Chapter 13

Life was good and things were progressing well. I took a cab down to the yacht club and with the summer right around the corner. More boats were making their way back to the marina. I love the look of all the boats, masts and rigging. Gary had hired and trained another manager. Brenda recognized me when I walked in and came over to say Hello. We walked around and she talked about the different club activities and the level of participation. I asked if she felt comfortable with Gary being out of the office more to help with my other projects.

“Bull, he stops by most days to check in and by phone when he can’t. The policies and procedures are pretty dialed in. I wish more people were active. I started to make calls to check on members and see if there was anything we could do to make their membership more beneficial. Most of the people that don’t stop by often, have the membership but don’t live in the city. They aren’t concerned about the monthly dues or minimum spend. They’ll use the club when they’re in New York. Some of the members wanted to do wine tastings and Scotch tastings. A couple wanted to do a cruise and find a few spots to anchor as a group and share meals on the water. We’ve talked to some people to see if the interest is there.”

“It sounds and looks like things are running smoothly. Keep up the good work. Since I’ve moved, I can’t just walk over anymore.”

“I was up at Hemingways last week. I was told you lived in the building and stopped by there for your meals instead. The food was great. We should have the chef share some of his recipes.”

“I could ask him to share some, create some or some time in the future, be the guest chef for the night and create a special meal for the members.”

“I like any and all of those ideas. Let me know what you find out.”

We talked some more about slip rentals and guest slip rentals before I walked over to Rockefellers. It was fourteen blocks but they were the short north and south blocks, not the long east and west blocks. It was about a mile. It looked like Christmas when I walked in. They were opening cases and cases of plates, bowls and glasses. Each was inspected before being sent to be washed. Empty boxes and wrapping were stacked by the door.

Jay saw me walk in and came over to greet me. “Hello Bull. Welcome to Rockefellers.”

“The name is starting to grow on me. How’s everything coming? If we’re washing dishes and stocking shelves we must be getting close.”

“We’re getting close, but are still a couple weeks out. This will be a much different dining experience from top to bottom.”

“Look at the menu, order food, eat food, pay the bill. Isn’t that the way a restaurant works?”

“Those are all steps in the process but here there are many more steps. We’ll have the meals like you mentioned but We’ll specialize in pre pre-fixe menu. This is where they pay a set fee for a certain number of courses. They’ll get a free little snack from the chef to begin the meal or an amuse bouche. Then there will be a light appetizer as the next course. A salad, a small soup, a meat dish with veggies, a fish dish with rice, sorbet to cleanse the palate and then a dessert.

“They’ll have choices in each category. In meat they may have duck, rabbit, chicken and two steak choices to choose from. With all the moving parts, there’s more staff. More dishes, more silverware, and the need for more training. I figured out that you lived in the building with all the girls that showed up for our last training. Could you get them to come down for some training here?”

“Jay, for a meal like that I think they may split a taxi ride or take the subway.”

“I’ll ask Phillip the GM to figure out how he wants it done.”

“If the staff is set up, let’s do reservations and walk-ins so they can get a feel for how the restaurant fills up. You should probably introduce me to Phillip so he knows who I am.”

“He’s heard about you. There are stories that go around.”

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“They’re all good. I’ve been slaving to get the menus put together and we’ve brought in a sommelier to set up the wine list and can assist customers in selecting the right wines to pair with their food. We even have special wine menus that provide smaller glasses of wine to pair with each course.”

“It all sounds expensive.”

“Look around at this place. Is this where you would go for an everyday meal? This is New York City, the axis from which the world spins in many people’s eyes. Multi-million dollar business deals get done here every day and people need a place to celebrate success, pitch a deal or concept. Take their wives for birthdays and anniversaries. This is and should be that place. We have a young team but that just means that we have a lifetime to help make people’s special occasions really special. That’s what Enzo’s did and that is what Rockefellers will do.”

“That sounds like a good mission statement.”

