By Leslee Komaiko
For dineLA.com
You don’t have to be in the restaurant biz to know how rough it is out there. But a few places seem to be operating in an alternate universe. Tables are full. The mood is festive, the kitchen cranking. One of these places is Westside Tavern, a sharp, casual dining room with a menu that screams California, which opened at the Westside Pavilion in March of this year. Before you write off Westside Tavern because it’s in a, gasp, mall, the chef and co-owner is Warren Schwartz, who worked at Patina and oversaw the kitchens at Saddle Peak Lodge and Whist before heading out on his own. We checked in with the Los Angeles native.
The economy sucks but Westside Tavern is doing a bang-up business. At least it looks that way. What’s going on?
It’s a whole host of things. Positioning definitely. Free parking helps. We are doing something that nobody else is doing: taking a small, fine dining restaurant sensibility and applying it to a large format concept and charging a really reasonable price. 75% of our product comes from within 300 miles of our building. West LA really craves this. We are fighting so hard to connect with the customer.
How do you do that?
The way I used to always cook was the old kind of guard: I’m going to express my art (whether it’s art or not, I tend to think it’s more craft), and if people come they’re coming for me and if they don’t like it they’re at the wrong place. Here I’m saying everything is about the guest: what do they want, without being a food whore. (I’m not putting nachos on the menu.)
Why did you decide to go out on your own?
I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. I’ve been struggling with fine dining. You’re constantly trying to get ink or press by doing something new. It was starting to lose its visceral, wow this is great. At the same time, I’m getting tired of the people I am cooking for. I really love the Village Idiot on Melrose, a cool concept, a casual place where people can eat and the food is pretty good and there’s a bar and it doesn’t cost you a ton.
Do you enjoy being the boss?
I love it. Coming from the kitchen, I’m very passionate. I believe in people. In this economy I have to be incredibly aggressive and on the offense. If that person or product isn’t going to build the business I have to remove it from the organization. That’s the hard part, the constant self-evaluation. But it’s thrilling.
Did you have any apprehension about opening a ‘mall restaurant’?
Tons. My idea of a restaurant is a little stone villa on the beach somewhere. It’s romantic, but very ego driven. It goes back to my earlier point. When I left [Whist] people were giving me s*** like, “Oh, you’re going to open a Cheesecake Factory.”
I am sure you have heard the Houston’s comparisons. What say you to these?
I hear them when they walk in the door. As soon as they sit down they say it’s not even close. I think Houston’s is a very well run business. But they don’t have the ability to do what I do. I change the menu board every day and the menu every week.
Has there been any confusion between Westside Tavern and Tavern in Brentwood?
Very little. I went to Tavern first thing when it opened. Suzanne (Goin) and Caroline (Styne) were like, “We’re so sorry we used ‘Tavern.’” And I was like, “I don’t care.”
The cocktails at Westside Tavern are among the best in town. Was this high on your priority list?
Huge. I met Ryan [Magarian] three years ago at Food & Wine in Aspen. I went to 212 House, a sponsored party that goes bananas. There was one bartender in the backyard, Ryan. I ordered a vodka cranberry and he looked at me like, are you kidding? And he asked, “Can I make you something else?” The cocktail was so darn good I proceeded to get drunk.
In your former chef gigs, you were using ingredients like foie gras and caviar. Are you experiencing any withdrawal?
Definitely. Foie gras is the best thing. At least I still have some good bacon.
Do you still get to the farmers market or are you too busy with management stuff?
I get there every three weeks. In the meantime, I have all these emails from the farmers and I have someone from the produce company I talk to every day about what’s going on. We’ve been hitting such huge volume, we’ve been buying farmers out. We’re not buying three flats. I’m going to go through 30 flats of heirloom cherry tomatoes this week.
How nice that you can buy people out.
I love it. These farmers, I’ve supported them and they’ve supported me for over ten years, and they’re like, “We’ve got you covered Warren.”
You’ve had pastry chefs in your former gigs. But you’re doing pastry at Westside Tavern. Do you like doing pastry?
I like having a pastry chef. Especially now, we’re struggling with our pastries. I’m looking at getting an outside consultant. I’m pretty good at pastry, but I’m not great. I don’t have the time to dedicate.
I am going to ask you a question on behalf of other restaurateurs. Why hire a publicist?
I don’t think it’s something you always have to use once you’re established, but in the beginning I don’t have time to follow up on all these leads and all these things. They manage that. They’re very aggressive and they help. I am working with my publicist more than I ever have before. But I don’t want to do this bulls*** where we come up with a banana monkey cocktail and we end up in Cosmo. I want to get the message out about what we stand for, who we are and what we do.
Is it easy or hard to find good restaurant staff?
Remarkably hard actually. We went through over two thousand resumes for our original 60 positions. The interview process goes through all the managers and I have the final interview. I talk to them about their lives, competitive sports, the books they’ve read, their philosophy of life, what they want to do when they grow up. We set up our kitchen and our front of our house so that if you are the best you are going to get the best schedule, the best station etcetera. If not, we’re going to get you there. If you don’t get there you’re no longer going to work here. I’m sounding quite militant but I’m a lot of fun, too: discipline within fun.
Where did you go to high school?
El Camino in Woodland Hills.
Ah. So you grew up in the Valley. What restaurants did you eat at?
My parents had me very young and had no money. They mostly always cooked at home. For big nights out we went to Sierras, a restaurant in the valley. There was nothing great about it. But when I was a kid I loved going to Sierras.
And where do you like to eat out now?
Recently I’m more going to Koreatown, Japan town. One standout is Gjelina; they’re getting it right. Osteria Mozza, I eat there and I think they’re knocking it out of the park. They’re busy as hell, even in this economy.
Do you cook at home?
Yes. I don’t have much time so it’s not often. But I love having a couple of people over, getting huge thick rib eyes, and I have a Homer Simpson grill in the back.
If you weren’t a chef, what would you be?
An architect. I do love architecture. I don’t know if I’d be any good at it.
Lastly, what do you think of the Los Angeles restaurant scene?
I think the LA restaurant scene is incredibly dynamic. For sushi or ethnic food it’s one of the best cities around. I think our midrange restaurants suck, which is why I was so excited about occupying this space. Who occupies midrange? The Cheesecake Factory, Gulfstream. They do a great job. But I never want to be them because I don’t identify with them. I don’t want to go to a restaurant here where I can get the same thing as in Houston. The low end is amazing. The high end we have a sprinkling of great places that set trends throughout the world. But we have a hard time maintaining that. LA is such a flash place.
I have a belief that there are no victims out there. I think it’s because you’re not connecting. All my friends are struggling, not because they’re not freaking great cooks, but because the business plan is wrong. You can’t have 20 guys in the kitchen doing 70 covers.
Some of those restaurants probably aren’t going to make it.
We’re going to see the biggest loss of restaurants in the city that we’ve ever seen in our lifetime. It will cycle back. But I think we’re going back to our values. We’re thinking about the guests instead of how cool we are. It’s great for the customer.
Westside Tavern, 10850 West Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, 310.470.1539
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