What's for dinner?

Before I took over the diner, I discussed the menu with the previous owner. I wanted to know what the bestsellers were, the recipes and the suppliers for each of the products. I was buying an existing business, not starting from scratch. Now, if I  had I been an experienced or renowned chef, with my own black book of recipes, I would have approached things differently, but that wasn't the case.  I was taking over and I didn't want to rock the boat until I had both my oars in the water. 

The previous owner had "deep fried zucchini sticks" on the menu. Zucchini.... yes, the vegetable we have to hide in chocolate cakes. The same vegetable you have to give away from your garden each fall. The same vegetable you practically have to pay your neighbours to take a second time! I politely inquired as to its sales volume. She said, "oh it's good. It has a loyal following. We probably sell 5 or 6."  Ok, I replied.... 5 or 6 a day? "No, a year" she said with a straight face. 

I immediately took those off the menu and rapidly pursued uncovering the other duds. 

In an 8 foot kitchen, with limited fridge space and an absolute commitment to fresh products I had to narrow down the menu to multi purpose items. To add to our menu, a product had to be used 4 ways. 

For example, I wanted to add a homestyle chili to the menu. To make the grade, we decided to offer it as:  chili nachos, chili & cheese dog, chili fries, and as a bowl of chili with a toasted fresh bun.  We make the chili with a moderate spice and only top quality beef and beans. This gives it a wide audience appeal and lends itself to each application without fighting off the other flavours.  Chili has been very well received and has become a menu staple, especially in cool weather. 

Bacon is a kitchen necessity, especially in a diner. We use it on burgers and dogs, BLT sandwiches, we add it to a perogy platter and very recently we introduced it as a topping on poutine. Our new bacon and cheddar poutine was an instant sensation!  I regret not adding it earlier. 

One of the best reasons to have only multi-use items in your kitchen, is freshness. The more you use, the more fresh the product. And fresh is always best. 

In my kitchen, our bottom line is, "if you wouldn't serve it to your family, you don't serve it to our customers. Period. " It's an easy determiner and it guides everything we do. 

The Show Must Go On

When you are the owner and hands-on chef for a restaurant, you need to be there. Rain, sleet, snow, heart-ache, family occasions or lazy days, you still have to find the energy and enthusiasm and BE THERE.

There is nothing like consistency, and leadership to ensure your business succeeds.

It's not always easy. In fact, most days it's hard. But yesterday, that was one of the most trying and one of the hardest workdays I've ever personally experienced. My dear, sweet, loving, old dog (Mocha) passed away. My dog was 15 years old and simply the sweetest creature.

But she died on a Friday. A payday friday non-the-less, and in restaurant terms that's a really, really,  busy day. A day you can NEVER afford to screw up. So, I put on my glasses to hide my puffy, bloodshot eyes and I stayed in the kitchen. I cooked and tried not to think about anything. I just worked through the dinner rush on auto-pilot. I tried not to look at any of my kind, caring staff. To meet the eyes of the ones who knew I was hurting was too much to bear.

And then, like any good restaurant employee, I smiled for the customers. I made chit chat here and there when I simply could not hide in the kitchen.

When the rush was over, and things had settled down I snuck out the back door and sat on a parking curb in the lane. I bawled my eyes out. A few deep breaths, a coke and 2 tylenol later I was back in the kitchen ready to scrub and clean the Friday mess until it sparkled again.  Because that's what you do, when you're the boss.

Mocha - the loving dog who would happily eat whatever scraps or burnt offerings  I brought home. 

Cloning. I might be into that.

Owning a restaurant is a seven day a week job. Today's consumer expects you to be open when they are hungry, whether that is morning, noon or night. They expect quick service and a delicious meal.

What they also expect is consistency. Whether you are the owner of a fine dining restaurant, a sushi hut or a burger joint, they want it to taste the same on Tuesday as it did on Friday.

That's why I think as restauranteurs we ought to support cloning. Yeah, not for food but for staff. If you find good employees, you should clone them. Clone them as quickly as possible and keep extras in dry storage.

Muhahaha.

Working seven days a week makes you think things like that! It's crazy.  You go crazy. Of course, I'm going to tell you I'm just kidding, but secretly, my inside voice is still thinking.... "cloning, that might be a good idea after all."

Good staff are a treasure. Reliable, hard working and honest are of course qualities you look for, but when you can also find employees with a sense of compassion, empathy, and those that understand how to cope under pressure, well... those are the ones you should "clone." And until science finds a way to do that, and our ethics find a way to accept it, we will continue to "clone" in the old fashioned way. We will TRAIN our employees and we will lead by example. Don't ask someone to mop the floor unless you are willing to do it yourself. Don't ask someone to stay later or pick up a shift unless you are willing to do it yourself. Lead by example.

Owning a restaurant is hard. And you certainly can not do it alone.

Why Retro?