He nodded and led me over to meet Phillip. He reminded me of a stereotypical butler without tails. With this concept, a little formal might be better. When we spoke, he seemed very friendly and sincere. He was engaging like Ted but after talking for a while, I knew he had more experience in this atmosphere and would do well for the restaurant. We spoke about the training sessions and Phillip said, “I would love to have a month but between salaries and food costs that doesn’t seem prudent. My plan is to do training and have the wait staff including bussers and food runners practice with no food. Then we can do a two day lunch and dinner practice run.” Looking at me he added, “Gary said that you can get us practice people.”

“Tell me how many you’d like to attend. As for the cost, we should do the full menu so the cooks can practice too. We can do drinks and wine but even if someone picks a $300 bottle they’re getting the same pour as the guy that ordered the house wine. Go through the process but not the follow through on wine. I want the wait staff to be comfortable opening wine and Champagne tableside if that is what they’ll do in real life, just not the high end stuff. They can even retrieve and present the wine that was ordered but actually open the house wine.”

“That’s perfect. Most dry runs don’t serve but this will help the practice. Most of the staff is coming from other high end places so that shouldn’t be a problem.”

“I also mentioned to Jay that you have the staff in place a few days ahead of time so they get used to taking reservations and scheduling correctly.”

“Why don’t we seat half the downstairs for the opening? That’s 20 tables or up to 80 people.”

“Tell the staff that if there is a four top open they should make the couples sit together. It will just be the Smith/Jones party of four instead of the Jones party of two. If you want to try a six top or ten top just combine until you get the numbers you want. I would assume that business dinners can sometimes get large.”

“Bull, those are all great ideas. It’s nice to be somewhere where there’s a budget for training.”

“Gary calls it, ‘Bull’s wallet’.”

They gave me the dates on a Tuesday and Wednesday two weeks out. We would have a soft opening on Thursday and the grand opening on Friday. I told them to give me the information on how many people, dates, times and the number to call for reservations. Before I left that afternoon, I’d made copies of invitations on regular copy paper. Each was hand numbered and initialed so that we knew they were real and I had my marching orders.

Getting them handed out was easy. I went to the yacht club first. I knew the girls at the dorm would go but they also were finishing the semester and wouldn’t be back to spend their own money like the people from the yacht club. I went in at lunch time to hand out vouchers for lunch and dinner time to hand out vouchers for dinner. I explained the sharing of tables, special requests and the wine service. They all were happy to help and the old time New Yorkers were happy to see the landmark restaurant reopened.

There were a few that I held back. I gave one to Ron for him and his wife. I kept a few for myself either with a date or a foursome. I invited Eddie to fly up for the Wednesday dinner and stay for the grand opening. He said he would have to cancel a charter or get someone to cover it but he would be there and crash in my guestroom. I still had a few more and was trying to leverage them for good use. I was thinking about getting one for Mr. Tucker at the bank when the phone rang. It was Gary and he was down stairs at Hemingways.

Walking in, I could see he wasn’t happy. “We have problems. A guy came by today looking for his cut of our business in his neighborhood. I haven’t had any trouble at the club or here but one stopped by today at Rockefellers.”

“Did he leave a name or a card?”

“He said his name was Carmine and anything that opened in his neighborhood, he was a part of. What do you want to do? He wants two grand a month until we’re up and running then five grand starting in January. He said he understood how hard it could be just starting out.”

“How about a dinner a month to show that he is involved but no cash and he pays for the booze he drinks?”

“He won’t go for that but I would gladly do that more than the other. What do you really want to do?”

“I’ll take care of it. Can I use the phone in the office?”

“Sure.”

After making a call to Tony, I told Gary that I’d be back later and if he left to let Tim the bartender know where I could reach him. I ended up in the backroom of a strip club on 42nd street with Tony and three other guys. I walked in and he said, “Bull, how goes it? Michelle said that if I ever needed a boat moved that you were the guy to use. You impressed her.”

“I’m glad it all worked out. We had a deal and I got it done. I think there’s a misunderstanding that we need to deal with.”

Leaning back in his chair, he asked, “What’s going on?”

“I’m using your crews to renovate the buildings. I did the jobs we agreed I’d do for you. Now some guy named Carmine is stopping by and saying that he needs to get paid for the work I’m doing in his neighborhood. I don’t think he got the memo.”

“My guys need to make their money but we do have an agreement. If you keep buying up the entire city, how long until this deal runs out?”

