Wendy Lewis Only!

Chef%Allen%Interview%Question:!What!types!of!businesses!have!you!been!involved!in!as!an!owner,!partner,!proprietor!or!entrepreneur.!Answer:!Primarily,!the!business!that!I’ve!been!involved!with!the!longest!was!Chef!Allen’s.!It!was!a!!S!corporation,!and!was!a!restaurant.!It!was!an!S!corporation!for!tax!purposes,!which!is!what!my!accountant!recommended.!For!any!business,!you!have!to!analyze!where!the!product!and!funds!are!going,!and!have!a!conversation!with!your!lawyer!and!accountant!about!which!type!of!business!to!set!up.!We!set!up!Chef!Allen’s!as!a!company!as!a!S!corporation!from!day!one,!which!made!the!taxes!for!the!business!my!responsibility!as!the!owner!of!the!company.!!I’ve!also!been!a!part!of!some!LLCs!which!have!different!implications!for!all!parties!involved,!but!these!were!primarily!consultancies!and!not!restaurants!I!ran.!All!of!the!types!of!businesses!are!viable,!it!really!depends!on!corporate!laws,!who!lends!money!and!legal!and!accounting!advice.!I’ve!had!loans!where!the!lender!was!demanding!what!type!of!business!I!opened!with!their!money.!Question:!How!were!the!locations!chosen!for!the!sites!that!you!have!run?!Answer:!Let’s!talk!about!Chef!Allen’s!again.!Generally!with!restaurants,!the!first!thing!people!talk!about!is!location,!location,!location.!It!has!many!implications.!What!people!does!the!location!give!you!access!to?!Does!the!location!give!you!access!to!employees?!Does!the!location!have!proper!access!for!deliveries?!Does!the!location!have!notoriety,!especially!if!it!is!part!of!the!concept?!If!you!are!putting!a!restaurant!at!the!top!of!the!Empire!State!Building,!it!has!notoriety.!Everyone!knows!it.!It’s!an!address!and!you!are!going!to!pay!for!it.!If!you!open!a!restaurant!on!the!corner!of!Biscayne!Boulevard,!people!are!generally!going!to!know!where!it!is!and!be!able!to!find!it.!!When!I!opened!Chef!Allen’s,!I!was!looking!at!location!proximity.!By!this,!I!mean!that!Miami!was!a!different!environment!25!years!ago!when!I!opened.!Most!people!here!were!very!transient.!I!was!looking!for!an!established!restaurant!area.!Ft.!Lauderdale!and!Coral!Gables!were!established,!but!I!wanted!to!choose!a!middleNground.!In!1986,!I!was!the!chef!at!Turnberry!Resort!so!I!knew!the!area.!I!knew!the!customers.!I!knew!their!likes!and!dislikes.!During!this!time,!I!also!saw!similar!concepts!to!Turnberry!open!up.!Because!of!this,!I!knew!what!the!neighborhood!would!support!in!food.!I!chose!a!location!in!between!these!concepts.!When!I!opened!Chef!Allen’s,!I!used!this!information!and!calculated!that!if!the!customers!from!those!two!concepts!would!eat!at!my!establishment!once!a!week,!I’d!have!enough!to!make!the!restaurant!work.!Looking!at!where!the!customers!would!come!from!was!very!much!a!part!of!my!“location”!decision.!When!I!came!up!with!the!concept!for!Chef!Allen’s,!I!wanted!to!do!two!things:!a)!come!up!with!a!cuisine!that!was!identifiable!and!(b)!not!have!anything!else!that!anyone!around!me!had.!I!wanted!to!have!a!unique!environment!with!unique!cuisine,!especially!because!it!was!a!chefNrun!restaurant.! The!restaurant!was!in!a!strip!mall,!and!took!over!a!spot!that!was!vacant.!We!had!to!look!at!gas!and!sewer!and!zoning!issues!before!moving!in.!I!had!to!take!parking!spots!into!consideration!when!developing!the!concept.!I!would!have!rather!had!a!cute!old!Florida!home!to!convert!into!a!restaurant,!but!too!many!zoning!issues!and!no!parking!would!have!made!it!impossible!when!I!opened!Chef!Allen’s.!Question:!As!a!consultant,!have!you!been!involved!in!opening!a!business!in!a!location!that!has!previously!failed?!Answer:!Yes,!this!has!been!my!main!mission!as!a!consultant.!It’s!been!an!interesting!approach!as!opposed!to!my!Chef!Allen’s!work.!I’ve!been!involved!in!both!remaking!a!concept,!and!taking!over!a!location!as!a!consultant.!First,!you!have!to!look!at!who!the!business!is!serving.!Restaurants!need!cash!flow,!and!you!don’t!want!to!scare!off!customers.!I’ve!been!involved!in!businesses!that!have!closed!and!rebuilt!and!changed!the!concept.!Let’s!talk!about!Burger!Bar!by!Chef!Allen’s.!It’s!in!a!strip!mall!across!from!two!Spring!Training!ballparks!for!the!Miami!Marlins!and!St.!Louis!Cardinals.!!It’s!a!familyNstyle!strip!mall!with!family!style!restaurants,!and!no!signature!tenant!like!Macy’s!or!Publix.!I!did!a!customer!count!in!the!restaurants!in!the!mall,!and!a!customer!count!in!the!area!preNopening.!I!looked!at!parking!and!demographics.!I!looked!at!schools!in!the!area.!When!I!couldn’t!get!answers,!I!hired!people