Fernando_Sum19_Ed-final.qxp_Road Trip_Cinci.qxd 5/30/19 12:50 AM Page 18
profile | fernando martinez
F
ernando Martinez is one of the most
prolific restaurateurs this city has ever known. Since 2002, he has opened Havana Rumba, Mojito Tapas, Guaca Mole, two Mussel & Burger Bar locations, Cena Italian Trattoria, the Place Downstairs, three El Taco Luchador restaurants, Mercato Italiano Trattoria, Coconuts Beach Tacos, Artesano Vino Tapas y Mas, Red Barn Kitchen and Steak & Bourbon. That’s 15 restaurants! The list is even more impressive when you consider that Martinez took a break from the restaurant business from 2009 to 2012 after launching Havana Rumba and Mojito Tapas. He sold his interest in those restaurants and took the opportunity to travel and hone his craft. After Martinez returned to Louisville, he formed the Olé Restaurant Group with his wife Cristina, cousin Yaniel Martinez and managing partner Rick Moir. His three children also work for their company, and the chef views being able to combine his passions for cooking, business and family as a gift. “This is a family business. I wish I could say I was so clever that I knew exactly how everything was going to happen, but that’s not how it is. It is a group thing. It is something that happened with time, experience and opportunity,” he added. Martinez approaches the restaurant industry as more of a lifestyle than a business. He is always in motion, transitioning between chef and businessman seamlessly. When Food & Dining caught up with him in late April at Artesano Vino Tapas y Mas, he was in the process of transforming the tapas restaurant in Westport Village into Steak & Bourbon: An American Grill in time for Derby weekend. “Artesano was doing okay, but we don’t like okay. We like busy,” he quipped. “Besides Louisville is a meat and potatoes town.” The Olé Restaurant Group’s willingness to experiment with new concepts and change course quickly if it is not working has been a key factor in the company’s success. When the Lyndon barbecue restaurant Red Barn Kitchen was not working, Martinez formed a partnership with Crescent “Cres” Bride, owner of R Place Pub, to change the concept. Bride had operated the space as Joe’s Older Than Dirt before Red Barn Kitchen moved into the space. The location is now Joe’s Older than Dirt once again, but Bride is handling the management duties while Martinez’s company runs the kitchen.
18 Summer 2019 www.foodanddine.com
BY MICHAEL L. JONES PHOTOS BY DAN DRY