I just looked at him. A minute went by before I said, “Tony, we had a deal without reservations. It was for as long as I was involved and if I bought the entire island it would still be a part of the deal. I don’t want to be that big but if I buy two, ten or twenty more properties I will. The same question goes back to you. How good is your word and when does that run out?”

“Kids today don’t normally bring it back to honor. Normally it’s about money or shit. My word is good. I’ll talk to Carmine but he won’t be happy.”

“I have an offer that may help.”

“I’m listening.”

“Carmine is always welcome but he isn’t going to set up shop there. He’ll be treated very well like all of our guests. He’ll get one free meal a month for two and he can be seen with his wife, girlfriend or business associate as someone being part of the local community. The meal is free, the liquor is included, the wine is on his dime. There are some bottles in the $500-$5000 range and I don’t want him coming in and drinking more than he is trying to shake me down for now. Is that a fair compromise?”

Now it was his time to make me wait. It wasn’t quite as long but he said, “I think that sounds fair since you didn’t have to do that. I’ll talk to him in the morning. Let me know if he causes any trouble. What else have you been buying lately?”

“Ron hired your crews to do the demolition and bring the electric and plumbing up to code at the building down by Penn Station near the entrance to Madison Square Garden. That’s all for now.”

Nodding he said, “Is that all? Are we done?”

“No, there is one more thing?”

“What’s that?”

“We’re having a run through at the restaurant and wanted to give you an invitation if you wanted to bring your wife. You can have two if you want to bring Carmine and his wife.”

“Carmine’s wife is a loud mouthed cunt so that’s out. His girlfriend is fine but I would like to take my wife and that would be awkward so it will just be the two of us. Maybe Michelle would like to go. She won’t have a date.” His guys laughed when he said what he did about Carmine’s wife.

“My uncle’s flying in if you want him to sit at your table. He may be a couple years younger than her but they should get along.”

“Perfect. What do I need to do?”

After explaining about making reservations and training the staff in the entire process, he said he was on board and would see me Wednesday night.

Sin was out of town or I would have invited her. Ruby was free on Tuesday night but was finished with classes and found a cheaper flight home on Wednesday, so it was a farewell dinner. I was trying to think about who else to invite. I had Cathy and her boyfriend and Jennifer coming with me on Wednesday night. I could always ask out on the roof if any girls wanted to go to lunch and I could find a date. I was getting some coffee in the kitchen one morning and the thought hit me.

Opening the drawer I had to shuffle through a couple scraps to find the one I was looking for. “Hello, Timmon’s residence.”

“I was trying to reach Carol.”

“May I tell Mrs. Timmons who is calling?”

“This is Bull.”

“Hmm, Yes, sir. Please hold and I’ll see if she is free.”

It was a short time later that I heard another extension pick up. “Bull, it’s so good to hear from you. I thought you’d forgotten about me.”

The other line clicked as it was hung up. “No, I’ve just been busy working on some things. That’s why I’m calling.”

She sounded hesitant, “What do you mean?”

“I’m opening a restaurant next week and was wondering if you’d like to have lunch with me? Tuesday or Wednesday or both. We’re training the wait staff and kitchen staff. I was hoping you were free and wouldn’t mind being seen with me in public.”

“To be honest I’m caught off guard. You said next Tuesday or Wednesday?”

“Or both. I was happy to meet you and have heard good things about you since then. We may be sharing a table with others but we can still talk.”

“Do you think that if we talk and get to know each other that there may be some other not so public dates?” She didn’t sound hesitant but sounded smiley and flirty.

“After the restaurant’s open, I have staff to run it so time should be more open for me.”

“Do you want me to meet you, or are you going to pick me up?”

“That is something I hadn’t thought of. I don’t know if I’ll be needed after the practice run or not. Can I hire a car to come get you?”

“I’ll meet you at the time and place. Is it in the city?”

“Do you know where the restaurant, Enzo’s used to be?”

I could hear her suck in her breath on the other end of the phone. “Bull, are you serious?”

“Yes, is there a problem?”

“No, no problem. I know where it is. Why don’t we do Tuesday and if we enjoy it we can do it again on Wednesday?”