FSR July 2022

NO. 103 FULL-SERVICE RESTAURANTS | THOUGHT LEADERSHIP FOR 10 YEARS

ITALIAN CUISINE LIGHTENS UP SMASH PARK UPS THE EATERTAINMENT ANTE

MAKING A POP-UP PERMANENT MIAMI FASHIONISTA TURNED CHEF

®

8 LESSONS FROM CHAINS WHAT SINGLE-UNIT RESTAURANTS

THE RETURN OF INDEPENDENTS 11 NEWLY OPENED RESTAURANTS PROVE THE CATEGORY IS ALIVE AND THRIVING

CAN LEARN FROM THEIR LARGER COUNTER PARTS

PLUS

CHEF SEAN SHERMAN’S NEW CONCEPT, OWAMNI, PUTS DAKOTA CUISINE FRONT AND CENTER

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CONTENTS

FSR July 2022 No. 103

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30 Fighting for Independents

These 11 restaurants—from an Indigenous concept in Minne apolis to an Andalusian gin bar in Miami—are proving that the independent sector is still fertile ground for fresh ideas and next wave dining experiences. 44 8 Lessons from Chain Restaurants Even if a restaurant doesn’t plan to grow beyond a single location, it can still learn a great deal from larger chains when it comes to operations, finance, inventory, staff retention, and more.

OWAMNI FROM CHEF SEAN SHERMAN IS AMONG THE INDEPENDENTS THAT OPENED DURING COVID.

CHEFS & INGREDIENTS 15 The Cuban-Korean Revolution

Fashionista-turned-chef Eileen Andrade is spicing up the dining scene in her native Miami, with a collection of restaurants that blend

Cuban and Korean cuisines. 20 More to Mangia

Unexpected pasta shapes, crudo dishes, and lighter ingredients are casting Italian cuisine in a whole new light. LIQUID INTELLIGENCE 25 Aged to Perfection Peter Mondavi, Jr., discusses how Charles Krug Winery stays relevant after a century and a half in opera tion (hint: restaurant relationships are key to its success).

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CHEF SEAN: HEIDI EHALT / JENNIFER OLSON

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FSRmagazine.com July2022 No.103

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Welcome

Forged in Fire AS STRANGE AS IT MAY SOUND, this month’s Top Independents report ( PAGE 30 ) reminds me of a lecture I once attended on the Florentine poet Dante. Now bear with me, because I realize the only Italian-leaning restau rant in the report is Joe Flamm’s Rose Mary (though if you want the latest on Italian cuisine trends, flip to PAGE 20 ). Rather it’s Dante’s journey out of the inferno, into the limbo of purgatory, and finally arriving in paradise that seems reminiscent of restaurants’ plight these last two years. I’d argue this narrative is especially applicable to new independents, which, between the pandemic, supply chain gridlocks, and labor short ages, were forged in fire. Take Bésame as an example; the Latin American concept was on the cusp of opening when Hurricane Ida slammed New Orleans last fall. In Charlotte, North Carolina, Leah & Louise debuted in March 2020 only to immediately shutter its dining room for three months. Chef Tiffany Derry and business partner Tom Foley opened two locations of their fast casual before finally launching full-service Roots Southern Table, though it was originally intended to be the pair’s first restaurant. While no one would dare describe the current economic landscape as “paradise,” the industry has worked its way out of the worst of COVID and transitioned into some middle ground that is neither infernal nor heavenly. These new restaurants and others like them offer hope that conditions will continue to improve, and they also reveal a bit of what we can expect from foodservice in the future. Upon reviewing the 11 featured restaurants, I started noticing commonalities. First off, secondary and tertiary markets hold the lion’s share of restaurants in this report, rather than major cit ies like New York, D.C., San Francisco, and L.A. Secondly, this new wave comprises no-frills restaurants. Though these concepts are polished, guests would feel equally at home in their Sunday best as they would in jeans. Lastly, the menus at these concepts favor comfort foods over fine-dining fare. The dishes are elevated and chef-driven, but they use familiar favor ites as vehicles for innovation. Again, these recurring themes aren’t apparent if you consider only a single restaurant’s origin story—something the Dante lecturer knew too well. He remarked (in a thick Italian accent, no less) that it is only when we look at the poet’s journey as a whole that we can appreciate its design and celebrate our hero’s forward progress. It’s a perspective I think chefs and restaurateurs will appreciate.

