Five questions with Chef Bobby Fitzgerald

By Joyzelle Davis, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published October 14, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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White Chocolate Grill chef Bobby Fitzgerald is focusing on "good value and full of flavor" items.

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Five questions for Chef Bobby Fitzgerald

On opening The White Chocolate Grill in a tough economy

Chef Bobby Fitzgerald is set to open a new restaurant in Park Meadows amid one of the worst financial crises in decades.

But Fitzgerald, a graduate of the Johnson & Wales culinary arts program, says that opening a restaurant even in good times can be a challenge.

"The reality is that there is too much capacity, even at Park Meadows," he said. "There are too many restaurants."

And yet Fitzgerald hopes that the focus on "value-full" food at his White Chocolate Grill restaurant, which opened Monday, will lure diners regardless of the state of their 401(k) balances. The upscale casual American restaurant already has locations in Chicago, Scottsdale, Ariz., and Las Vegas.

Denver is something of a homecoming for Fitzgerald, who ran Bandera Restaurant in Cherry Creek from 1997 to 2003.

Fitzgerald, 38, recently sat down with the Rocky Mountain News to talk about opening a restaurant in this economy.

1. Why did you pick the name The White Chocolate Grill?

I always get that question. The reality is, when we designed the restaurant it was the shortest discussion we had. One day my partner said, "What do you think of the name, The White Chocolate Grill?" and I said, "I like it." We'd laid out the menu and we already had a number of white chocolate desserts based on looking at some of the top desserts around the country.

The name draws the reaction, "What is it?" because the White Chocolate Grill, short of "grill," could be a Paradise Bakery-type operation or certainly a little more Cheesecake-Disney-esque fantasy. But most important is it's memorable. If the experience matches the name, we've done our job.

2. With high gas prices and spreading economic uncertainty, are you apprehensive about opening a new restaurant at a time when customers might be dining out less?

The main thing we're focusing on with our menu today is "value-full" items. By value-full I mean good value and full of flavor, a hybrid of the word flavor and not just a good value.

The most recent items we've added to our Phoenix menu are in the teen price-point, but they're high-flavor profiles such as a citrus soy salmon, chicken Madeira. We've really worked to accompany sauces with many of our entrees and sandwiches.

3. Will the customers be there?

There's still demand, even in this economy, for people who want to go out and have a quality dining experience. It's still ingrained in the American way of life today. The most important thing we're doing is making sure that we're putting quality in every aspect. The No. 1 thing I preach in our restaurants today to our staff is that every time a customer walks out and gets into their car, they say, "Was it worth it?" We need to think about that every day.

4. Diners have no shortage of choices where to spend their money. As a new restaurant, how do you draw them in?

The reality is that there is too much capacity, even at Park Meadows. There are too many restaurants. And here we are adding 200 more seats. Why are we doing that? We firmly believe that we can outperform and take share from the pie.

Cheesecake Factory is about 60 feet from our door. We are a very different experience. Our menu is much more focused. They do a great job and I admire them, but we're in a different game.

5. How would you describe your approach to customer service?

One piece of our training manual is letters to the editor from around the country. One of them, the title is: "My wife is not a guy." As in, "how are you guys doing? Can I get you guys anything else?"

We actually have a training piece that the staff has to sign that lists the phrases they aren't allowed to use: "No problem." "You guys." "Are you finished working on this?" There are so many things you can say besides "no problem" - try to say something more positive.

Especially in today's economy, what are the things that really affect your guest? The guests don't care if your employee was five minutes late. The guests don't care if your employee is wearing blue socks instead of black socks. The guests don't care if your employee is stealing from you at the end of the night because you're not smart enough to lock your liquor cage.

We work to manage the things that affect the guests first. It's harder, and sometimes polarizing to your ranks, because you're telling them that they're not smiling enough.

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