The Challenges of Running a Restaurant
By Jessica Bard

The show must go on. This famous indefatigable expression of the theatre world is often true of the restaurant business. For The DePuy Canal House, the expression became a reality one hot summer night, in the middle of service. The staff was already serving their first forty patrons and forty more were being seated in the air-conditioned dining room. It wasn’t long before everyone noticed the fireworks display just outside the window. Bright sparks popped and cascaded for a full ten minutes entertaining the diners with a devilish dance of light about the room. Then all went quiet and dark until eyes adjusted to the soft glow of candlelight.

Chef Novi had already been on the phone to Central Hudson reporting the burning electric wires but there was no thought of sending anyone home. The show must go on. And it did. The electric company was there in no time with battery-powered lamps to illuminate the kitchen. The gas stoves remained good to go and the refrigerators would hold the cold at least until the end of service. A neighbor ran their garden hose through the restaurant’s kitchen sink window so they could at least wash sauté pans and fill buckets for the washroom. The chefs continued to put out the food and as the heat in the kitchen escalated, a concerned friend wrapped ice water towels around their necks for brief relief. The wait staff, crossing their fingers that the dining room would stay cool, tended to the patient guests who were effortlessly enjoying a truly memorable candlelit meal.

In the restaurant business, there’s often more to it than “the show must go on” even when things go awry. There is a daily challenge to meet the unconscious expectations of a guest and create a pleasurable if not unique experience. To meet these expectations a restaurant owner must keep the dining room and menu fresh and up-to-date while maintaining consistency in the ambience, service, and signature menu items that give the restaurant its personal essence. It is a business of giving day in and day out. How does one meet the challenges of such a business without burning out? What are the rewards? Following are the perspectives of two successful restaurateurs, John Novi and David Weiss.

John Novi
John Novi, chef/owner of The DePuy Canal House, spent much of his teens working in his father’s High Falls bakery. When he was not in it was seven days a week, fourteen hours a day. When Novi finally opened his own restaurant down the street, he told his father “It’s only going to be four days a week, just for dinner.” At first people thought he was crazy, but Chef Novi attributes much of his success and resistance to burn-out to having held firm to this decision for thirty-three years. Novi has been able to spend quality time with his two children, pursue his interest in preservation and charitable concerns as well as develop other business ventures. “I conclude that that has been the saving grace for me, but only as I’m getting older am I getting more ridiculous.” Novi’s businesses have expanded to include a Bistro (Chef’s on Fire, open five days,) an Inn, and The New York State Store, which opened just this fall.

“Of course,” he adds “ I couldn’t have done it without a fabulous crew to support me. I’ve head no problems finding great people to work with me. They’re conscious and creative people and all around good-natured. Also, the students from the Culinary Institute of America are an invaluable resource not just because they’re plentiful but also because they’re really into the food.”

Novi’s fascination with food has also been the key to keeping his interests and determination alive. “My resturarant is my studio.” His menu creations and plating designs are his art. Through the years, Novi’s creative Eclectic American fare has won him accolades and four stars from The New York Times. Still, finding the balance between what he would prefer to serve and what some people want has been one of Novi’s challenges. When he opened in 1969 the locals said make sure he had Johnny Walker Red at the bar and beef rib on the menu. Novi honored the suggestion and it paid off. He was able to keep the beef-eaters happy while focusing on his award-winning vegetable and savory fruit combinations. Novi has always known the advantages of being flexible and though he still offers a seven-course, prix fix menu, Novi has met the changing tastes of his patrons by offering a four-course prix fix and everything a la carte as well.

By no means does Novi think the restaurant business is easy. “It’s great but at the same time it’s tough to stay in business, it’s tough to start a business. People think it’s peaches and cream putting together a business. My big hassle is there’s no government incentive for anyone like myself to go into business. There wasn’t back in 1969 and there still isn’t. If anything, the focus is still on corporations and large businesses. I pay the same taxes as any large corporation pays. My payroll taxes are just out of hand.”

A compassionate humanitarian, Novi’s frustration is clearly not only for himself. “The unfortunate part about it is we have absentee landlords coming into the area, like Stewart’s, and there is never any incentive to put our own people in business. Our local kids, our sons, our daughters.” Despite the aggravations, Novi says that the business has gotten easier with time. He is thankful that his learning never stops. Nor the surprises. He reports that one couple recently returned to celebrate the anniversary of the blackout. (For a winter recipe from the DePuy Canal House, see this story.)

David Weiss
Thirty-three years is a long time to be in business but for David Weiss, fifteen years seems like just as long. In 1987 he started Santa Fe with partner Val Nehez in a small storefront situated at Tivoli’s principal intersection. The restaurant, serving authentic Mexican and Southwestern cuisines, has come a long way. Weiss, now sole proprietor, owns the whole colorful building and has vastly expanded the open kitchen, dining rooms, and outdoor seating.

David Weiss is nowhere nearing the burnout point yet. In fact, a few years ago he started a new restaurant in neighboring Red Hook, Max’s Memphis Barbecue, inspired by Weiss’ travels through America’s south. Traveling has always afforded him inspiration as well as time to refuel his creative energies. “We change colors and decorative elements every year. It’s one of the things that keep it vibrant for me as well as for the new customers and staff members.” As for the food, Weiss loves to develop new recipes whether it’s to incorporate a local cheese or adapt a pumpkin seed recipe shared by one of the Oaxacan cooks. Weiss also says it’s rewarding to have a diverse customer base. “There’s the local trade, weekenders, and those driving from as far as Albany and Westchester.”

Weiss, like Novi, agrees that the restaurant business is challenging. There are always problems of one sort or another, but avocados eventually ripen, the margarita machine gets fixed, and a table opens up for waiting customers. “Having a great crew that’s fun to work with is what makes it work.”

Fortunately a good team can handle the unexpected. Once during a blizzard, Max’s Memphis Barbeque was fully staffed but had no one to serve. But then two small headlights approached the restaurant. A couple on a snowmobile came in wondering if they were still serving. C’mon in! Soon two more snowmobiles arrived and then two more. Things were in full swing when Weiss counted fifty snowmobiles parked out front. Giddy with the feeling like he was in Alaska, Weiss was also happy to have a successful night when he didn’t expect it.