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First Course

Tourism gives restaurants, ncluding w˜i‡`ˆ˜ˆ˜} establishments, a boost.

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Going Places—and Eating Out BY NICOLE DUNCAN Despite rising gas prices, high travel rates could aid restaurant recovery. IN YEARS PAST, high gas prices have had a chilling effect on travel and, in turn, the hospitality sector, including niche food service operations like hotels, amuse ment parks, stadiums, and fairs. But after two summers of stymied activity, pent-up demand is unlikely to hinder travel, even

when gasoline is predicted to hit $6 per gallon by summer’s end, per JPMorgan. “Come hell or high gas prices, people are going to take vacations,” energy ana lyst Tom Kloza told CNN last month. Kloza is the founder of price-reporting agency OPIS (Oil Price Information Service).

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First Course

Indeed, travel insurance provider Allianz Partners reported that spring break travel was up 134 percent com pared to 2021. Plus, supply chain orders are already hinting at moderate growth. According to The NPD Group, broadline distributors shipped 47 per cent more case units to lodging food service operators this April compared to the same month the previous year. For recreation foodservice outlets, it was a 46 percent increase. “With more consumers vaccinated and comfort levels higher, spring break 2022 made progress in recovering from the last two years,” says Tim Fires, president of NPD’s SupplyTrack. “If the momentum continues throughout the summer as AAA and other travel related groups predict, foodservice distributors and manufacturers can expect a higher recovery rate for lodg ing and recreation this year.” These gains are somewhat tem pered, however, still falling short of 2019 levels by 13 percent for lodging and 6 percent for recreation foodser vice. But within the recreation category, The NPD Group uncovered a few areas that have made a full recovery, namely amusement parks (up 23 percent com pared to April 2019), stadiums and ball parks (up 18 percent), bowling alleys (up 11 percent), and fairs (up 9 percent). Some of these categories, like sta diums and fairs, are the realm of quick service. Nevertheless, major parks including Disney World, Universal Stu dios, and Six Flags include sit-down restaurants on-site. Tourism also has a pronounced effect on more elevated concepts. According to the National Restaurant #UUQEKCVKQP RGTEGPV QH Ƃ PG FKPKPI sales came from visitors and tourists in pre-COVID years. What’s more, one QWV QH HQWT Ƃ PG FKPKPI QRGTCVQTU UCKF these guests accounted for more than 60 percent of their business. Whether that dynamic returns this summer is yet to be seen. At the very least, analysts predict an improvement in the tourism and hospitality sectors— even if it’s incremental in some cases.

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Historically, cooking at home has been perceived as less expensive than order ing from restaurants, but new data from restaurant marketing platform Popmenu suggests that could be shifting. Even though costs are rising across the board, the uptick may be more pronounced on

the retail side, with 44 percent of shoppers reporting their average grocery bills have increased $50 or more and 24 percent saying it’s $75 or higher. In light of this, 29 per cent of consumers say it’s cheaper to order

from a restaurant than cook at home, and 27 percent report the cost is about the same , with restaurants providing an extra layer of convenience and elevated offerings.

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First Course

In multigenerational workplaces, like restaurants, management styles can vary by age. According to online invoicing platform Skynova , older managers take a more direct approach; 86 percent of Baby Boomers address problems with underperforming staff members compared to only 64 percent of Gen Z managers . Instead, 22 percent of the latter generation will speak with other employees to confirm their concerns about underperforming workers, compared to only 16 percent of Boomers. Also noteworthy: As managers, Gen Z and their Millennial predecessors prioritize employee stress reduction more than their Gen X and Boomer counterparts.

The Best Region for Full Service WHEN IT COMES TO THE ONGOING TUG-OF-WAR between limited and full service, location matters. A recent report by Paytronix showed that the South Atlantic region (from Maryland to Florida) had the greatest appetite for sit-down restaurants, with 84.9 percent of consumers reporting they ordered from such establishments in the last month. In contrast, quick service was most beloved in the South (Kentucky to Texas) where 68 percent had ordered from one in the same time frame.

