Chain Leader

Lane Cardwell

True North
July 2, 2008

It takes a lot of guts to open up a new independent, casual dining restaurant these days. The economy is in the toilet, customers are watching their nickels and dimes, costs are out of control, and there is a national surplus of casual dining locations that won't work their way out of the system for another two to three years. Now open a new restaurant in far north Dallas, where chain restaurants are practically a birthright, and you have to have owners who range somewhere from optimistic to delusional. 

What I love about this industry is when you find a concept that hits the mark dead center right out of the chute. Less than two months old, TruFire Kitchen & Bar looks like it is going to be a winner.
 
I look at new restaurants through several filters. One is a regionality filter. Will it work in other parts of the country? My favorite Mexican restaurant would not do well outside of the Texas area. It is dependent on a customer base that can recognize better Tex-Mex, and is willing to pay a little more for it.
 
Another filter is an originality filter. Is the restaurant one more variation on a theme, or does it actually advance the industry in some small way? Originality can manifest itself in many ways. Sometimes it is the sum of the elements that creates the originality. Sometimes it is being the first to do something a certain way.
 
There is the quality filter. This one is becoming more important every year. Does the menu incorporate the kinds of recognizable ingredient quality and preparation that will give it some breathing room from the relentless competition of chain casual dining? Does the ambiance and table setting build in value beyond the quality and quantity of the food? Does the service contribute to the overall quality of the operation?
 
Lastly, for casual dining restaurants, I use an alcohol program filter. This one trips up a lot of contenders. They work hard on the look and feel of the restaurant, they select and train their staffs well, they put a lot of love and care into the recipes and the kitchen preparation, and then they run a pedestrian alcohol program. Many restaurants treat the bar as an afterthought or given. It can be as difficult to put a quality bar program into operation as a quality kitchen. Glassware is important. The use of fresh fruits and mixes elevates a bar. Signature drinks demonstrate knowledge, as well as skill.
 
Wine selection and pricing can be very revealing as to the sophistication of the owner. You can't just have grocery store brands that your mainstream customers will recognize, and you can't just have the esoteric wines that only the cork dorks have heard of. You need both. The approach to wine pricing is always interesting. Is it priced to sell, or is it priced to retire on? I judge wine pricing on the WWCC principle...What Would Costco Charge? I can't buy it cheaper than at Costco, and I expect the restaurant to make a fair profit above that. Pricing wine in a casual dining restaurant at too high a markup is offensive, and counter productive to selling wine.
 
So how does TruFire perform against these filters? Very, very well. The menu is described as comfort Italian, and creative Mediterranean, with an American flair. Prices range from $8-$19, with most items in the low teens. The menu is limited, with only 25 items. Appetizers, salads, pizzas, and pastas, with a steak and a fish to round out the choices. Sounds like one of about 60,000 other restaurants? Let me give you the menu description for two items: 

• China Ranch Dates (appetizer): Fresh sweet Texas dates stuffed with parmesan cheese, wrapped and roasted with applewood smoked bacon ($9)
• TruMAC (Macaroni & Cheese) (entree): Roasted garlic butternut cream sauce, aged white cheddar, goat cheese, applewood bacon, cavatapi pasta with parmesan cheese crust, misted with white truffle oil ($15)

The 3,500 square foot strip center location seeks to be a true neighborhood restaurant, and it says so on the menu. In a still developing part of the city, the restaurant has found an enthusiastic clientele who have applied their own filters in judging the concept, and reached the same conclusion as me. I will make room for TruFire in my limited group of regular restaurants. With its slogan of "Life Happens in the Kitchen," TruFire has found true north.

Posted by Lane Cardwell on July 2, 2008 | Comments (4)