The Build: Restuarant 201

If you’re involved in hospitality then you have, or maybe should have, read Danny Meyer’s industry guidebook to success, Setting the Table. One of the things you’ll garner is the importance of understanding a neighborhood, and of building a group of restaurants with easy access to one another. Our guests today may have flirted with Manhattan expansion, but found their 2nd restaurant calling was the neighborhood they’ve already started in. 

Chris McDade is the chef and co-owner behind Popina and Gus’s Chophouse in Brooklyn. Originally from GA like myself, and then finding his way into USHG kitchens in NYC. We also have Popina and Gus’s Chop House co-owner James O’Brien, also a USHG alumn who manages the FOH ops and beverage program for the group.

Photo Courtesy of Teddy Wolf.

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As most of our listeners know, we are also the founders and operators of Tilit, so we appreciate great style when it crosses our path. Our guest today, a longtime hospitality professional, had such style (and still has) when she first came into our showroom years ago. So we’re doubly excited to welcome her now to the podcast to hear about her growing group of restaurants.

Our guest today is Natalie Freihon of Nat’s on Bank and Bleecker. Natalie is a seasoned hospitality operator and is the founder of Strangebird Hospitality Group. She brings her fresh, whimsical, and always stylish brand of hospitality to NYC, putting people over profits. Long time friend of Tilit, we are excited to catch up!

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Traditionally we chat with restaurant entrepreneurs who are in the process of building, catching a glimpse into the process and challenges that unfold during opening. Today we’re fortunate to be having a conversation from the other side as our guests are approaching their 1 year anniversary. 

Our guests today are a fellow husband and wife team, Chef Jenner Tomaska and Katrina Bravo of Esme Chicago. They met the old fashioned way like Alex and I, working at a restaurant together. Michelin Starred Esme is their first venture, prior to which Jenner was the Chef at Next in and Katrina was the marketing director

Photo Courtesy of Jaclyn Rivas.

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Our guest today is just as skilled at facing challenges as she is at crafting Arab breads and more. Through the pandemic and an oven fire she has succeeded and grown, with plans for a new space coming soon.

I was lucky to meet Reem Assil at FAB in Charleston this past June and was inspired by all she had to share and immediately invited her to be on the show. Reem, the founder of Reem’s California and Author of Arabiyya, recipes from the life of an Arab in Diaspora.

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We are joined today by Jordan Rubin, who is the co-owner of Crispy Gai, and chef-owner of Mr. Tuna, and the forthcoming Bar Futo — all located in downtown Portland, ME. Jordan has always been drawn to Japanese cuisine and has spent his 20-year career working in some of the top sushi bars across New England. Marisa Lewiecki is the co-owner and director of operations at Portland, ME’s Mr. Tuna and the forthcoming Bar Futo. She began working in hospitality over 15 years ago and has held every position from waitress to Director of Operations and has played an integral role in some marquee openings across Portland, ME.

Photo Courtesy of Natalie Black.

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Our guest today is no stranger to competition and no stranger to media notoriety. She’s one of the rare few that has managed to strike twice, first as an Olympian and more recently as an acclaimed chef, working through some of the best restaurants in Houston, past the competition on Top Chef Season 18, and now into the Innovation Community of Houston’s Ion with her own concept.

We're excited to welcome to the show chef Dawn Burrell. Excited to hear more about Late August!

Photo Courtesy of Jenn Duncan.

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How do you go from a few Taco carts in 2017 to an 11,000 Square ft. Warehouse complete with kitchen and counter service in just a few years? Not to mention the 60+ retail outlets and coffee shops where you can score an Austin style breakfast taco. We are about to find out!

Today on the show we have founder Liz Solomon Dwyer of King David Tacos, the Austin-native responsible for NYC's now ubiquitous breakfast tacos at carts and cafes across the city.

HRN is home to transformative exchanges about food. Our 35+ member-supported food podcasts empower eaters to cultivate a radically better world. This month, we’re asking you to join us. Become a monthly sustaining member at heritageradionetwork.org/donate.

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Today’s guests join us from the restaurant opening soon you’ve heard nothing about, but will undoubtedly be talked about, once the secret gets out. Or it opens? Which will come first? The Noortwyck is an elevated neighborhood restaurant focusing on delicious food and warm hospitality set to open in NY’s West Village. 

Helmed by a team of EMP Alums including Chef Andy Quinn, Director of Ops Cedric Nicaise, and dream weaver and artist Bridgette Zhou. We're excited to hear what they have been working on!

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Over the years there have been many trendy methods of naming your restaurant, from street numbers to creative abbreviations. I personally like when a business is straightforward, a book title that clearly describes its contents. Cafe Spaghetti does that, in a playful way, while leaving room for the diner to be wowed by just how serious this neighborhood Italian spot is about its food. 

We wouldn’t expect anything less from our friend, chef, and owner Sal Lamboglia. Opened at the start of this month, Cafe Spaghetti in Brooklyn’s Carroll Gardens is Sal’s first step into ownership after many years amongst the talented teams behind Andrew Carmellini’s Noho Hospitality group and most recently Bar Primi.

Photo Courtesy of Lauren Roche.

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Ci Siamo means, we have arrived. And judging by the packed dining room and the buzzing,  expertly trained service team at Ci Siamo last month, we may have finally arrived into the post covid era of dining. 

We’ve had the pleasure of knowing Chef Hillary since her time as CDC at A Voce with Chef Missy Robbins, to chef/partner at neighborhood favorite Vics and now exec Chef at Danny Myers's latest venture, Ci Siamo, where her cooking centers on live-fire cooking showcasing the simplicity of fine seasonal ingredients and drawing on her diverse culinary background from Spain to Italy.

Watch this episode on YouTube HERE!

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