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Chefs & Ingredients

CULINARY INSPIRATION AND STORIES FROM INDUSTRY TRAILBLAZERS MENTIONED IN THIS SECTION BARBAKOA • • • AMELIA’S 1931 • • •

FINKA TABLE & TAP • •

• LA STREGA • • • RAVELLO THE CUBAN KOREAN Revolution

FINKA’S HARISSA

ROASTED CHICKEN WITH SPLIT PEA RISOTTO AND NARANJA AGRIA (BITTER ORANGE) REDUCTION SAUCE

GABRIEL GUTIERREZ

EILEEN ANDRADE IS THE CHEF and restaurateur behind three of Miami’s most celebrated fusion restaurants: Finka Table & Tap, Amelia’s 1931, and Barbakoa, the last of which just opened last fall. But well before she was featured in Zagat Miami’s 30 under 30 and on Hola! magazine’s Top 100 Latina Powerhouse list, Andrade was pursuing another hands-on, creative career: fashion. “Growing up, my friends always called me the trendsetter of the group,” she says.

BY TREVOR GRINER Chef Eileen Andrade continues to infuse Miami’s dining scene ÜˆÌ >À >ÃÌ y >ۜÀð

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“I love fashion. I love being around cre atives all the time.” Food, on the other hand, didn’t inter est her much, even though her parents owned a restaurant and she would regu larly cook with her grandparents. When it came time to apply to colleges, she tar geted the Miami International Univer sity of Art & Design. “I got to study textiles, budgets, and all that fun stuff,” she says. “I loved it.” While attending college, Andrade worked as a stylist, cutting her teeth in the fashion world. But in terms of the amount and consistency of her pay checks, the job left something to be desired. Even bussing the tables at her parents’ restaurant and doing DJ gigs as a teen allowed her more financial inde pendence than the stylist gig. “Working for someone and not really having any money coming in was really stressing me out,” she says. “So, I talked to my mom about it, and she told me to come back and work at the restaurant.” After some serious consideration and realizing she would have to move to either Los Angeles or New York City

to make any real money in the fash ion world, Andrade decided to take her mother’s advice. At 19, Andrade said good-bye to the fashion world and began working at Islas Canarias, her parents’ well-known Cuban Restaurant, which she describes as a “staple here in Miami.” Islas Canar ias (a nod to the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa) was originally founded by her grandparents, who immigrated to the U.S. from Cuba in the 1970s. At the restaurant, Andrade started with the basics. Her mother taught her how to make empanadas, bocaditos, pas telitos, and other simple dishes. A fast learner, she quickly climbed the ranks and began splitting her time between the kitchen and the front of house, where she managed staff, some of whom were twice her age. Ready for more of a challenge, she sought the tutelage of Islas Canarias’ executive chef Omar Caycho, who taught her the techniques she would need to become a full-fledged chef. It was dur ing this time that Andrade developed a lasting passion for cooking.

CHEF EILEEN ANDRADE

CHEF YOU’D MOST LIKE TO WORK WITH: José Andrés MOST UNDERRATED INGREDIENT: garlic FAVORITE UTENSIL: mandolin POST-SHIFT DRINK: Vodka martini FAVORITE KOREAN DISH: Andong jjimdak (Korean braised chicken)

ANDRADE’S NEWEST RESTAURANT, BARBAKOA, CONTINUES TO BLEND GLOBAL CUISINES IN DISHES LIKE THE 32-OUNCE RIB-EYE FOR TWO, WITH CILANTRO MASHED POTATOES, UMAMI BUTTER, AND OXTAIL DEMI-GLACE.

GABRIEL GUTIERREZ / MEGAN MCCLUER / CG MEDIA PRODUCTIONS

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And though the kitchen had enchanted her, Andrade was still inter ested in the operational side of foodser vice. In 2011, she and her brother Jon struck out on their own to open a food truck named Cuban Cube, which, true to its name, served many of the dishes she had made at her parents’ restaurant. The experience offered her that first taste of being a business owner.

