Q&A Melba Wilson, from page 63 more people a lot quicker. There’s a part of me that was hesitant to conform. But that’s the way of the world now and I had to jump on board and embrace it. I love surrounding myself with a bunch of millennials who get it. I have a teenage son and realize that they don’t read directions, they just pick up the thing and go with it and figure things out. So I found that the most important partnership is partnering with people who can guide me through the process. I’m learning a lot and may not be as strong or as privy to things, but I’m getting there. Do you see your son coming into this business? How do you see the industry attracting the next generation of young people to come in and manage, own and operate in our business? My son just graduated high school and he’s in college now. He’s grown up in this industry. He’s got collard greens, fried chicken and catfish in his blood. He loves the industry and always gives me ideas on what we can do differently. The other day, he suggested we put blackened catfish on the menu or grilled catfish. He’s always looking at innovative ways that we can serve healthier options because he’s an athlete. I’m excited about the amount of young people I see coming into the industry. Like when I see the “Top Chef” finalist Adrian Cheatham or look at Chef J.J. Johnson coming into the industry. They’re fresh and have a passion for it. So when I look at these kids, I know they’re going to be super chefs, super restaurateurs and continue to push the industry forward. What about all those “non-sexy” opportunities like food distributors and the like? What do you see in terms of that? Well, I see the food, beverage and nightlife industry will always live and have a home. People have to dine out. And we’re in a world right
now where they want everything instantaneously, and what we have to do is to figure out how to make those things work in our industry. And the great thing is with the service industry that’s our job. That’s what we’re most passionate about. We’re most passionate about serving people and we know how to do it, and we know how to do it instantaneously. So when you look at the jobs that people are doing, it’s about a team. And in any team, of course, there are people that are in the forefront. There’s always the front of the house, but there’s also the back of the house. And without the back, the front of the house won’t be able to work. So it’s all about the team. How do you go about building your team? I love having a staff meeting and what I often do is everybody knows how I feel the most important person at Melba’s is our dishwasher. Because if the dishwasher doesn’t wash the pots, the cooks can’t cook. If the dishwasher doesn’t wash the plates, the guests can’t dine. The dishwasher is key to our success. So it starts here and then it grows from there. So it starts with clean and we build upon that. But the foundation has to be strong. How do you look at the technology at the back of the house and how has it helped you be more impactful and efficient? I think it depends on what you’re
64 • February 2019 • Total Food Service • www.totalfood.com
In 2016, Melba Wilson published her cookbook “Melba’s American Comfort: 100 Recipes from My Heart to Your Kitchen”
doing in the food and beverage industry as opposed to when you determine whether or not it works for you. I’m very old school. Personally I’m very old. And in some aspects, if it’s not broke don’t fix it. However when you look at the systems where if the oil has been recycled or it needs to be changed, I listen to my team a lot. I’m wise enough to know that I don’t know it all. And at the end of the day it’s something that’s going to work for them and make their jobs easier. How to you go about buying products? Are you loyal to existing vendors? So being a small business I think it’s important that we support small businesses. I still go to a local butcher block to get a lot of the meat [for Melba’s]. One of the things that I love most about them is they give meat on
the [classic] brown paper. But that’s how I grew up going to the butcher for my mom. What about catering and off-premise work? When I first opened, my goal was to open a catering segment and it happened three years later. Catering gives us an opportunity to reach more people that will return us later. It gives us an opportunity to be a lot more creative and to meet, or exceed our customers needs.
What do you hope to accomplish as the president of The Alliance? How will you pick and choose what goes on the agenda? It’s a very difficult time coming into this business or coming into this position here in New York City especially. You know, there’s a lot of turnover over the tip credit, paid vacation, extended paid vacation time laws. While we already have one week’s paid vacation time, the commercial rate taxes are making it harder for restaurants. It’s definitely a difficult time. But being a woman owner who started off in an industry where people said that you know we’re the minority in this business and not the majority, I’m kind of used to the difficulties. But that is nothing that I’m not used to. What I’m hoping to accomplish is to engage more small businesses - more minority owned businesses, and to really reach out to businesses outside of Manhattan even though The Alliance does a pretty good job of that. I think that’s important when you talk about New York being a melting pot. I just want to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to experience all that.