THREE AMIGOS: REINVENTING RESTAUR ANT DINING POST COVID
ROCK’N FISH
Yet the positives of Covid remain clear: Life is all about connections and enjoying our time here on this beautiful planet.
THE KETTLE
HOPE IN THE FUTURE OF RESTAURANTS? David Slay was the one to bring up a strange and beautiful positive result that many of us in town may not know, “While rising labor and costs have caused our own prices to rise, we are so so grateful that our regular customers still support us and never even complain. If we were anywhere else in the USA, that may not happen, but here, in Manhattan Beach, we have the greatest customers and are so blessed.” All three men shared stories that during the Covid shut down, there were many small miracles. Customers would literally stop by with money, checks, or just a hug in offer to help. One person dropped off a $10,000 check! “People were not looking for anything, not even a meal, or notoriety, they were just looking to help us because we were forced to close, and no one knew how we would ever open again.”
Mike Simms said, “We have the most loyal customers in our town. Smart, educated and just so so grateful.” Even the employees were taken care of, like the first day back after Covid shutdown, a waitresses received a $1,000 tip. This waitress, beyond thrilled to be back at work to make a living for her family, was so overjoyed with this unbelievable act of kindness, she burst into tears. During our meeting, we spoke about the future of what will last in dining. And it seems all three men agree that Fine Dining, fast casual and take out is here to stay. The future casualty will be the family dining experience that has been so popular for years. The three also shared stories of watching long term employees grow up. These employees started working with them as kids and now have their own kids. “These kids of our employees went to college and now have their own careers. It’s a massive success story when you can be in this business for so long to see the generational impact.” As we sat together for this interview at an ocean view circle booth at Mike Z’s Strand House, you could see several people walk by with mouths open, citing, “The Table of Royalty.” Another passerby gasped and commented, “Look at the A-table!” Yes. It was odd to see these three amigos, also direct competitors, all seated together at one table. Yet the positives of Covid remain clear: Life is all about connections and enjoying our time here on this beautiful planet. And if we are so lucky to get to experience our life here at the beautiful location called Manhattan Beach, let’s do it together so we can all succeed. As the planning company that was once hired to review Manhattan Beach to create a better layout for the city discovered: 77% of all business that happens downtown Manhattan Beach is from visitors. Kill the visitors, you kill your downtown. And the three amigos working as a team are not about to let that happen. In fact, quite the opposite, because they believe when you put your heads together and work for your customers to give them what they want, success will come.
22 I M A N H AT TA N B E AC H CO M M U N I T Y & D E S T I N AT I O N G U I D E I @mbchamber F @ManhattanBeachChamberofCommerce