Though Andrade enjoys “clashing” ingredients, the combinations always end up being harmonious, if not a bit unexpected. For example, the restau rant’s Korean Japchae Noodles are paired with vaca frita, bok choy, zuc chini, carrots, scallions, and sesame seeds. Influences from other cuisines also pop up. One starter, the Fried Alliga tor Jalea, puts a decidedly Floridian spin

Andrade’s appreciation for all things Korean comes from the time she spent overseas visiting a friend who lived in South Korea. She says she was immedi ately awed by the country’s fashion and flavors, in part because it was so unlike anything she had experienced before. “Right away I fell in love with the food and the fashion, partly because they had clothes that actually fit me,” she says. Andrade is petite in stature though her easy confidence exudes a commanding presence. The chef spent much of her time abroad taking cooking classes from a woman who spoke English and taught her foundational Korean techniques, such as pickling and how to utilize heat at moderate levels. Andrade says pick ling and spicy ingredients aren’t com monly used in Cuban cooking, which is something she found so enticing about classic Korean dishes. “As Cubans, we don’t like spicy, but I like spicy,” she says. “We don’t do any thing similar in our country. We don’t pickle anything; we don’t use hot pep pers. So being able to draw from Korean ingredients really helps kick Cuban food up a bit.” After weathering the many pan demic-related pressures, Andrade has her sights set on the future. She has immediate plans of expanding Amelia’s by adding 100 seats and a full bar. The addition comes as diners are back out in full force and Miami’s dining scene is starting to return to pre-pandemic lev els. She and her girlfriend have also dis cussed opening a new bar but says that dream won’t come to fruition for sev eral years. The chef says for now, three restau rants and a renovation provide plenty of responsibilities. She adds if she does decide to open another concept, it will definitely be in Miami. As one of the city’s third-generation chefs and restau rant owners, she doesn’t envision herself anywhere else. “Miami is home,” she says. “We should be finishing the renovations this year, and it’s going to be beautiful. As long as I’m doing something creative, I love it.”

As she grew into her new role as a chef, Andrade found that her innate sense of style carried over into the kitchen. With fashion, Andrade mixed and matched textiles, colors, and patterns, transform ing them into one-of-a-kind apparel. Cooking gave her the same type of out let, she says, but instead of fabrics, she was layering ingredients and flavors. “I like things to clash and to take things to another level,” she says. This affinity shows up time and again on the menu at Finka Table & Tap, her first brick-and-mortar restaurant. Finka, which opened in 2014, features eclectic dishes inspired by her time in her par ents’ restaurant and her travels to Korea. “When I travel, I get a little spark,” she says. “I’ll see something and take a pic ture of whatever I had and when I come back home, I try to do something simi lar. I’m a curious person.” DESCRIBED AS A “COZY CUBAN DINER,” AMELIA’S 1931 SERVES ENTRÉES, BENTO BOXES, AND SHARED PLATES LIKE HAVANA NACHOS WITH OXTAIL, CHICHARRON, AND MADUROS.

AMELIAS / GABRIEL GUTIERREZ

on the classic Peruvian seafood dish. The prosciutto pizza incorporates ingredi ents from Italy, Spain (manchego cheese and truffled honey), and the Americas (sweet potato). Her subsequent restaurants, Ame lia’s 1931 and Barbakoa, also embrace Korean and Latin American flavors. Named after her grandmother, Ame lia’s 1931 has been described by Andrade as a “cozy Cuban diner,” though fusion still plays a strong part, as evidenced through comfort foods like the Korean fried chicken with avocado salad, mad uros, and white rice. Barbakoa by Finka, embodies the spirit of her original res taurant, but with a slew of new dishes, like the Korean BBQ Grilled Octopus and the wok-fried okra.

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BY TREVOR GRINER The next wave of Italian cuisine features lighter dishes, homemade pastas, and seasonal ingredients.

LEAN PROTEINS, FRESH HERBS, AND LIGHT OILS SHOW OFF ITALIAN

CUISINE’S HEALTHY SIDE.

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FOR ALL ITS VERSATILITY, Italian cui sine often comes down to basics. Its sim plicity is what first captured the atten tion of Gina Marinelli, partner and chef at La Strega in Las Vegas. “The first time I actually went to Italy and saw the simplicity behind the dishes,” she says, “that’s when I fell in love with it.” Over the course of her career, Mari nelli has worked with a handful of note worthy chefs, including three-time James Beard Award winner Scott Conant.

