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Situated within the coronary heart of Portland, Maine, Sur Lie is a James Beard Award-nominated tapas restaurant with a menu spearheaded by chef Mimi Weissenborn, a just lately introduced contestant on Bravo’s Top Chef.
Whereas Weissenborn takes the helm within the kitchen, proprietor and James Beard Award semifinalist Krista Cole works behind the scenes to make sure a clean service night time after night time. She first opened the restaurant out of her love for tapas and wine pairings, filling a niche she could not discover in Portland. Then, Weissenborn got here alongside and adjusted the sport. Now, their distinctive dynamic is a key part to their success at Sur Lie.
“[We’re] this unimaginable dynamic duo,” Cole says. “I am very data-oriented, organized and environment friendly, and he or she’s the sensible, artistic mind that comes up with the menu, which is why individuals come into Sur Lie as nicely. We now have a extremely good relationship that means. As ladies within the trade making an attempt to interrupt down boundaries, we give attention to what we’re each actually good at and learn how to complement one another.”
Collectively, the pair has crafted modern menus and an much more spectacular tapas service. One buyer, Mike C., visited the restaurant on a post-holiday journey and nonetheless remembers his server’s title in the present day.
“Service makes the meal, and it may well break the meal,” Mike says. “Meg — as a result of I do bear in mind her title — she was actually nice, tremendous pleasant, good and informal however skilled. The service that we acquired was attentive however not overbearing. I am not in search of them to come back up and verify on me each second, however I additionally do not need to have to go searching after I want them. That is service: studying that information, that have, that know-when-to and when-not-to.”
Cole says she is not certain if the sixth sense for exceptional service could be taught, however she encourages her staff to develop delight of their work. She notices a transparent enchancment in service when servers deal with their work as a craft and really feel empowered so as to add their very own private contact.
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It additionally helps to have a passionate chef operating the present. “I feel a very powerful factor, too, is [Mimi is] a tremendous chief, and that, to me, speaks greater than being a tremendous chef as a result of when you may lead a staff of individuals and actually encourage in our trade, then that interprets into the visitor expertise,” Cole says.
Constructing a dream staff would not occur by mistake. Cole makes use of two hiring tactics to search out staff who present promise. First, she evaluations the applicant’s resumé and researches their earlier workplaces to know their previous work cultures and see if they might be a pure match at Sur Lie. Second, she asks in regards to the applicant’s favourite office and why, gaining perception into their values and cultural contributions.
From hiring to stock, Cole does all of it, emphasizing the significance of group to remain on high of every thing. Earlier than turning into a restaurateur, Cole labored as a healthcare supervisor and studied entrepreneurship, gaining experience in staff and organizational construction that also serves her in the present day.
“Having techniques and processes in place is tremendous essential to offering high quality and consistency,” she says. “[That translates into] having your staff actually engaged within the work they’re doing and with the ability to maintain individuals accountable. It needs to be a well-oiled machine, and there needs to be very clear expectations and a method of doing issues.”
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With such techniques and expectations in place, Cole is ready to shield her restricted time. She owns and runs two different eateries in Maine along with Sur Lie. One thing so simple as creating an Amazon order request kind or making ready a gathering agenda saves her treasured time and ensures she addresses each concern together with her staff.
Studying customer reviews is at all times an merchandise on Cole’s to-do listing and a vital part of Sur Lie’s well-oiled machine. She appreciates anybody who takes the time to supply suggestions, however she actually takes it to coronary heart when it comes from an area resident.
When she first took over the restaurant Gather, she invested within the model by hiring consultants and sourcing native components, leading to greater menu prices. “[We were] listening to from the group that it was getting too costly,” Cole says. “We positively took that suggestions critically since you’re not a vacation spot restaurant in a small city. Often, you are supported by your group and the locals. In order that was one thing that we shifted and tried to make somewhat extra approachable for individuals, particularly in a family-oriented group.”
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From beginning in healthcare to proudly owning three eating places, Cole continues to steer her entrepreneurial journey with these key classes:
- Decide up transferable abilities alongside the way in which. The entrepreneurial journey is commonly a winding highway, however abilities from different industries can show invaluable in the long term.
- Take heed to locals. Group is the driving power behind all native companies. Make certain to hearken to locals and worth their opinions to foster long-term loyalty.
- Get a great learn available on the market. Decide if there is a gap out there your online business can fill and assess how one can differentiate yourself from rivals.
- Service is a craft. Service leaves an enduring impression, good or dangerous. Encourage your team to convey their very own aptitude to customer support and take delight of their craft.
- Defend your time. Set clear expectations together with your staff on when and the way you are obtainable. Whether or not it is a kind for stock requests or an agenda merchandise for the all-hands assembly, having a system in place will allow you to work smarter, not tougher.
- Rent to boost your tradition. In case you do not put money into your workers’s careers, they will not put money into the shopper expertise. Acknowledge their worth and the way it aligns together with your firm tradition.
Take heed to the episode beneath to listen to immediately from Cole and Mike C., and subscribe to Behind the Review for extra from new enterprise homeowners and reviewers each Thursday.
Editorial contributions by Erin Palmero and Kristi Lindahl
