Restaurant trade show serves business optimism
Cautious optimism was the sentiment of the day at Island Food Products' 21st annual spring food show, held last Wednesday at Mediterranean Restaurant's new location on Beach Road in Oak Bluffs. Chefs, owners, and managers from 125 Island food service businesses viewed, compared, and sampled food and other products from 37 wholesale vendors who traveled to the Vineyard from around New England.
Food service purveyors and restaurateurs move about the bountiful displays at the Island Food Products trade show last week. Photos by Susan Safford
"We're the only local food service distributor based on Martha's Vineyard," said Ross Schold, Island Food Product (IFP) vice president. "We're feeling really strong about the heart of the upcoming season. It's the shoulder seasons that we need to keep busy and profitable."
IFP's food show allows anyone in the food service industry on Martha's Vineyard to see firsthand, and in many cases taste, the variety of products that IFP distributes.
A selection of fresh seafood filled one table covered with ice.
"We buy fish from docks all over the world," said David Coombs, executive vice president of Steve Connolly Seafood in Boston. "These days, fresh seafood is just a short plane ride away from anywhere." He illustrated the point with three types of cultivated mussels, two from the coast of Maine and one from Prince Edward Island in Canada.
A ravioli display from Joseph's Gourmet Pasta.
"This swordfish was caught off of South Africa two days ago. On any given day, we carry 60 to 70 types of fish and 20-30 varieties of oysters," Mr. Coombs said.
At other tables vendors offered tastes of handcrafted Vermont goat cheeses, bottles of fresh-squeezed Florida fruit juices, sliced samples of ribs, roasts, and fried chicken, deli sandwiches, salads, soups, chowders, bisques, stuffed raviolis, and baked goods from cakes to cookies and pies - all of which may have contributed to the Martha's Vineyard foodservice community's upbeat mood.
Restaurateurs are optimistic
"We had a great winter, and we're expecting to do well this summer too," said Levon Wallace, chef at the Harbor View Hotel and Resort in Edgartown. "Summer reservation numbers look good for the hotel, and we've built up a dedicated following of year-round Island residents at the restaurant. I'd guess that we employ maybe 35-40 people between the kitchen and the dining room right now, and that number will probably go up to around 55 for the peak months."
Chesca's Restaurant in Edgartown reopened for the season April 23. David Joyce, co-owner and co-chef, said that so far the numbers for diners are comparable to last year's.
"We're feeling very optimistic about the season, but we're also promoting ourselves a little more this year with some new advertising and a new website. We're also doing things to keep our prices down. This spring we're operating with a slightly smaller kitchen staff by leaving some items off of our pretty extensive menu until the summer comes."
Christopher Pantalone, co-owner of Rocco's Family Style Italian Restaurant in Vineyard Haven, reported that business has been "solid" right through the winter, and they are planning on adding a gelato bar this summer.
"Beyond that," Mr. Pantalone said, "we'd like to expand our business to include gourmet Italian deli items." Rocco's is mostly a family-run business, he explained, but they will add some staff in the summer to handle increased business.
The Net Result Fish Market, which also operates a sushi bar and take-out restaurant, reports successful spring numbers.
"Our retail business is up this year from last," said owner Louis Larsen. "It helps that our menu items are affordable. Our wholesale numbers to restaurants are down a little. It's probably a tough time to be marketing really high end meals."
Douglas and Leslie Hewson, co-owners and co-chefs of Mediterranean Restaurant, have moved their business from its former site in Vineyard Haven to a larger venue in Oak Bluffs previously occupied by Lola's Restaurant.
"We had no room to grow at our old site," said Mr. Hewson. "We were turning away business last year because we didn't have the space to handle the volume, especially for catered functions. Last summer we probably had 20 to 25 employees in our peak season. This year we'll probably have 100. I think the Vineyard economy is pretty sound, and this was a great opportunity for us."
New Businesses
The most obvious signs of optimism in the Vineyard's food service industry come from new businesses opening this year.
When chef-owner Paul O'Connell opened Chez Henri in Cambridge in 1994, it was named best restaurant by both Esquire and Bon Appetite. This year Mr. O'Connell is opening a new restaurant in Chilmark, The Chilmark Tavern, occupying the former site of the Cornerway Restaurant.
"The Chilmark Tavern will be a 'localvores' delight, featuring Island meats, seafood, and produce," Mr. O'Connell said. "I'm feeling extremely optimistic about this summer on the Vineyard, but I plan to have the menu be affordable. I want to serve the best food I can, not the fanciest or the trendiest. It helps that I'm occupying a building that's already set up as a restaurant; so that keeps my up-front costs down. Plus I think being a new restaurant will be good for us this year. It helps create a buzz."
Mr. O'Connell said that his new favorite marketing tools are Facebook and Twitter. He hopes to have the restaurant open by Memorial Day weekend, and he plans on hiring approximately 20 employees.
Stephen and Susan Bowen, co-owners of the Waterside Market on Main Street in Vineyard Haven, are opening a second restaurant, The Blue Canoe Waterfront Grill, which will offer an eclectic menu that will be available for both lunch and dinner.
"We're trying to keep our costs down by offering the same menu at both, trying to streamline things," said Mr. Bowen. "Starting a new business is always risky, but this doesn't feel like such a big step, because we already have a business that has built up a lot of customers for us."
Mr. Bowen said that business was "very steady" at the Waterside Market this winter. Last summer, Waterside employed 12-16 people. They will not offer supper there this summer, so that number will decline, but they plan to employ 20 people at the Blue Canoe.
Six of the vendors at the IFP food show were new this year, including new services to help restaurateurs handle their businesses more successfully, with assistance in payroll, bookkeeping and insurance.
