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Ideas and Insights for Full-Service Restaurants | March 7, 2014
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RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE // AMELIA LEVIN // MARCH 2014
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1. HMSHost Partners with Celebrity Chef Roger Mooking at Toronto Pearson Airport [03-07-2014]
2. The Shed BBQ + Blues Joint Partners with Meyer Natural Angus Beef [03-07-2014] 3.
Meals for Good Program Lets Chicago Residents Make Chef-Inspired Meals at Home [03-07-2014]
4. National Restaurant Association Announces 2014 FABI Award Recipients [03-07-2014] 5.
Restaurant Labor Pool Tightens [03-06-2014] • More Industry Headlines • Product Announcements
Michael Smith
CAMERON GEE
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Upscale fine dining and eclectic casual dining succeed in a single location under the watchful expertise of Michael and Nancy Smith. Comments Email Print Like
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READ MORE ABOUT Restaurant Experience RELATED STORIES Smith & Wollensky Reinvents the Liquid Lunch A. Smith Bowman Distillery Releases Gingerbread Be... Brian Prewitt Named Master Distiller at A. Smith B...
Upscale fine dining and eclectic casual dining succeed in a single location under the watchful expertise of Michael and Nancy Smith. By Amelia Levin Many say Kansas City’s dining scene would not be where it is without Michael Smith—both the chef and the sophisticated restaurant that bears his name. A protégé of Chicago’s late Charlie Trotter and Denver’s Jean-Pierre Lelievre, Smith grew up learning from his restaurant-manager mother and spent years studying in France. Since his early days at The American Restaurant—a Kansas City landmark—and later at his first restaurant, Forty Sardines in Leawood, Kansas, Smith has drawn a regular crowd and fiercely loyal staff. In 2007, Smith married Nancy Mellor, his longtime general manager at Forty Sardines, and after a honeymoon in Europe, they returned to Kansas City to open their signature Michael Smith restaurant in just five weeks. Six months later, they followed it with the opening of Extra Virgin next door. A Match Made in Restaurant Heaven It’s been said that successful business partnerships are like successful marriages. In this case it’s both. Hard to miss with his long ponytail, chef whites, and ear-to-ear smile, Chef Smith is a popular guy in his dining room, constantly called on by both regular and newbie customers. Smith’s so popular and outgoing, in fact, that he admits Nancy—his businessfocused better half—often pulls him out of the dining room and back to the kitchen to keep service moving.
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“We balance each other,” says the chef. “Nancy is a fixer and I would rather sit on a decision for a day or two. I’m also a ‘yes’ person and it’s hard for me to say ‘no,’ so I’m lucky Nancy manages the front of the restaurant.” For Michael, the business-marriage partnership also works because, growing up in a restaurant family, he’s comfortable blending the personal with work. At home, you’re home; at work, you’re at work, he says. While Michael drives the culinary vision for the restaurants and helms the kitchen with the occasional TV show appearance, Nancy runs the day-today operations with a “get it done” mentality that focuses on private events, office management, and table management. She is also an avid wine connoisseur and experienced beverage director, who personally handpicked the more than 400 bottles of wine—including many boutique and hard-to-find selections—housed in the two restaurants. In fact, both Michael Smith and Extra Virgin have earned awards for their impressive and thoughtful wine lists. 1
2
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Ideas and Insights for Full-Service Restaurants | March 7, 2014
ABOUT FSR
FIRST COURSE
Editorial Team
MENUS & CHEFS
Contact Us
LIQUID INTELLIGENCE
OPERATIONS
IN THE RESTAURANT
SUBSCRIBE
Subscribe
The Best of Both Worlds
RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE // AMELIA LEVIN // MARCH 2014
Search INDUSTRY HEADLINES
MOST POPULAR
MOST EMAILED
1. HMSHost Partners with Celebrity Chef Roger Mooking at Toronto Pearson Airport [03-07-2014]
2. The Shed BBQ + Blues Joint Partners with Meyer Natural Angus Beef [03-07-2014] 3.
Meals for Good Program Lets Chicago Residents Make Chef-Inspired Meals at Home [03-07-2014]
4. National Restaurant Association Announces 2014 FABI Award Recipients [03-07-2014] 5.
Restaurant Labor Pool Tightens [03-06-2014] • More Industry Headlines • Product Announcements
Michael Smith
CAMERON GEE
Do you need professional PDFs? Try PDFmyURL!
Upscale fine dining and eclectic casual dining succeed in a single location under the watchful expertise of Michael and Nancy Smith. Comments Email Print Like
11
Tweet
5
0 Share
READ MORE ABOUT Restaurant Experience RELATED STORIES Smith & Wollensky Reinvents the Liquid Lunch A. Smith Bowman Distillery Releases Gingerbread Be... Brian Prewitt Named Master Distiller at A. Smith B...
Upscale fine dining and eclectic casual dining succeed in a single location under the watchful expertise of Michael and Nancy Smith. By Amelia Levin Many say Kansas City’s dining scene would not be where it is without Michael Smith—both the chef and the sophisticated restaurant that bears his name. A protégé of Chicago’s late Charlie Trotter and Denver’s Jean-Pierre Lelievre, Smith grew up learning from his restaurant-manager mother and spent years studying in France. Since his early days at The American Restaurant—a Kansas City landmark—and later at his first restaurant, Forty Sardines in Leawood, Kansas, Smith has drawn a regular crowd and fiercely loyal staff. In 2007, Smith married Nancy Mellor, his longtime general manager at Forty Sardines, and after a honeymoon in Europe, they returned to Kansas City to open their signature Michael Smith restaurant in just five weeks. Six months later, they followed it with the opening of Extra Virgin next door. A Match Made in Restaurant Heaven It’s been said that successful business partnerships are like successful marriages. In this case it’s both. Hard to miss with his long ponytail, chef whites, and ear-to-ear smile, Chef Smith is a popular guy in his dining room, constantly called on by both regular and newbie customers. Smith’s so popular and outgoing, in fact, that he admits Nancy—his businessfocused better half—often pulls him out of the dining room and back to the kitchen to keep service moving.
Do you need professional PDFs? Try PDFmyURL!
“We balance each other,” says the chef. “Nancy is a fixer and I would rather sit on a decision for a day or two. I’m also a ‘yes’ person and it’s hard for me to say ‘no,’ so I’m lucky Nancy manages the front of the restaurant.” For Michael, the business-marriage partnership also works because, growing up in a restaurant family, he’s comfortable blending the personal with work. At home, you’re home; at work, you’re at work, he says. While Michael drives the culinary vision for the restaurants and helms the kitchen with the occasional TV show appearance, Nancy runs the day-today operations with a “get it done” mentality that focuses on private events, office management, and table management. She is also an avid wine connoisseur and experienced beverage director, who personally handpicked the more than 400 bottles of wine—including many boutique and hard-to-find selections—housed in the two restaurants. In fact, both Michael Smith and Extra Virgin have earned awards for their impressive and thoughtful wine lists. 1
2
NEXT ›
LAST »
F&B
Restaurant Staff
The Kitchen Sink
Food Regulations
Wine and Spirits
Family Restaurants
Site Selection
Advertise
Chef Forum
White Table Cloth
Restaurant Finance
Contact Us
enter email
COPYRIGHT © 2014 JOURNALISTIC INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. FSR IS A TRADEMARK OF JOURNALISTIC, INC.
Do you need professional PDFs? Try PDFmyURL!
