[校友风采] 肯代尔大学校友Dan Fox的餐厅诞生记

 肯代尔大学校友Dan Fox的餐厅诞生记

 2013年8月15日

        情人节当天，Dan Fox和调酒师Chad Vogel以Fox & Bird的名义举办了一个弹出式晚宴。而这个名字也将成为他们餐厅的名字，这次活动旨在产生宣传效应，以尽早启动接下来的事宜。

       随着顶级麦迪逊餐厅的一群兼职服务员涌进这一狭窄的厨房，厨房里的音乐不断变换，从贝鲁特一支受狂欢吉普赛人影响的独立乐队的音乐，再到软蓝调音乐。缓缓的音乐与人们突然的涌进形成鲜明对比。每一个来见Fox的服务员都是带着问题来的。


       他耐心倾听，并认真给出解决方案。


       在一个不大于步入式衣帽间的区域内，Fox和公司想出了一道精品菜肴：熏鸭和鹅肝酱配糖渍苹果和糖橙芥末。接下来一道应运而生的精品菜是黑鲈鱼。菜肴口味丰富、品质精良、制作精美。


       有时，甚至可以通过这些预窥一下Dan Fox的餐厅未来是什么样的。


       在过去6个月里，Dan Fox通过融资、租赁、设计、建设、设立品牌和雇佣员工，不断领导自己的餐厅将各种想法付诸实践。


       这就是这家餐厅的故事，如今餐厅更名为Heritage Tavern，这也是为什么它是今年麦迪逊最让人期待的餐厅。


       逃往威斯康星州
       Dan Fox厨师，来自基诺莎（Kenosha），曾在芝加哥肯代尔大学（Kendall College）学习西餐西点，后来在美国最著名的餐厅之一Everest餐厅工作。之后他就前往法国和奥地利工作。


     “当我在奥地利时，我就在阿尔卑斯山脉大吃特吃。让我震惊的是，他们的菜肴与威斯康星州的菜肴很相近。而且在普罗旺斯（Provence），所用的原料也与我家乡的很相似。”


       Fox随后回到美国在一家万众喜爱的芝加哥餐厅Spring工作。2006年，他在麦迪逊俱乐部（Madison Club）获得了一个职位，并与他的前妻定居在那里。Fox表示：“我也想离开芝加哥，因为我在芝加哥开餐厅的话，我的餐厅将会成为沧海一粟。”


       他在麦迪逊俱乐部并没有工作很长时间，因为Fox对当地和可持续性食物的热爱，促使他迈出了养殖传统猪的脚步。他与Cress Spring Farm农场的Micah Nicholes一起合作，开始养殖非常稀有昂贵但是极受寻求独特风味的厨师的热捧的汉普郡-约克郡猪、Mangalitsas猪、斯瓦比亚猪、Red Wattle猪和Tamworth-Hereford猪。


       基于对此的兴趣，威斯康星州最重要的烹饪活动之一SloPig于2011年诞生。这是一个“猪肉和酒”（pig and punch）派对，SloPig会聚集麦迪逊（Madison）和密尔沃基（Milwaukee）最好的厨师，再加上一两个来自芝加哥的厨师，他们使用Fox的传统品种猪作为食材比赛制作小菜肴。Fox在活动开始之前会私下将猪送到每一位参赛厨师那里。


       来自麦迪逊、密尔沃基和芝加哥的调酒师也会比赛调制一款获胜酒。


       这次活动不仅将密尔沃基、麦迪逊和芝加哥的烹饪界联系地更加紧密，而且也增强了Dan Fox品牌的影响力。目前，他养殖的猪销往各大地区餐厅，他也通过自身的努力和坚持不懈赢得了同行厨师的尊重。


       传统品种猪生意和SloPig活动，使Fox于去年在菲奇堡（Fitchburg）Fitch's Chophouse餐厅的位置买下了一个生产厨房。从那里开始，他推出了Fox传统美食（Fox Heritage Foods），并将于今年晚些时候开始在零售店提供传统熏火腿。


