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Positioned 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 High 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 evening after evening. 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 element to their success at Sur Lie.
“[We’re] this unbelievable dynamic duo,” Cole says. “I am very data-oriented, organized and environment friendly, and she or he’s the good, artistic mind that comes up with the menu, which is why folks come into Sur Lie as nicely. We’ve a extremely good relationship that means. As ladies within the business making an attempt to interrupt down limitations, we concentrate on what we’re each actually good at and the best way to complement one another.”
Collectively, the pair has crafted progressive 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 as we speak.
“Service makes the meal, and it might probably break the meal,” Mike says. “Meg — as a result of I do keep in mind her title — she was actually nice, tremendous pleasant, good and informal however skilled. The service that we received 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 positive if the sixth sense for distinctive service could be taught, however she encourages her workforce 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 believe a very powerful factor, too, is [Mimi is] an incredible chief, and that, to me, speaks greater than being an incredible chef as a result of when you may lead a workforce of individuals and actually encourage in our business, then that interprets into the visitor expertise,” Cole says.
Constructing a dream workforce does not occur by mistake. Cole makes use of two hiring ways to seek out staff who present promise. First, she opinions the applicant’s resumé and researches their earlier workplaces to grasp their previous work cultures and see if they might be a pure match at Sur Lie. Second, she asks concerning 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 prime of every little thing. Earlier than turning into a restaurateur, Cole labored as a healthcare supervisor and studied entrepreneurship, gaining experience in workforce and organizational construction that also serves her as we speak.
“Having techniques and processes in place is tremendous necessary to offering high quality and consistency,” she says. “[That translates into] having your workforce actually engaged within the work they’re doing and with the ability to maintain folks accountable. It needs to be a well-oiled machine, and there needs to be very clear expectations and a technique 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 type or making ready a gathering agenda saves her treasured time and ensures she addresses each concern together with her workforce.
Studying buyer opinions is at all times an merchandise on Cole’s to-do record and a vital part of Sur Lie’s well-oiled machine. She appreciates anybody who takes the time to offer suggestions, however she actually takes it to coronary heart when it comes from a neighborhood resident.
When she first took over the restaurant Collect, she invested within the model by hiring consultants and sourcing native components, leading to greater menu costs. “[We were] listening to from the neighborhood that it was getting too costly,” Cole says. “We positively took that suggestions significantly since you’re not a vacation spot restaurant in a small city. Normally, you are supported by your neighborhood and the locals. In order that was one thing that we shifted and tried to make a bit of extra approachable for folks, particularly in a family-oriented neighborhood.”
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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 best way. The entrepreneurial journey is commonly a winding street, however abilities from different industries can show invaluable in the long term.
- Take heed to locals. Neighborhood is the driving drive behind all native companies. Be sure to hearken to locals and worth their opinions to foster long-term loyalty.
- Get an excellent learn available on the market. Decide if there is a gap available in the market your online business can fill and assess how one can differentiate your self from rivals.
- Service is a craft. Service leaves an enduring impression, good or dangerous. Encourage your workforce to deliver their very own aptitude to customer support and take delight of their craft.
- Defend your time. Set clear expectations along with your workforce on when and the way you are out there. Whether or not it is a type for stock requests or an agenda merchandise for the all-hands assembly, having a system in place will assist you to work smarter, not tougher.
- Rent to boost your tradition. In the event you do not spend money on your employees’s careers, they will not spend money on the shopper expertise. Acknowledge their worth and the way it aligns along with your firm tradition.
Take heed to the episode under to listen to immediately from Cole and Mike C., and subscribe to Behind the Evaluate for extra from new enterprise house owners and reviewers each Thursday.
Editorial contributions by Erin Palmero and Kristi Lindahl