But after cooking for years in Las Vegas, she yearned to better understand Ital ian cuisine and decided to go on a self guided gastronomic tour. While traveling to places like the Amalfi Coast and Bologna (a city known as the “belly of Italy”), Marinelli saw first-hand how much Italian chefs and even home cooks relied on fresh, sea sonal ingredients. Chef Eric Rivera of newly opened Rav ello Ristorante in Montgomery, Alabama, also cites the Amalfi Coast as his favor

ite source of inspiration. Like Marinelli, he is drawn to the straightforward, min imalist nature of Italian food. “It’s all about maximizing a few fla vors,” he says. “It allows you to really highlight the ingredients.” He adds one of the best things about Italian food is that a mere four or five ingredients can feel like a symphony of flavors when used with the proper technique. When Marinelli returned stateside, she was determined to apply that same philosophy to her new restaurant, La

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NOW SERVING CHEFS & INGREDIENTS

Strega, which opened in 2019. “I really try to just celebrate the tra ditions,” she says. “Things like getting a beautiful fish and using the best olive oil, using the best cooking techniques. Things they would do in Italy.” Handmade pastas are a cornerstone of La Strega’s menu, including a buca tini with spring pesto, chanterelles, and Grana Padano cheese and an orec chiette with chile, truffle, and maitake mushrooms. Marinelli isn’t the only chef embracing the pasta extruder; she says handmade pasta is becoming one of the next big things in Italian dining. “There are so many [pasta] shapes now that people are creating and coming up with,” she says. “People are having fun. They’re taking classic shapes and putting their own twist on it.” Rivera shares this opinion, predict ing that lesser-known shapes like scial atielli (a short, thick pasta) will take the place of more common cuts like penne and angel hair. He takes it a step fur ther, adding that pasta colors will also broaden thanks to natural dyes like squid ink. “The art of making fresh pasta is defi nitely a huge trend,” Rivera says. “Com ing up with different shapes of pasta, weaving in different colored pastas— there’s so much that can be done with pasta right now.” Just as chefs crave freshness in their ingredients, so too do guests. For this reason, Marinelli believes certain Ital ian dishes could become more interac tive. After all, it worked with tableside guacamole at Mexican restaurants. “When we first started doing tableside pesto, people went crazy for it,” she says. “We use a mortar and pestle, and people were amazed. We have the opportunity to really showcase the ingredients and show off at the same time.” In terms of ingredients, Marinelli also anticipates spices and flavors from other regions to work their way into Ital ian cuisine. Spices such as za’atar and sumac bring flavor notes from the Mid dle East and North Africa to staples like pasta, pizza, and bread. Summertime also offers an opportu

AT RAVELLO, PORTIONS ARE PARED DOWN.

VINTAGE HOSPITALITY GROUP

nity to showcase lighter fare featuring produce like melons and tomatoes. Both Marinelli and Rivera see heavy cream and butter-based sauces giving way to oil-based ones. “You have to lean down the menu completely,” Marinelli says. “No one wants to eat a big bowl of pasta when it’s 125 degrees outside. So, we’ll pull back on things like steak and instead celebrate the vegetables and the produce. Even the wine-by-the-glass offerings are changed.” Fish crudo is one uncommon dish that could finally take the spotlight this season. Similar to a ceviche, the crudo takes raw fish and marinates it in cit rus—a process that lightly cooks it. Ravello serves a tuna crudo with Cal abrian chili, kumquat, and saffron, and Rivera thinks more Italian restaurants will start incorporating similar dishes into their menus. “That’s definitely not something we’re accustomed to here in the South,” he says. “Having those crudos gives people something very light, clean, and high lights our fish. A lot of higher-end Ital ian restaurants are really pushing the crudos.” Dishes like crudo also underscore an

oft-overlooked side of Italian cuisine, namely its health halo. Lasagna, ravioli, chicken Parmesan, and other indulgent dishes are commonplace in the U.S., but traditional dishes extend beyond hearty fare. Italy sits on the Mediterranean and is one of the core influences behind the popular diet of the same name, which features a bounty of fruits and vegeta bles, lean proteins (particularly seafood), legumes, nuts, and whole-fat dairy. Another healthy characteristic of authentic Italian cuisine could also work its way onto more menus. Rivera says Americans eat roughly one pound of pasta per sitting, often because it’s the entrée. In Italy, pasta is only part of a meal, which often includes a salad and protein, too. “With fresh pasta, you’re looking at 4–6 ounces, max. And that’s cooked weight,” he says. Whether extruders, crudos, global spices, or smaller portion sizes catch hold, one trend that’s almost certain to permeate the Italian category is a shift to more seasonal dishes. “It’s how they do it in Italy,” he says. “It’s a good representation of the type and style of food.”

