finding the right mix
Post on 21-Jul-2016
221 Views
Preview:
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
Serendipity, timing and a keen business model carved Darcy MacDonell’s entrepreneurial pathSTORY BY HELEN CATELLIER PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARGARET MULLIGAN
22 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY APRIL 2015
HOMEGROWN Farmhouse Tavern owner, Darcy MacDonell (left), champions Ontario’s bounty. His beverage program features Ontario brews and wines exclusively
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
STORY BY HELEN CATELLIER PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARGARET MULLIGAN
COVER STORY
GROWING
up on a farm as the son
of a local politician in
eastern Ontario, Darcy
MacDonell watched his
parents host gatherings
of up to 100 guests for
corn roasts, fish fries and
barbecues. Hospitality
and relationship building
were inherent parts of his
childhood, so it wasn’t
a stretch when a seren-
dipitous chain of events
and acquaintances led
the commerce major to
follow an entrepreneurial
path into hospitality.
While attending the
University of Guelph in
Ontario, MacDonell met
Bruce McAdams, assistant
professor at the School of
Hospitality and Tourism
Management, and for-
mer VP of Operations
at Oliver & Bonacini
Restaurants in Toronto.
He subsequently landed
jobs managing front-
of-house operations at
Oliver & Bonacini, La
Société bistro in Toronto
and SIR Corp. based in
Burlington, Ont. During
this time, he developed
longstanding relation-
ships with suppliers,
who literally followed
him when he opened
Farmhouse Tavern in
June 2012 in Toronto’s
Junction neighbourhood.
Moray Tawse, founder
of Tawse Winery in
Vineland, Ont., frequents
the restaurant for din-
ner; Beau’s All Natural
Brewing Company
is located close to
MacDonell’s hometown
of Alexandria, Ont.; and
Junction Craft Brewing
FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY APRIL 2015 23
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
is a stone’s throw from Farmhouse
Tavern. “It comes down to rela-
tionships first and foremost,” says
MacDonell. “If I find a [product] I
like, I get to know the people. I’ll give
someone I’ve known for years four
or five listings as opposed to trying to
find the newest, hottest supplier. That
doesn’t interest me as much as a rap-
port that’s longstanding.”
A core tenet of Farmhouse
Tavern’s business model and
success lies in the restaurant’s
Ontario-centric philosophy. “As
people become more educated
about the way our current food
system operates, and the growing
stress it puts on our environment,
economy and overall health, they
want to make conscious choices
they feel good about,” says Tom
Wade, executive chef of Farmhouse
Tavern and sister restaurant,
Farmer’s Daughter. “People really
like that we support local farmers,
prepare everything in-house and
use fresh ingredients that are not
shipped from another continent.”
Since MacDonell and Wade
know their suppliers intimately, no
money is spent on marketing —
their partners spread the gospel.
“Because we are proponents of
everything Ontario, the local farm-
ers, suppliers and producers like
us,” MacDonell boasts. “Because we
only sell Ontario wine, the people
in Niagara (Ont.) love us. Because
we only sell Ontario beer, the craft
beer producers love us. So it’s nice
when all the people you’re buy-
ing from are big fans. People go
to Prince Edward County (Ont.),
and they stop at Norman Hardie
Winery and they hear about us.
Or people in Ottawa know we sell
Beau’s in Toronto.”
A thrifty philosophy — furnish-
ing the restaurant with refurbished
items and not spending money on
printed menus, plastics, a website
or advertising — allows MacDonell
to purchase the best possible local
food and drink, approximately 40
COVER STORY
TUCK IN Farmhouse Tavern’s signature dish, the Ploughman’s Platter, is an ode to the snacking and grazing style of farmers and winemakers. The com-position includes meats, cheeses, veg, mustards and a pickled duck egg
24 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY APRIL 2015
FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
per cent of expenditures. “We save in
other areas to offset,” he notes. “There’s
no bussers and hostesses, so there’s some
labour savings. We don’t have straws,
because straws just end up in the garbage.
So there’s a lot of things we don’t do.”
In that vein, plastic bags are not
provided, and glass ramekins filled
with ketchup or sauces are handed to
take-out customers. Neighbours drop
them off the next time they walk by.
Also, nearly every surface at Farmhouse
Tavern is chock-a-block with a quirky
collection of found objects, family por-
traits, repurposed furniture and nostal-
gic mementoes from MacDonell’s family
home, bringing his vision of a knick-
knacky old farmhouse to life. The res-
taurant seats 60 in three distinct rooms,
plus another 32 on the patio.
Opening costs were only $30,000,
partly because the general contracting
was done by a crew from the Discovery
Channel’s Junk Raiders. MacDonell
fortuitously met the show producers
through his would-be landlord, who
wanted her property spruced up. The
stars aligned, as the producers were
looking for a restaurant themed around
repurposed and refurbished items. It
was a win-win for all three parties.
The chalkboard menu is a deliber-
ate business strategy and supports
MacDonell’s sustainability values. It
doesn’t pigeonhole him but allows flex-
ibility to serve the best food available.
“Since day 1 we’ve had the Ploughman’s
Platter ($22) [with] meats, cheeses,
pickled veg and some kind of fish. But
what that is at 6 o’clock and at 9:30 is a
little different, because we’re just using
all the stuff in the kitchen,” he says.
