Your Customers and Your Staff

On a recent visit to San Francisco, I drove the 40 minutes down to Half Moon Bay on the Pacific coast to have dinner with Paul and Julie Shenkman at Sam's Chowder House. The Shenkmans opened Sam's, named for their son, in October 2007. It is their third restaurant in Half Moon Bay.

A businessman with experience in the clothing trade, Paul came to the restaurant industry as an amateur chef, without prior operating experience. While living in San Francisco, he chose Half Moon Bay because he loved spending weekends there. Julie, who comes from a corporate public relations and marketing background, got involved in the business after Paul sold his first place and opened Cetrella, an upscale Italian-themed restaurant, which soon became a Half Moon Bay landmark.

Paul had long dreamed of opening a New England–style chowder house on the edge of the Pacific. When a derelict restaurant perched between Highway One and the edge of the bay came up for lease, he jumped at the chance. Now here's the kicker: In its first full year of operation, Sam’s did $3.5 million in business. In the second year, revenue nearly doubled, and in the first two months of 2009, Sam’s was up 40 percent over the same period last year.

So what’s the secret of their success? The Shenkmans cited location, high-quality food at reasonable prices, and aggressive public relations, all obvious givens for any restaurant to succeed. After some prodding, they came up with two other essential elements: your customers and your staff. “We are always focused on customer satisfaction,” noted Paul. “To achieve that you’ve got to have the right staff. It goes hand in hand.”

The same message was echoed during a panel discussion I chaired recently in Las Vegas. My three panelists included Jennifer Jasinski, chef and owner of Rioja and Bistro Vendome in Denver; Ralph Scamardella, corporate executive chef of Tao Asian Bistro in Las Vegas and New York; and Piero Selvaggio, owner of Valentino Restaurant Group, with restaurants in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Santa Monica.

Chef Jasinski set the tone of the discussion by noting that her staff is her biggest asset. “When hiring, I always look for a good attitude, dependability, and an eagerness to please,” she said. Added Chef Scamardella, “Get the best people, and train, educate, and develop them. You want team players, not superstars.” For Piero Selvaggio, the key to success lies in the talent, temperament, and communication skills of your people. “Whether in the kitchen or in the dining room, you need people who understand customer relations, who can work together as a team.”

Despite the poor business climate (or perhaps because of it), there is no time like the present to focus on the basic elements of success. One upside of the recession, with its elevated unemployment rates, is the opportunity it presents to fine-tune your staff. There are many eager and talented people looking for work today. As Paul Shenkman notes, choosing the right team members today can set you up for success when the recovery comes. And trust me, it will come . . . probably sooner than we think.

Until next time,

Mark Vaughan