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ager of Brown Chicken Brown Cow, in Hampton, Virginia, says the restaurant’s Boursin Aioli is a fan favorite. Featured on the Mouth of the South Burger—with pimento cheese, bacon, and pick les—the Boursin Aioli is also avail able as a dipping sauce a la carte. Diners like to pair it with french fries, or even pickle chips. Fraser—who recently took over the kitchen operations at the ele vated-pub-fare eatery—is such a fan of Boursin that he’s more recently been experimenting with ways to feature the cheese on other menu items. In April, Brown Chicken Brown Cow launched an LTO, the Ratatouille Burger, with the sautéed veggies and herbs you’d find in Ratatouille, topped with Boursin Garlic & Fine Herbs. He reels off a list of other possibil

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PETER MONDAVI, JR., comes from American wine royalty. His grandfa ther, Cesare Mondavi, purchased the then 82-year-old Charles Krug Winery for $75,000 in 1943, well before Cali fornia’s Napa Valley had cemented

its reputation as a world-class wine region. Following Cesare’s death, his two sons fell out, with Robert Mon davi leaving to start his own epony mous label and his brother, Peter, Sr., taking Charles Krug to the next level.

BY TREVOR GRINER Wine patriarch Peter œ˜`>ۈ] À°] Àiy iVÌà œ˜ >Àià ÀÕ}½Ã Vœ˜Ìˆ˜Õˆ˜} i}>VÞ°

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“The whole family has been born and grew up in Napa Val ley,” Peter Mondavi, Jr., says. “We really have roots here.” This legacy and a lifetime spent immersed in the wine industry have lent Mondavi a rare vantage point; he’s watched the wine world change, and he’s also been a part of its evolu tion. Along with his brother Marc, he is the co-proprietor of C. Mondavi & Family, a company comprising Charles Krug Winery, CK Mondavi and Family, French Blue, West + Wilder, and Flat Top Hills. When asked how the brand has stayed relevant through the decades, Mondavi doesn’t point to any one factor. “I think there are a couple things. I think the family’s involvement, the engagement, and the passion the family

“People are looking for authenticity, and we have that in spades.”

has for the wine business translates into our employees, our salespeople, and our customers,” he says. “People are looking for authenticity, and we have that in spades.” In terms of innovation, Charles Krug has an impressive resume. Mondavi’s father, Peter, Sr., is credited with pioneer ing the cold-fermentation process for white wines, a now stan dard practice, which protects the fermenting wine from oxy gen. He was also the first vintner in Napa to utilize French oak barrels and among the earliest to develop vineyards in the Carneros region, a cooler area now famous for its Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays. But beyond new viticulture strategies, one of the most important factors in the brand’s staying power has been its relationship with restaurants. Restaurants provide a space to develop new customers, Mondavi says, and those new cus tomers help keep Charles Krug wines popular. “Brands are built in restaurants,” he says. Ordering wine by the glass, he adds, is a great way for guests who are unfamiliar with the brand, or perhaps a spe cific style, to sample the wine without making a commitment to a whole bottle. He says this is particularly important for younger demographics, who relish sampling different drinks rather than sticking to one. “The younger group is much more experimental,” he says. “I like the concept of by-the-glass. … By-the-glass programs can be beneficial to introduce wine to that group.” Mondavi’s thoughts on younger wine drinkers aren’t mis placed. Last fall, a Harris Poll revealed that consumers aged 21–34 (generally millennials and older members of Gen Z) are more likely to reach for a beer, spirits, and hard seltzer before choosing wine. By contrast, wine is still the overwhelming drink of choice for consumers 65 and older.

