FSR October 2022

HOTEL RES TAURANT S

multi-level layout creates a natural pro gression both in terms of aesthetics and dining experience. “When you enter the hotel, you kind of go through different stages, like the ground floor is completely different from the middle floor, and those two are both different from our rooftop bar,” Pears says. “There isn't much around that would be comparable to us." CELEBRATE YOUR CITY For properties like WToronto and Epicu rean that are part of much larger hospi tality brands, tailoring each hotel to its respective location saves it from cookie cutter standardizations. 1 Hotel, under theMarriott International umbrella, has half a dozen domestic locations and even more in the pipeline. Director of culinary and executive chef Chris Crary first opened 1 Kitchen within 1 Hotel West Hollywood in 2019, and now he’s bringing the same concept and ethos to 1 Hotel Nashville, which debuted in Tennessee in July. Because the new 1 Kitchen holds true to the orig inal ’s zero-waste, locally sourced tenet, its menu looks quite different. “We try to do a small percentage, like 25–30 percent of items, that are similar at each [location]. But then we really take that 70 percent to heart by working with the local farmers,” Crary says. The new 1 Kitchen plus casual café Neighbors and Harriet’s Rooftop have also afforded Crary the opportunity to explore Southern fare. The chef ’s grand mother, who taught him to cook, was originally from Tennessee, so when the Nashville project first came up, he imme diately volunteered, citing it as a way to get back to his culinary roots. “Southern cuisine is histor ical ly known for being heavier,” Crary says. “So it’s about how we take these beauti ful ingredients and keep them light and fresh and airy but something that peo ple still recognize.” Local fare looks very different in Canada’s largest city (the population of Toronto is about quadruple that of Nash ville). Besides sourcing local coffees, nut

butters, honey, maple syrup, and other ingredients, Pears showcases Toron to’s multicultural makeup through his menus, especially at the Living Room. Neighborhoods like Danforth (known for Greek influence), Kensington Mar ket (known for Latin American cuisine), and Little Italy are all on display through different small plates. “We got really granular with our lobby bar; the whole theme is Toronto tapas. Each dish has its own neighborhood,” Pears says. STEP UP YOUR SIPS Craft drinks are at the heart of the F&B strategy at Angevin & Co. In Denver, its all-day, beverage-forward restaurant Three Saints Revival specializes in old and new world wines, as well as craft cocktails. Thompson is also bringing more attention to the libations at the his toric Frenchmen Hotel in New Orleans, which he purchased in summer 2021. “We opened it more as a live music venue and a bar, but it's kind of a tough business and so what I want to do is take it more into a tiki concept, which I think can be a destination that pulls locals in,” Thompson says. In January, Thompson acquired The Whitney Hotel (also inNewOrleans) and is currently rebranding it as the Fiona Hotel. Everything from the design and decor to the food and beverage options will revolve around the tale of an 18th century Irish immigrant who opened a flower shop in the Garden District. “We tell her story in the hotel and the bar, which is called Belladonna,” he says. Naming the bar after a poisonous night shade is a playful nod to the fact that alcohol can be a noxious substance. “So there will be a lot of flower andmedicinal themes in Belladonna that all ties back to the hotel theme,” Thompson adds. At the W Toronto, the beverage pro gram varies from concept to concept. On the lower levels, some popular mixed drinks are made in batches ahead of time, while a selection of beer and wine are on tap. Pears says they’re also exper imenting with putting cocktails on tap.

It’s an entirely different game, how ever, at Skylight. “Our rooftop bar is where we really focus on our cocktail programming. That's where we have all our mixolo gists working. The rest are bartenders, but they still [make] very cocktail-for ward cocktails with fresh juices, made in-house syrups—all that kind of stuff,” Pears says. “We set up a little mixology lab in one of our rooms where we have some really unique, cool tools and toys for clarifications, for freeze-drying, and that’s up on the top floor for the rooftop.” THINK INSIDE THE BOX Pears’ cocktail lab in the W Toronto speaks to a crucial advantage hotel res taurants have over their freestanding competitors: resources. Whether it’s operating with higher budgets, optimiz ing staffing schedules, or simply having the space and tools to try more ambi tious projects, being part of something larger can work in a restaurant’s favor. “It's not a different animal in terms of what our core purpose and everything else is, but it's almost like, with a res taurant, you're operating inside a box,” Indigo Road’s Wyatt says. “With a hotel, you're operating inside a box that's inside of another box with its own set of rules, practices, and ideas.” So while the setup requires restau rants to figure out how to offer round the-clock service, it also opens the door to new possibilities. For example, 1 Hotel locations have on-site gardens, which give executive chefs like Crary greater control over sourcing. Standardized operations and admin istration also free Crary up to concen trate on running the restaurants. “There's a lot of infrastructure with hotels that really helps creative people, like myself, who aren't always the most organized with spreadsheets and things,” he says. And while far from glamorous, on site maintenance is also a godsend for many chefs and restaurateurs. Recently, Wardhaugh was faced with a broken freezer on a Friday afternoon—a situ

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