Hello friends,
It has been 10 months since I've waxed philosophical about food, wine and everything in between. We've got a lot happening and I've been wanting to catch everyone up. Conscientious procrastination is an interesting internal study. Thanks to so many of you who have been nagging me about getting back into prose mode.
Time is Flying - We’ve been open almost two and a half years and as many of you know, we’ve made some significant changes along the way. Last year was a critical year in order to prove that we have a restaurant model that is not only press worthy, but can actually be profitable. I know, I know… novel concept for a restaurant. We’ve learned a tremendous amount about our business and what it really takes to succeed in a very fickle and risky industry. By no means are we ‘there yet’ but we feel like we are focusing on the right things to hopefully keep you, our cherished customers, coming back, run a solid business and build a foundation for the future. Your loyalty and support is appreciated more than we can possibly express in writing. Our whole team understands that without you, we simply don’t exist.
With regard to Management / Operations, in the last 8 months you may have noticed that Muss and I are not visible in the store as much as we once were. We now play golf everyday, mainly in Augusta, eat and drink lavishly across the world and shop for exotic cars on eBay. Ok.. I’m kidding. In reality, we have begun a transition of balancing working on the business more while still remain working in it. We have a tremendous amount of trust, pride and confidence in our management team and this has allowed us to constantly be thinking about how we can improve and grow as a company. There is a lot to work to do and things to improve and that will never change. One of the core company values we share with our staff is Kaizen, which is the Japanese term representing the pursuit of never ending improvement. We have really embraced the importance of initial and ongoing training. Many of our guests take it upon themselves to make the new staff feel comfortable and sometimes train them for us on ‘The M&T way’ of doing things. That is priceless!
We're still committed to our company mantra each and every day. Here's what's up.
SERVING THE HIGHEST QUALITY FOOD AND DRINK WE CAN FIND OR MAKE OURSELVES.
Many customers ask if all of our products are organic. We wish we could always use only local organic products, but often the cost, availability and consistency of product is prohibitive. We are always in pursuit of making our food better tasting and better for you. That is why our culinary team makes almost everything from scratch, maintains relationships with our local farmers and changes the menu every 3 weeks. We use product that is in season. There is no other way we’d rather do business. For some crazy reason it feels right and the food just tastes better. We hope you agree.
PROVIDING A CLEAN AND COMFORTABLE ATMOSPHERE.
HVAC- Our HVAC capacity was recently increased by 7 tons which many of you know was absolutely necessary. Those of you who kept coming in last summer, God love you! You remained loyal to us while enjoying your lunch and dinner at 85 degrees in the dining room. No one I know enjoys sweating while they eat. Not acceptable. The good news is that the new system is operating very well in our current 90 degree heat. I can’t express how much of a relief this is, literally.
OFFERING GRACIOUS HOSPITALITY AND SERVICE.
I now spend over an hour with each new employee to make sure they have complete understanding of the difference between
hospitality and service. It is critical they understand that our goal is to make your visit to M&T whether for a cookie, lunch, glass of wine or dinner is the best thing that happened to you all day. Service is the technical aspect of the getting the job done with precision and expeditiously. Hospitality is the way we make you feel during that process. Do you feel comfortable? You always should. Do you feel appreciated? We have failed if you don’t. Do you feel like we are genuinely trying to give you a great experience? If not, please let us know.
Reservations-We now accept reservations for dinner online at our website. www.mussandturners.com
Future Plans
We are often asked when we are going to ‘do another’ store and where it might be. Our standard answer is one of gratitude for someone feeling we are worthy of another location and vague on details simply because we have none. We are currently in aggressive information gathering and soul-searching phase regarding our future. We want to make sure of is that we avoid the common pitfalls, personal and professional, that have historically plagued restaurant companies that expand. We are both more committed than ever to the relationship we have with our wives and children and maintaining that is first and foremost. We also refuse to 'dumb' down or cheapen anything we do and jeopardize the reputation and brand we've built. We will not lose the soul of our company in pursuit of more sales. Our dream is to build a company that will grow organically and for the long term one brick house at a time.
Please know that although our heads are occasionally above the trees looking around the vast landscape of opportunity we are supremely focused on this store and will not move forward on anything unless we believe that our current business and relationships with our staff and guests will continue to thrive Thank you all so very much for your trust, confidence and support of our restaurant. We are so blessed to have so many loyal customers genuinely interested in our business. We hope to never let you down.
Culinary Jail Conviction
Michelle McKenzie started working with us about 6 months ago and took complete control of our pastry program with incredibly creative and flavorful desserts. Muss and Chef Ryan told her to create items that reflect ‘Hostess Goodies’ meets fine dining flavor and to have fun with it. She may have gone too far. One day I looked in the pastry case and saw something not right. A label read Maple Pecan and Candied Bacon Baklava. Huh..? Not just bacon, but candied bacon? Crazy! She was able to prove the theory that bacon does not make anything worse, but only better. This dessert is so good, it is criminal and for that Miss Michelle is going to Culinary Jail.
To great food, drink & people,
Ryan & Todd
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