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about brands they’ve yet to sample or even encounter. “You lose that knowledge base and that enthusiasm,” Mondavi says. Unlike new brands, Charles Krug has a broad, established presence, which helps in terms of patron and staff rec ognition. And to that point, it brings a certain stability to wine lists that might also feature more niche labels. “You need brands like Charles Krug that are very well-proven, very high quality, and that people are comfort able ordering,” he says. For businesses with as much history as Charles Krug, constantly looking to the future is imperative in staying rel evant. For Mondavi, that means look ing not only at the current landscape but also what’s coming down the pipeline. “I look beyond the next several years,” he says. “We look more generationally.”

The Charles Krug brand is aware of this trend and working to appeal to a younger customer base through updates like fresher packaging. It’s also leaning into the uptick in sales of premium prod ucts. Mondavi says that while overall consumption has remained relatively flat, total wine sales are actually up. He credits this increase to customers buy ing more premium products. The numbers back up his position. According to research conducted by Future Market Insights, 54 percent of millennials reported they were more inclined to choose a premium beverage compared to other offerings. Along with the rise of premium prod ucts, the past decade-plus has seen bou tique wines popping up on restaurant menus, Mondavi says. More labels mean more competition. One of the downsides of having so

PETER MONDAVI, JR.

many labels and varietals on a wine list, Mondavi points out, is the risk of new staff not being as familiar with the brands during service. Given high turn over rates, it can be challenging for new restaurant hires to be as enthusiastic

“You need brands like Charles Krug that are very well-proven, very high quality, and that people are comfortable ordering.”

THE CHARLES KRUG WINERY— INCLUDING ITS VINEYARDS AND ON-SITE TASTING ROOM— IS LOCATED IN ST. HELENA, CALIFORNIA.

CHARLES KRUG WINERY (2)

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HOW DOES YOUR MENU STACK UP?

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FIGHTING FOR BY FSR STAFF

THE LAST TWO YEARS SAW THE CLOSURE OF MANY CELEBRATED RESTAURANTS. WHILE THE LOSS ISN’T EASILY RECONCILED, A GROWING LEGION OF CREATIVE, NEW CONCEPTS ARE OFFERING HOPE FOR THE FUTURE OF INDEPENDENTS—A HOPE THAT’S BEST ILLUSTRATED BY THESE 11 RESTAURANTS. I ndependents are the lifeblood of the foodservice sector. Per the National Restaurant Association, seven out of 10 restaurants are single-unit operations. So when the coronavirus, followed by supply chain gridlocks and a labor crisis led more than 100,000 restaurants to close, the question on many minds was: Will the full-service independent category survive? While independently owned restaurants accounted for more than their fair share of COVID casualties, a new cycle of regeneration is underway. The 11 restaurants that follow opened over the last two years and represent the best of what independents bring to the dining scene. They also offer an indelible answer to the question hanging over our heads: Yes, independent

Chef Sean Sherman (pictured) and partner Dana Thompson hope Owamni serves as a proof of concept for other Indigenous restaurateurs.

restaurants will survive. If anything, they will thrive.

INDEPENDENTS FSRMAGAZINE.COM

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Owamni by The Sioux Chef

Owamni by The Sioux Chef has been a long time com ing. In 2016, owners Dana Thompson and chef Sean

MINNEAPOLIS JULY 2021

Sherman began raising funds on Kick starter to start a restaurant that focused on Indigenous cuisines; their campaign even became the most-backed restaurant on Kickstarter. Shortly thereafter, the Min neapolis Park & Recreation Board put out a request for proposals for businesses to fill the forthcoming Water Works Pavil ion building at Mill Ruins Park. Collabora tions with the city, architects, and others followed, and construction began in 2019. The restaurant finally made its grand debut last summer. “We just had to sit tight because it was a massive project. They made a brand-new park basically all around that building and had to strip that building down all the way and rebuild it on historical bases,” Sher man says. But the wait has been worthwhile. The mission behind Owamni dovetails with the park’s own history as a gathering place for Native tribes. Even the name “Owamni’’ is a nod to that heritage; the waterfall, also known as St. Anthony Falls, was called Owámniiyomni in the Dakota language. It’s not uncommon for restaurants to open with a purpose beyond serving excep tional food and creating a singular dining experience. But whereas many focus on local sourcing, wholesome ingredients, and fair wages, Owamni is driving a social revo lution, and food is the vehicle. “A lot of the work is just raising aware ness to Indigenous peoples, Indigenous his tories, and showcasing this kind of invisi bility of how Indigenous people have been treated,” Sherman says. “And [it’s] opening up a lot of conversations of why that is and why there aren’t Native restaurants in every single city when you can find food from all over the world [at restaurants], just not the