       Fox也使用生产厨房提供餐饮服务，利用它的空间来为Heritage Tavern餐厅设计菜单。Fox提到：“没有菲奇堡的空间，就没有为自家餐厅进行菜单创意的厨房。而我们不得不从头做起。”


       团队思维
       8个人围成圈站在131 E. Mifflin St.街不平坦的空地上，所有人均带上了安全帽。在场的有Dan Fox、Chad Vogel、业主Urban Land Interests的代表、建筑师Jacob Morrison和一名电工。会议开始的地点紧挨着入口通道内的用胶合板覆盖的蓝色便携马桶旁边。


       混凝土就倒在地上，他与建筑师和建筑工人的每周例会包括一个冗长的进度报告。随着不断推进的计划变化也时刻发生着。


       仍然有一些墙需要被拆掉，而另一些墙则需要砌起来，还需要增加电线、水管道和输气管道。本周，冰淇淋机器的计划有了变动。电工提醒道咖啡机使用的是不同的电压，所以需要知道未来将会购买的是何种咖啡机。


       开会期间，这个团队缓慢地走过顾客将会站立和坐的地方，详细讨论厨房风扇的开关应该安置在哪里，服务员将在哪里取水。团队还讨论了砖块、桌子、天花板和墙壁颜色。根据需要和视觉效果，决定随时变化。


       建筑师Morrison将团队带往厨房区域，并在麦迪逊的餐厅设备供应商Kavanaugh Restaurant Supply的帮助下将厨房的每一英寸都做了设计。


       会后，MC Audio的DJ Mike Carlson将会对音响设备提供建议。电工想知道将会购买何种音响。


       美国餐厅食物供应商西斯科公司（Sysco）的销售代表意外出现。他声称这个餐厅于他们而言意味着一个新客户。Fox礼貌地告诉他自己不会使用Sysco的产品，而这个人似乎非常惊讶然后就离开了。


       新餐厅的地址是美国国会山公寓（Capitol Hill Apartments）一层。该址曾是Underground Kitchen餐厅的旧址，在2011年6月的一场几乎摧毁整栋大楼的大火之前，经营不到一年。在此之前，万众喜爱的CafA Montmartre也位于此处。这是一块众人垂涎的市中心房地产，除了Fox以外，各方都对这块修复之地极感兴趣。


       房地产服务商Lee & Associates工作人员Peter Siepe是Fox该项目的房地产代理人。Fox表示：“对我而言拥有一个便利的地理位置至关重要。我想要让它成为一个触手可及的地方，而非一个特殊的地点。”


       该地点不是没有潜在话题。街对面的Capitol Point condominium association对它的新邻居可是非常好奇的。


       在与施工人员开完会后，Fox和Vogel前往了公寓居民住的地方。街道的噪音直接传到了他们的窗户里，他们表示，当地居民对餐厅的关门时间、轮椅通道和现场音乐感到担忧。户外有座位吗？到时会很吵吗？


       当居民Tom Terry给了Fox极大的认可后，对产生冲突的担忧就被搁置在一边了，Tom表示餐厅的开设将会为这条街道增添亮丽感。同时Fox的烹饪水准已经在楼内为其赢得了不少粉丝。


       当晚晚些时候，酒精许可审查委员会（Alcohol License Review Committee）在会议上通过了Fox的项目。


       分道扬镳
     “我买了一个房子，改造了它，并建了厨房。我已经离婚了。但是这是我做过的最艰难的事情了。”


       Fox坐在酒吧里，盯着一杯比利时啤酒。


       尽管政府出台了强有力的联邦鼓励措施刺激银行借贷，但是自从经济低迷后麦迪逊资助餐厅的状况就一直非常糟糕。Fox表示：“每一家麦迪逊银行都告诉我，‘很抱歉，我们目前不对餐厅借款。’Cross Plains州银行其实是我的最后一个电话，他们回答了‘好的’。”


       Fox已经私下筹集了开设Heritage Tavern餐厅的大部分资金，尽管如此，银行出借方仍然对出借资金犹豫不决。在贷款协商过程中，Vogel 决定寻求其他机会，Fox和Vogel因此分道扬镳。（由于保密协定，双方都不得对这次事件的起因发表评论。）


