Off The Clock: Staying in Tune with Tossed's Marc Meisel

Tossed’s Marc Meisel turns to music to unleash his creativity at work and play.

By Charles Bernstein, Contributing Editor -- Chain Leader, 10/1/2005

Playing in bands has been Marc Meisel’s passion since he was 13 in Westchester County, N.Y. “We were very serious considering how young we were,” he says. “We had band rehearsals three evenings a week, played a lot of events and actually made some money. But we still were kids, and after two years, one guy wanted to stop and others went on to other things.”

Regrouping
In 1985, while in high school in Armonk, N.Y., Meisel formed a rock ’n’ roll band called Rites of Passage, in which he was the lead singer and drummer. He also started writing his own songs, emphasizing that he would “never write a song in a certain style just because a popular band had a big hit in that style. I would only write what was true in my heart,” he says. The band lasted through high school, playing many local events, but split up when the members went to separate colleges.

After graduating college, Meisel hooked up with a group called Mama Kettle, which included guitarist Alan Stuart and pianist Steve Broderick. The band toured the United States for a few years in a van and played gigs in many college towns.

Mama Kettle broke up in 1995. That’s when Meisel decided to try cooking as a career. He took a 20-week cooking course in 1996 and went to culinary school in 1997. Meisel later helped manage a few restaurants and was a line cook at Larry Forgione’s American Place restaurant before opening his own restaurant.

In 1998 he helped launch Tossed, a quick-serve salad restaurant in New York. He has since opened two more units in New York and Livingston, N.J. Another one is due in South Florida in 2006. Meisel, founder, executive chef and operations vice president, and his partners plan to franchise units around the country.

On the Side
While he focuses on growing Tossed, Meisel still plays music in his spare time to the delight of his 2-year-old daughter. He also often plays the guitar, piano and drums with the singer and guitarist of his previous band. “The three of us were the core of the band, and the singer also plays bass so well that we can have a good jam session,” Meisel says.

Meisel, 36, admits that he can’t commit himself wholeheartedly to both music and the restaurant business. “Right now I have to give my all to Tossed,” he affirms. However, if the company’s growth plans proceed as expected, he hopes to form a casual band again and “have some fun, preferably with my former mates.”