HEIDI EHALT CHEF SEAN, GRILLED SALMON: HEIDI EHALT / RESTAURANT: NANCY BUNDT

GRILLED SALMON & ROOT VEGGIES AT OWAMNI

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TOP INDEPENDENTS

“We use the menu as a way to educate, as in ‘this is the food of the Salish,’ or ‘this is the food of the Navajo Nation,’ so that we can show people that there are differences; there’s diversity.”

food that’s from the land you’re standing on.” To this end, Owamni eschews ingredients brought over by colonists, like wheat, dairy, and refined sugar, in favor of native plants and proteins. Dishes include Blue Corn Mush with Ute Moun tain blue corn, maple, hazelnut, and berries; Game Tartare, made of Cheyenne River bison, duck egg aioli, picked carrots, sumac, and aronia (choke berries); and Wild Rice Sorbet, with puffed wild rice and wojape syrup, which is made from fresh berries. The menu is predominantly influenced by Dakota cuisine, but features specialties from dif ferent tribes and nations, too. “We use the menu as a way to educate, as in ‘this is the food of the Salish,’ or ‘this is the food of the Navajo Nation,’ so that we can show people that there are differences; there’s diversity,” Thomp son says. “We consider Owamni a really beautiful opportunity for passive education. Every detail has been analyzed and strategically curated so that people come in and they don’t feel like anyone’s hit ting them over the head with anything, but they leave changed.” The design is similarly subtle. Rather than lean into stereotypical “Native” decor that can come across as inauthentic and garish, the restaurant is an airy space with floor-to-ceiling windows, nat ural wood accents, and creamy exposed brick. In addition to patio seating, the outdoors offers an opportunity for exploration, as the park is dotted with native plants, each displaying its name in English and Dakota, as well as details about how it was used by Indigenous cultures. Owamni the restaurant is just one spoke in a much larger wheel. In 2014, Sherman and Thomp son opened The Sioux Chef, a nonprofit offering both catering services and food education. Over the years, it has launched a number of outreach and educational initiatives, including Tatanka Truck (a food truck that reopens this sum mer) and North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (natifs). The latter works to rees tablish Native foodways and thereby improve the health and economies of Native communities. The issue is very close to the heart of its found ers. Thompson is a lineal descendent of two Dakota tribes, and Sherman is a member of the Oglala Lakota Nation. “I grew up on Pine Ridge Reservation [in South Dakota] where we had immense unemployment. We had no restaurants, and we had one grocery store to service [an area] the size of Connecticut,” Sherman says. “There’s a lot of work that needs to be done. Nutritional access and education around

these pieces is probably our biggest goal.” NATIFS also operates the Indigenous Food Lab—a professional kitchen that trains partic ipants in creating and operating an F&B enter prise centered around Native cuisine. The lab also has a synergistic relationship with the restaurant. Owamni staff have used its kitchen to develop rec ipes and perfect prep methods. On the flip side, students at the food lab can visit the restaurant to see the teachings in action. “We’re trying to support and develop more Indigenous entrepreneurs, especially food work ers and people in the industry to just get more of them out there,” Sherman says. Although the food lab has only been in opera tion two years, Sherman and Thompson are already exploring the possibility of opening extensions in Anchorage, Alaska; Bozeman, Montana; Rapid City, South Dakota; and Chicago. As for Owamni, the pair hope its success will spawn more Indigenous restaurants. The tim ing could be right, too. Sherman says he’s already started to see more Native restaurants bubbling up around the country, including Nātv in Tulsa, Okla homa, Wahpepah’s Kitchen in Oakland, California, and Cafe Ohlone in nearby Berkeley. “I feel like Owamni is a good role model,” Sher man says. “It’s a proof of concept that we can have a restaurant that’s focused on de-colonizing and pushing back against colonial history and really showcasing an Indigenous perspective to the land, the food, and doing it in a manner that is positive and speaks through food.”

OWAMNI’S GAME TARTARE FEATURES MEATS LIKE VENISON (PICTURED) AND SEASONAL PLANTS.

DANA THOMPSON