       Fox & Bird餐厅变成Heritage Tavern餐厅，这也是Fox的零售业务Fox Heritage Foods的延伸。


       Fox喝下啤酒继续说道：“为了保住本钱，律师们认真考虑了各种末日方案。这个过程就像是读商学院一样。”


       在经过药物测试和购买人寿保险后，Fox最终获得了继续推进的必要资金。独自一人。


       Vogel的离开使Fox失去了一个前厅酒吧经理和决策伙伴。而且使事情更糟糕的是，他的农场伙伴Micah Nicholes摔断了脚踝，不能再放猪了。


       现在，Fox开车前往蓝丘（Blue Mounds）之外的Cress Spring，早上干农活，下午返回继续运营餐饮公司并进行餐厅的开业工作。


       曾有一段时间，生产厨房里的橱柜里塞满了Fox的衣物，用于做农活和做生意的更换。


       字体中蕴含了什么呢？
       字体如何转变成味道呢？这是Kristin Redman（或者Cricket，大家熟知的名字）问自己的问题。在过去几年里，Cricket Design Works已经在麦迪逊成为一个为寻求品牌和设计帮助的食品相关企业的支持者。


       公司开始于2002年，已经与大量的客户合作过： Sardine、Graze、Marigold Kitchen、L'Etoile、Pizza Brutta、Gates & Brovi、Fromagination、Wollersheim Winery and the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board。


       为了完成公司的产品，前厨师和梅特卡夫县（Metcalfe）市场顾问Leah Caplan加入团队。Caplan带来了食品行业的独特经验，并帮助客户进行品牌战略。


       Redman谈到了她的公司的方法：“我们将厨师视为艺术家。他们是艺术家也是味道创作者，他们不断将新菜品呈现在人们面前。这已经融入到他们的意识之中，所以这不是一份我们必须要做的工作。”然而，她又说道：“有时很难让厨师表达清楚这一点。这时就需要我们帮助他们变成视觉效果图或形成语言。”


       从这个前提来讲，Redman和她的设计师一起阐释一个厨师的抽象概念，帮助其通过图像、颜色和字体的形式实现。


       首先，思想和参考点标记到Pinterest上。正在忙碌于Fox的餐厅设计的设计师Tracy Harris表示：“可以先从短语或仅仅单词开始。一个布谷鸟钟。一张古老的台球桌。我们也讨论过一张老式台球桌的颜色是或应该是什么样的。”


       最初的灵感集中阶段就引出了与客户更多的交流。通常情况下，两个设计师将会从两个不同的方向独立开展工作。随后他们会展示自己的发现。


       Redman解释道：“灵感会不断迸发，然后我们会削减掉一些。这是一种阻碍效果。在这个阶段战略非常重要，因为我们知道Dan Fox需要在将来某个时刻扩大这一点。我们想要使我们的图像能够帮助他完成产品和餐厅。”


       Caplan赞成这一点，表示：“我们不仅仅让事物看起来很漂亮。无论我们怎么做，都要能支持他们做生意的方式。我们会问自己‘他们怎么联合在一起的呢？’”


       Caplan继续说道：“Cricket非常精通于字体，以及它们对品牌的影响。这是外行人看不到的事情。”


       Fox的主要字体称为Abraham Lincoln。


       当一个元素能够再次出现时，设计变得前所未有的令人满意。Harris画的狐狸头将会出现在衬衫、商业名片、明信片和网站上。它也将设计进餐厅的手工椅子中。


       Redman表示：“Dan想的非常容易。他想要设计者能够完成整个原貌。他做出决策但是并不微观处理。”


       在最后做决定的那天，Fox与Redman、Caplan和Harris在门罗街（Monroe Street）Cricket Design Works一起看了他面前的选择。它们都是非常好的选择，每一个都会将餐厅引向一个不同的方向。最终他做出了一个选择。


       多级抽象过程形成了一个全面的餐厅外观和感觉。Harris表示：“很遗憾，当做出一个选择之后，其它的方案都成遗孤了。”


