Michael Gebert: Congratulations on your second anniversary.
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Mark Mendez: That running a kitchen and running a business are two totally different things. Some things I had certainly been exposed to, and knew. But there was a lot that I didn’t know and had to learn. Running a kitchen and making good food is something we know how to do. But running a business and making it profitable is something we had to learn. I think we do a much better job of that—from where we were a year ago, we’re in a much better place.
So what’s something you would like to be able to do, but reality intervened?
Mark: I don’t want people to think it’s painful, because it’s not. I love this restaurant. I love this place, I love my wife. But there are things that bother you, that at times can be soul crushing. But with any business—
I didn’t want to talk about the ingredients too much, because that phrase “farm to table” is so tired. I just wanted to use good ingredients, the best I could. And when we first opened, I changed the menu a lot, every week. And I stopped doing that—
Liz: To the point where someone could come in ten days later and the item they loved wouldn’t be on the menu any more.
