How to Open and Operate a Restaurant

The restaurant business is both an established field and also an evolving one. Today more people eat out, having less time to cook at home. With the advent of the celebrity chef, many people are interested in trying new and different foods. The expansive cable television networks provide entertainment in the form of “reality shows” revolving around winning money to open a dream restaurant or be top chef. The globalization of food distribution allows people everywhere to become familiar with ingredients never before available, stimulating their interest in food as more than sustenance. Dining out becomes entertainment as well as filling the need for nourishment. With over 80 combined years of cooking experience, Meyer and Vann have seen the trials of opening and running restaurants—those they have worked in and those they have designed and helped to open. They bring this expertise to How to Open and Operate a Restaurant and will take the reader through al the aspects of opening and running a restaurant including many examples of pitfalls to avoid, rules to follow and guidelines for success.

Arthur L. Meyer is a restaurant and bakery consultant who has cooked professionally since 1963 in New York, San Francisco, San Antonio and Austin. He has taught cooking internationally, is considered an expert on world cuisines, and has achieved Master status in baking. He opened a specialty bakery in 1983, which became the subject and name of his first cookbook, Texas Tortes (University of Texas Press, 1997 hc, 2010 pbk). He also is the author of Baking Across America (University of Texas Press, 1998) and co-authored Appetizer Atlas (Wiley, 2003), which won Best in the World from Gourmand Cookbook Awards in 2003. Appetizer Atlas has been his best seller and is a mainstay in many professional kitchens. Its popularity can be attributed to its detailed research on the cuisines of the world and the popularity of appetizers and small bites with home cooks and chefs alike. Just released is Art’s fourth book, Corsican Cuisine (Hippocrene Books, 2010) and his fifth cookbook is scheduled for release in fall 2011, Danish Cooking and Baking Traditions (Hippocrene Books, 2011). His sixth book is under contract with Globe Pequot Press (The Houston Chef’s Table, fall 2012). Art resides in Austin, Texas where he had been a Lecturer in Organic Chemistry for 14 years at the University of Texas, and continues to teach chemistry at the community college.

Self-taught chef Mick Vann grew up working in restaurant and hotel kitchens during high school and college (Chariot Inn, Holiday Inn, McDonald’s, Westwood Country Club). Selected as one of the two principals on the corporate restaurant opening team, Vann opened Pelican’s Wharf restaurants in Texas (Temple, College Station, Port Aransas, Victoria, McAllen) between 1976 and 1977. In late 1977 Vann opened the Pelican’s Wharf in San Antonio and was offered the management position, where he stayed for 5 years. In 1982 Vann moved back to Austin to open and manage Clarksville Café, where he won numerous awards. Since 1998 Vann has been a food writer for The Austin Chronicle. Vann is the co-author of, The Appetizer Atlas. Vann currently does freelance food writing, while working with Art Meyer as an associate in his restaurant consulting firm. Vann is currently working on a culinary tourism guide to Thailand, Savoring Siam: A Chef’s Culinary Adventures in Thailand, as well as The Cocktail Cupboard: Bar Supplies for the New Mixologist.