Hubin who worked closely with Brad Zimmer, contract sales and
design of TriMark/Strategic, to design the front and back store layout. These conveyor ovens recirculate the
heat, lowering temperatures to save energy and produce more consistent product.
DEPENDABILITY is important for Pizza Ranch. The triple stack conveyor ovens deliver nine pizzas per minute –
that’s about 450 delicious pizzas with fresh ingredients in original or skillet crusts on any given Saturday!
13797 Jay St. NW, Andover, MN
PizzaRanch.com
Pizza Ranch of Andover’s triple stack conveyor ovens qualified for $2,250 in CenterPoint Energy rebates.
To add more energy-efficient equipment to your kitchen, contact TriMark/Strategic.
$2,250
Total rebates
CenterPoint Energy offers rebate savings and expert advice
• Foodservice Learning Center - test the latest natural gas equipment before you buy
• Rebates - Save $15 to $1,500 on high-efficiency natural gas kitchen equipment
CenterPointEnergy.com/Foodservice 612-321-5470 (800-234-5800, ext. 5470)
27
Comfort!
Think
As the
temperatures
drop, customers
switch from lighter
fare to those meant
for comfort, with
rich flavors and
memories of
simpler days.
Let Reinhart® help
you put a twist
on frozen soups,
entrees, and more!
Cobblestreet Market Soups: From “Scratch” Quality!
GLUTEN
FREE
LACTO
VEGETARIAN
GLUTEN
FREE
Tuscan Style White Bean
with Kale & Meatballs #15824
Southwest Corn &
Green Chili Bisque #15860
A fun soup for kids and sophisticated
flavor for adults.
A special soup for the vegetarian guest.
REINHART TWIN CITIES DIVISION
13400 Commerce Blvd. Rogers, MN 55374 • 800.895.5766
rfsdelivers.com l tracsdirect.com
28
LACTO
VEGETARIAN
GLUTEN
FREE
Cream of Potato #15864
This milk-add soup has
a decadent finish.

to read the entire issue

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