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Productive People Bucking the trend

Written by: Donna Ann Peck 1,869 views

First in a series of interviews with productive people succeeding in the recession.

We’ve read the World Bank statistics that the global economy is contracting for the first time since World War II. Magazines are chock-full of cost-cutting strategies, which the public has taken to heart a little too eagerly.

Despite the trend toward frugality, the best way to ride out a recession may be the attitude: “What recession?”  Recoveries begin where they always have—with creative individuals.

Michael Mina, CEO of the Mina Group recently opened an upscale restaurant and wine bar in San Francisco. Even in boom times, the restaurant business is risky. The risk is greater now that the average American is spending 56 percent less on dining out, according to a Time magazine poll. In this climate of scrimping, it’s more common to hear of restaurant closings rather than openings. But Mina has bucked the trend.

RN74 is hot. The dining room is booked 7 days a week. On a Tuesday evening, diners were ensconced in leather banquettes, tasting their way through the regional cuisine of France’s wine-growing regions. I recently caught up with Mina to find out his business recipe for ‘hotness.’

Control costs by controlling the space. Less square feet means less expense and less risk. The Mina Group controlled costs by having a 74-seat dining room. “One advantage in creating a great wine bar area and having a smaller dining room is that it takes way alot of the risk,” says Mina, noting that the bar business has not struggled as much as restaurants in San Francisco. The Mina Group also secured a good lease on the space a few years ago when the owners of the Millennium Tower residential high-rise came courting.

Have a great concept. RN74’s interior conveys a train station theme with louver windows, red and orange ‘flares’ for lighting, a barrel ceiling, distressed leather banquettes and a ‘curtain’ of bronze conductors’ lamps. Signs on train boards flip to reveal new wines on the list. “We didn’t scale this back,” says Mina. “We elevated the vision.”

Get the word out. Longevity and good press are important in a tough market like San Francisco, he says. Mina hit it big in the restaurant business in 1991 when he opened Aqua. His restaurant at the Westin St. Francis, Michael Mina, received the Michelin two-star award. Several people involved in RN74 have loyal followings.  Wilf Jaeger, one of America’s prominent and most respected collectors, has his personal collection on the wine list. Rajat Parr is recognized as a top U.S. Sommelier and chef Jason Berthold worked at French Laundry.

Outshine your competition in any way you can. “We have to compete at the price point of other mid-level priced restaurants that are busy,” Mina says. In terms of food quality and service, “you have to be ahead of everyone as much as possible.“ The Mina Group has good buying power on food and wine. Despite costing $50 a pound, morels are on the menu as well as foie gras and $600 bottles of Burgundy from Wilf Jaeger’s prized collection. The wine list highlights many of the small producers along the Route Nationale 74 which runs through Burgundy.  “Wilf Jaeger and Raj [Rajat Parr] are able to buy a lot of these wines for much less than they are worth today.” says Mina.

Exude confidence built on experience. “I’ve done it alot, so I have this gut instinct,” says Mina, referring to the restaurants he has opened in California, Las Vegas, Arizona, Michigan, New Jersey,  Washington D.C. and Florida. He continues, “It comes down to your confidence level.”

Mina may have the best strategy yet to reverse the global recession. Don’t dwell on what you can do nothing about and do what you do well.

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