       思考到这一点非常令人惊讶：麦迪逊的餐厅存在着很多可能性，每一个都朝向不同的方向。这个城市都充满了无形的独一无二的特点。


       组装团队
       随着资金得到保障、建筑过程推进、设计元素选择和实施，Dan Fox开始组合自己的团队。他雇佣了一个私人经理帮助进行组织工作。他也雇佣了以前在麦迪逊俱乐部的同事Jason Veal担任Fox Heritage Farms农场的行政主厨和经理，作为他的企业餐饮和零售臂膀。由于Chad Vogel的离开，副厨师长的职位仍然空缺。Fox需要迅速找到一个酒吧经理。


       申请者在菲奇堡的生产厨房竞争烹饪职位。Fox筛选简历后，最终的申请者需要使用一篮神秘原料创作出三道菜肴。这些菜肴随后会经过严格的评判。


       颇受赞誉的明尼阿波利斯市餐厅Bachelor Farmer 的Jon Rosnow，获得了副厨师长职位。他使用神秘篮中的原料制作了三道简单的菜肴，其中包括一只活龙虾。


       至于酒吧经理，Fox发掘出当地的调酒员Grant Hurless。Hurless是一个大家都熟知的人，曾在Nostrano餐厅、Tornado Steakhouse餐厅和Merchant and Forequarter餐厅都工作过。作为芝加哥人，他是在Drawing Room餐厅著名调酒师Charles Joly的手下开始了酒吧工作。


       通过Skype面试和私下几次会面后，Fox雇佣了Zack Lozoff作为前厅经理。Lozoff现在与詹姆斯比尔德奖获奖厨师Bruce Sherman一起在芝加哥农场到餐桌的餐厅North Pond工作。


       随着时间的推移，这两个职位也被填满了。他表示：“我并没有着手做这个事情，它就这样自然而然发生了。但是我认为这种经历会很好地服务客户。”


       设计餐厅的酒单，这是一个耗时的任务，这需要了解麦迪逊市场上能够提供的原料，Fox接触了Square Wine Company公司的老板Andrea Hillsey。这家公司就在Heritage Tavern餐厅附近。这两人在一些活动上进行了合作，她理解Fox的审美。


      重要职位已经填满了，每个部门的经理将会雇佣一个可容纳将近100个座位的餐厅的剩余工作人员。


       开幕之夜
       起初，Heritage Tavern的开业日期是7月初。但是正如经常发生的事情一样，建筑增建花的时间比预期要长。而且还发现了柜台和一些桌子的问题，这些都需要重做。与此同时，外部设计也出现了更多的问题。因此，一个软开业的重要派对不得不推迟。


       Fox表示：“我来到麦迪逊时并没有想过要开餐厅。但是这可能是下意识的。要知道拥有这样的支持在芝加哥做这件事绝对是不可能的。”


       Fox通过与麦迪逊俱乐部的工作和SloPig活动已经获得了强有力的支持。他也通过很多弹出式晚宴使自己的烹饪为更多的用餐者所知晓。而且他的身边都是一群成功、经验丰富的团队。


       尽管如此，有四分之一的餐厅在经营第一年时就停业或转手。事实就是，如果餐厅不与顾客建立联系的话，即使是最好的餐厅理念也会面临麻烦。


       Fox提到：“我们开始时为了便于管理。就先提供晚餐，几周后再提供午餐。仅仅因为餐厅开业了并不意味着不会出现问题。开业或许是大里程碑，但是这绝不是终点。”


       Heritage Tavern餐厅预计于本月底开业。员工培训已经着手开始进行，豪华空间的最后一步也已经完工。灯固定架、弹性坐垫和玻璃器皿似乎也陆续送达。Dan Fox的第一家餐厅，起初只是一个设想，经过几个月的艰难险阻和心痛悲叹，终于即将成为现实。



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 The birth of a restaurant


It's Valentine's Day, and Dan Fox, along with mixologist Chad Vogel, is hosting a pop-up dinner under the moniker Fox & Bird. It's going to be the name of their restaurant as well, and the event's aimed at generating buzz and nurturing an early following.
As tickets begin to roll into the cramped kitchen via a bevy of freelance waiters from top Madison restaurants, the music in the kitchen changes from Beirut, a riotous gypsy-influenced indie band, to soft R&B. The slow music is in direct contrast to a sudden rush. Every server now comes to Fox with a question or problem.