Everything old is new again. From television shows to classic cars, there is a North American affection for the 50s and 60s. So when I had the chance to buy a sleepy little ice cream store, I thought I'd breathe new life into it by going retro.

The classic neon sign from the 60's (when the store was first established) still stood proudly outside the store. It was outlined with a big cheesy flashing arrow and twinkly "running" lights that flashed after dark. So, I figured it would be pretty easy to have the sign refurbished and then match the interior decor to the outside sign.

Once I had a theme, it was pretty easy to locate and purchase furniture, signs, and other decorator items. A couple keyboard strokes and everything was on its way.

A working jukebox was harder to find, but when I did I felt like the Fozz from Happy Days. "Ehhhh!" 

Acme Chrome provided all the new, but retro furniture. It was custom coloured and could not have been better. I'm pleased to say that after 5 years of daily use, all the chairs and tables are holding up great. They sure knew how to make it back then! And lucky for me, Acme Chrome is still pumping out the top quality, Canadian-made furniture  that generations have loved.

The one thing about the retro decor and 60s music, it brings a smile to people's faces. And once you have a relaxed and cheery customer in a comfortable environment, it is much easier to then dazzle them with good food and top notch service.

Back to the Beginning

The moment that started this journey, was the moment I lost my job. I had a neat and tidy desk job, in a large public institution. I travelled for work, I hosted meetings and parties, and held court with the media. I had a good job. A great job even. I liked it. I even had a fancy title.

A round of budget cuts and I was out the door. I had two young children. My youngest was just three months old when this all took place. Talk about adding to my stress level! A toddler, an infant and my phone ringing off the hook with all my friends and coworkers calling to see what I was going to do. 

What was I going to do? 

Survive. At the most basic level I knew I would be fine. I had a supportive husband, a loving family, concrete job skills and a network of contacts right across the country.  But what did I WANT to do? That was harder to define. 

Ultimately, I boiled it down to what I WASN'T going to do. And I wasn't going to work for anyone else anymore. I did not want to be at the mercy of a corporate board or anyone else who felt I wasn't critical to the success of an organization. Not again. 

I'd always wanted to run my own business. But what? When? Where? How? And then my toddler spoke up. (And I'm not kidding.) "Mommy, buy the ice cream store!"   

My boy wants ice cream I figured. Well, we were occasional customers at the ice cream store down the street from my old office building. Another visit to the ice cream store couldn't hurt. My son had insisted "buy store" not "buy treat." And wouldn't you know it, he had indeed overheard the owner talking about selling. Apparently he had heard the conversation loud and clear the last time we had been in. Sure enough there was a tiny 11x 8.5" sign in one of the windows this time. "For Sale." 

We had ice cream that day and drove away without a word. But later, I just couldn't get that place out of my mind. I mean, I DID have years of restaurant experience from my college days. Hmmm, I wonder...

Fun Friday Frenzy

Fridays are the busiest day of the week in most restaurants. After a long work week, diners would rather not cook and instead choose to eat out. We do a ton of take-out every Friday.

I look forward to Fridays. It's "game day" in my life. As long as all the equipment works as it should, and the staff show up, it'll be a good day.

I also love the peace and quiet of the diner during morning prep. It's the calm before the storm. I still get chills when I think of how busy it will be and what challenges we might face. I guess I'm in the right business if I look forward to it all.

Fridays at the diner.... game on!

7 Day Dish

Today, I lost my mind and yelled at a freezer. Life can get a little heated in the kitchen when you work in a busy restaurant 7 days a week. Order in. Order out. Order in... order out. You get the picture. 

Well, our main commercial freezer was on the fritz. Odd really, since it's only three years old and was purchased new. Today was probably the 4th time I've called a repair man regarding this piece of equipment. This time it was going to get the service, but it was also going to get a chat from me. 

I had intended to give the freezer a pep talk.... "come on, you can do it." But it turned into an all out rant. Once I got going, it felt good and it was hard to stop. The kitchen was empty so the freezer and I were alone. No witnesses, no record. Well, until now. 

"What is your problem? Seriously! What is the freaking problem? I don't ask you to take customer orders. I don't ask you to answer the phone. You don't have to rub my back and you don't have to cook the burgers. All YOU have to do is stand there!  Stand in the corner, keep quiet and freeze things. Yes, freeze things. That's all I expect. Turn water into ice. Keep the perogies frozen and just stand there. I can't lower my expectations any more. It's just not possible. Either you are going to make my ice cubes and store my ice cubes or.... or..... I'm going to have to replace you." 

Ultimately, I ask myself this. "Is it too much to expect that a brand new appliance work 7 days a week?" I work 7 days a week. I have to get up every day and haul my butt into work, tired or not, I show up and put in the effort. Why shouldn't I expect that from my equipment?  Are things just not made like they were used to? Why does my grandmother's freezer still work fine? It for certain has worked 40 years and was probably less than 10% of the price. Is it true? Do they just not make 'em like they used to? 

#restaurant problems.