!to!get!the!answers.!After!that,!then!you!analyze!the!answers!and!come!up!with!the!food!style!to!offer.!The!cuisine!doesn’t!really!matter,!but!to!come!up!with!the!concept,!you!have!to!come!up!with!what!exactly!the!demographic!wants!and!will!support.!These!Spring!Training!camps!bring!traffic!to!the!restaurant!with!other!restaurants!are!dead.!They!are!also!a!few!research!centers!nearby!which!bring!yearNround!traffic.!Question:!How!have!your!businesses!analyzed!competition?!How!have!these!analyses!changed!your!operating!principles?!Answer:!You!have!to!look!at!competition!in!a!number!of!ways.!You!have!to!look!at!competition!as!who!feeds!people.!People!go!out!to!eat!because!they!are!hungry,!or!because!they!want!to!enjoy!their!food.!Many!restaurants!satisfy!the!people!who!want!to!quench!their!hunger,!and!do!it!fast.!Others!create!an!atmosphere!and!encourage!customers!to!dine.!You!have!to!look!at!restaurants!that!have!similar!price!points,!types!of!service!and!food!to!you.!Just!because!a!restaurant!is!next!door!to!yours,!doesn’t!mean!that!it!is!your!direct!competition.!To!analyze!competition,!I!go!into!the!restaurant!and!see!what!they!are!doing!right,!and!what!they!are!doing!wrong.!You!have!to!eat!in!the!restaurants.!Are!people!eating!there!happy?!At!one!point,!I!started!a!promotion!at!Chef!Allen’s!called!“Chow!Now.”!I!would!pay!the!bill!for!anyone!on!my!staff!to!go!eat!at!a!competitor,!and!then!present!their!experience!to!my!staff!both!verbally,!and!written.!This!helped!us!to!see!what!competitors!were!doing!different!than!us,!better!than!us,!worse!than!us.!It!helped!us!see!some!things!that!we!were!doing!that!were!wrong,!and!some!things!we!needed!to!be! better!at.!I!wanted!my!staff!to!see!where!I!customers!were.!It!was!a!big!success,!a!reward,!and!a!teambuilding!experience.!Beyond!this,!sending!my!staff!out!to!our!competition!helped!them!to!see!how!we!were!different.!I!never!served!salmon!at!Chef!Allen’s!because!everyone!else!did.!I!made!breadsticks!and!not!bread!because!everyone!did!bread.!I!wanted!people!to!see!that!we!were!different!and!unique,!and!wanted!my!staff!to!know!this.!Question:!Chef!Allen’s!had!a!huge!concept!change!in!its!25!year!tenure.!What!brought!that!about?!Answer:!Chef!Allen’s!existed!for!25!years.!It!always!evolved!and!changed.!It!started!off!with!daily!menu!changes.!Then!it!became!seasonal.!We!always!tried!to!set!the!trends,!not!obey!them.!Little!by!little!we!made!small!concept!changes!and!did!our!best!to!keep!our!customers!coming!back!for!new!and!exciting!things!on!the!plate,!in!the!dining!room,!on!the!walls!and!more.!I!came!up!with!the!trend!to!use!big!spices,!local!flavors!and!ingredients,!Latin!influence!and!the!customers!loved!it!and!I!got!some!other!local!chefs!to!join!me!in!this!trend.!This!helped!Miami!to!become!an!overall!destination!for!this!type!of!cuisine!and!food.!Miami!is!still!in!the!top!10!for!food!cities!in!the!world.!One!of!the!last!concept!changes!that!Chef!Allen’s!underwent!was!the!most!drastic.!I!had!always!moved!into!highNend!and!highNquality!ingredients.!I!realized!I!was!serving!the!second!generation!of!customers.!Because!of!this,!I!chose!to!change!the!concept!to!serving!sustainable!seafood,!which!is!really!important!to!me.!This!helped!me!to!bring!down!the!price!point,!and!appeal!to!more!customers.!The!trends!in!the!last!few!years!with!both!seafood!and!media!pushed!me!to!this!change.!I!wanted!to!give!customers!what!they!wanted,!and!it!fit!into!my!location!of!South!Florida!with!its!rich!seafood!bounty.!I!had!been!very!successful,!as!a!destination!restaurant,!in!taking!advantage!of!the!local!products!and!turning!them!into!a!brand.!Look!at!mangos.!I!knew!how!many!people!in!South!Florida!had!mango!trees!in!their!back!yards,!and!knew!that!if!I!appealed!to!them!as!their!mango!chef,!I’d!have!another!signature!item.!Being!a!mango!destination!was!unique.!It!was!brilliant!marketing.!Question:!How!have!business!plans!played!a!role!in!the!business!ventures!you’ve!been!involved!in?!Answer:!The!first!thing!about!a!business!plan!is!that!it’s!paramount!to!have!a!vision.!So!a!mission!statement!is!first.!It’s!the!strongest!thing!you!can!do.!The!rest!of!the!plan!proves!where!your!mission!is!going!to!go.!The!mission!–!even!if!it’s!hotdogs!on!the!corner!–!is!more!than!two!words.!The!business!plan!analyzes!what!the!business!will!need!to!be!successful.!Being!able!to!put!the!vision!down!into!words!and!verbalize!it!to!investors!and!staff!paves!the!road!to!success.!It!has!done!so!for!me.!!