“We’ve always used the same fish sup-
plier, [but] how we do the fish changes
week to week, depending on the season-
ality of the items.” Other menu options
have included Jim Giggi’s trout ($22),
and a 14-ounce, 50-day dry-aged rib
eye with corn ($40). Although the food
is switched out regularly, the Barnyard
Burger ($20) — topped with a duck egg,
bacon and goat’s cheese is a mainstay.
Though the chefs have creative
license, MacDonell calls for a well-
rounded menu that ensures longevity
by appealing to a wide cross-section
of people. “You can’t be all things to
everybody, right? But you have to have
something for everyone,” he advises.
“Having fish on the menu, vegetarian, a
gluten-free option all the time is a way
to not lose the vote. Also, you have to
look in your room and see young people
and old people, and people from this
industry and from that industry,” he
adds. “Things change so fast, and people
are always looking for the new hot
thing. If you rely on one demographic,
and that demographic finds something
new or better or more exciting, or they
get bored, you’re done.” MacDonell gets
a kick out of seeing three generations of
families dining at his restaurants.
The staid Sunday night supper also
gets turned on its head. All food and
open alcohol are used up on Sunday
nights to ensure nothing is thrown out
or gets stale while the restaurant sits
COVER STORY
COVER STORY
26 FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY APRIL 2015 FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
closed from Monday through Wednesday.
“We do something called Fuck Mondays
every Sunday night,” MacDonell says. “The
goal is to blow everything out of the kitchen
so there’s no waste.” As items run out, they’re
crossed off the chalkboard, and alcohol is
discounted to drain any lingering beer and
wine bottles. Hourly specials add up to big
savings for customers, with $6 pints from
6 p.m. to 7 p.m., $8 wine from 8 p.m. to 9
p.m., and 50 per cent off food from 9 p.m.
to 10 p.m. “It’s acceptable to people that you
walk up and scratch out items that
are sold out,” he adds. “Whereas if
you have a menu in front of you,
and it’s sold out, that can be frus-
trating. People get a kick out of it
when you walk up and you scratch
it out.”
MacDonell’s decisions to remain
closed 60 per cent of the time and to
shut down the restaurant a couple
times per year are also intentional
business choices. “Restaurants should
think like the rest of the world. If
you want to go see a movie, and it’s
at 6:55 or at 9:15, that’s when you
go,” he explains. “If I was to draw 18
people on a Monday night, probably
not worth it. If I can get 11 of them
to come between Thursday and Sunday … I’m
opening the doors for seven people; definitely
not worth it.”
But some revenue lost from closing the
restaurant for holidays, vacations, pop-up
events and road trips is recouped through
OPEN-DOOR POLICY The open kitchen adds rustic flair to Farmhouse Tavern. “Being able to see guests enjoying themselves, and smiling when they eat something my team and I have created, is the best part of my day,” says chef Tom Wade
COVER STORY
FOODSERVICE AND HOSPITALITY APRIL 2015 27FOODSERVICEANDHOSPITALITY.COM
Hunt Camp, a prix-fixe themed event fea-
turing anything you would hunt or fish.
Seats are pre-sold for an influx of cash, and
a departure from the Ontario-centric menu
allows staff to experiment with international
wines and cheeses. The $150 meal usually
features a fish, a bird, two meats and lots of
vegetables. “It’s not a moneymaker. I don’t
look at it that way. All of a sudden you get
a week where you have no money coming
in, then you get an influx of cash. So, if you
sell a month of (weekly) Hunt Camp din-
ners, you’re getting $6,000 in the bank in a
day,” says MacDonell, explaining that’s not
enough to recoup all lost revenue. “It was
borne out of my need to do something dif-
ferent and fun.”
The need to scratch a creative itch also
drove MacDonell to open an offshoot res-
taurant in April 2013. Farmer’s Daughter
is open Wednesday through Sunday.
With an initial investment of $90,000, the
MacDonell-designed concept of a sleek,
sexy and urban restaurant with a seafood-
oriented menu, hasn’t translated into the
same success Farmhouse Tavern enjoys.
Though the proprietor doesn’t disclose
specific sales or profit margins, he notes his
inaugural restaurant comes away with more
than double the national profit margin
average, which Toronto-based Restaurants
Canada reports as 4.2 per cent, according to
its “Foodservice Facts 2014.”
But change is coming to Farmer’s
Daughter, which seats 38 inside and 42 out-
side. Wood accents, an easier-to-read chalk-
board menu, a new kids’ menu and food
that is lighter and less fancy will simplify the
cuisine and warm up the stark decor. And,
because Wade is now overseeing both out-
lets, there are efficiencies to be gained, such
as with batch cooking and smoking larger
quantities of food.
These modifications will hopefully bring
a groundswell of customers who’ve already
been enjoying the patio and revamped
brunch dishes (nothing on the menu costs
more than $17). “Community support is
very important to the success of a restau-
rant, especially in a tightly knit neighbour-
hood such as The Junction,” notes Wade.
“These changes are geared towards satisfying
the needs of our local clientele but also to
strengthen the Farmhouse brand,” Wade adds.
“[At Farmer’s Daughter] I created some-
thing totally different,” says MacDonell.
But unfortunately, not enough customers
flocked to the eatery. The restaurateur is
confident the revamped Farmer’s Daughter
will deliver the quality food and service his
customers expect, garnering the level of
support enjoyed at his flagship. l
top related