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General Manager (Emphasis on General)

August 21, 2007

Someone asked me the other day, “How’s your plan to act as both chef and GM working out?” First, I have to tell you that throughout most of my career, my culinary mentors were chef-owners/general managers. Call it an honor, call it a privilege, or simply say they each was one part omnipotent deity, one part megalomaniac.

Before I can tell you how it’s working out, let me first tell you what it means from a few different perspectives. According to the online MSN Encarta dictionary, the definition of a general manager is “somebody who is responsible for directing and controlling the work and staff of a business.” My working definition from my days of teaching restaurant management is that the general manager administers day-to-day operations of the restaurant, following prescribed policies and practices that provide leadership and a sense of direction to mold a group of individuals into management, production and service teams that produce outstanding service, excellent food, an appropriate atmosphere/environment, gracious hospitality and financial success.

That being said, my actual definition for a restaurant general manager is “jack of all trades,” or, for you baseball aficionados, a combination utility infielder and catcher. Yes, I am the owner, (jefe, if you will). I know that no matter how hard I try to let Terroir stand on its own, that I, Stu Stein, will be permanently linked with the restaurant. That leads to every reaction, from those who say, “I love chef-owner-run restaurants” or “I will never set foot into that guy’s place because I don’t like him” or to those who say, “So what?”

The point is that whether I’m acting as general manager in name or not, I need to set the direction and the tone of the restaurant because in the end, it’s my name on the line. But I also know I need to steer the ship. Here’s a little insight into what I’m doing as both executive chef and general manager.

A little over two months into the live-action portion of my adventure, I am the driving force behind the menus, including a good portion of daily meal preparation and execution. I meet with Cole Danehower every several weeks to help direct the wine program. I regularly meet with Mark Jacobsmeyer (who is responsible for the daily floor service, daily wine program and ongoing front-of-the-house staff training), and I also meet with my front-of-the-house staff to refine service standards. I even fill in as floor manager occasionally when Mark isn’t able to be around (this past Saturday night, for instance).

I don’t do this because I have to. I do it so that my vision gets translated to the customer in the most efficient way possible. I also do it because I learned well from my mentors. I like to emulate success, and they were successful. The biggest problem, of course, is that all these tasks—along with working on the big picture and guerrilla marketing—take me away from being a cook.

I’m tenacious. Jose, one of my line cooks; Maria, my daily cleaner and prep cook; Amani, my hostess, and I have been at the restaurant every day that we’ve been open. I open the restaurant, do paperwork, do my prep list, and get ready for service. I’ve worked the line (yes, cooking on a station while expediting from behind the line) every day we’ve been open. When guests ask for a manager, I send them to Mark. When they ask about buying wine, I send them to Cole. When they want to talk about advertising, I send them to my wife. When they ask for the owner, I send me.

Oh, yeah—I’m also the new company bookkeeper. The last bookkeeper didn’t workout as planned, but that’s another story. Yes, this means some long days and some sleepless nights, but that’s fun of being an entrepreneur, right?

And the journey continues.

Cheers!

Stu

Comments or questions? E-mail Chef Stu at StuStein@rimag.com.

Posted by Stu Stein on August 21, 2007 | Comments (0)