He listens, unflappable, and quietly offers solutions.

From an area no larger than a generous walk-in closet, Fox and company have conjured an elaborate dish of smoked duck and foie gras with beet-apple compote and candied orange mustard. Next appears an Ossabaw speck-wrapped black bass in a dark squid ink reduction. The courses are rich, luxe, grand and well executed.

For a moment, there's a glimmer of what a Dan Fox restaurant might be like.

Over the next six months, Dan Fox would go on to shepherd his restaurant idea to reality -- through financing, leasing, designing, building, branding and hiring.

This is the story of that restaurant, now called Heritage Tavern, and why it's the most anticipated Madison opening of the year.

Escape to Wisconsin
Chef Dan Fox, originally from Kenosha, studied the culinary arts at Kendall College in Chicago and then worked at Everest, one of the country's premier restaurants. From there he went to work in kitchens in France and Austria.

"When I was in Austria, I was tucked right into the Alps," says Fox. "Surprisingly, their cuisine closely parallels Wisconsin's. And in Provence, too, the ingredients were very similar."

Fox then returned to the States to work at Spring, a beloved Chicago restaurant. In 2006, he took an open position at the Madison Club, relocating here with his former wife. "I also wanted to get out of Chicago, " Fox says. "It was a sea of cement."

It wasn't long into his tenure at the Madison Club that Fox's passion for local and sustainable food led him to make the leap into raising his own heritage pigs. He partnered with Micah Nicholes at Cress Spring Farm and began raising Hampshire-Yorkshire, Mangalitsas, Swabian Hall, Red Wattle and Tamworth-Hereford breeds that are rare and expensive but prized by chefs for their magnificent flavor.
From this interest was born one of Wisconsin's foremost culinary events, SloPig, which launched in 2011. A celebration of all things pig and punch, SloPig is a gathering of Madison and Milwaukee's finest chefs -- plus one or two from Chicago -- who compete using Fox's heritage breed pigs to make small dishes. Fox personally delivers the pigs to each participating chef before the event.


Bartenders from Madison, Milwaukee and Chicago also compete to make a winning punch.

The event has not only brought the culinary worlds of Milwaukee, Madison and Chicago closer together, but has enhanced the Dan Fox brand. His pigs now sell to area restaurants, and he has earned the respect of fellow chefs through his hard work and persistence.

The heritage pig business and SloPig, in turn, led Fox to purchase a commissary kitchen last year in the old Fitch's Chophouse space in Fitchburg. From there he launched Fox Heritage Foods, which will be offering cured heritage hams in retail stores later this year.

Fox also caters from the commissary kitchen, and has used the space to prepare the menu for Heritage Tavern. "Without the Fitchburg space there would have been no kitchen to work on menu ideas for the restaurant," Fox notes. "We would have had to launch essentially from nowhere."

Group think
Eight people are standing in a circle in the rough space at 131 E. Mifflin St., all wearing hard hats. Present are Dan Fox, Chad Vogel, representatives from building owner Urban Land Interests, the architect Jacob Morrison and an electrician. The meeting commences next to a blue portable toilet just inside the entryway, which is covered by plywood.

Concrete has just been poured on the floor, and the weekly meeting with the architect and builder includes a lengthy progress report. Changes crop up frequently to the ever-evolving plans.

There are still walls to be moved, walls to be erected, electrical wiring to be added, water and gas lines to run, and more. This week, the plans for the ice cream machine have changed. The electrician warns that espresso machines come in different voltages and wants to know what kind will be purchased.

During the meeting, the group walks slowly through where guests will stand and where they will sit, where switches for the kitchen fans will go and where servers will get water. The group talks bricks, tables, ceilings and wall colors. Decisions are fluid, based on both necessity and vision.

Architect Morrison leads the group around the kitchen area, designed to the last inch with the help of Madison's Kavanaugh Restaurant Supply.

After the meeting, DJ Mike Carlson from MC Audio will consult on the sound system. The electrician wants to know what kind of speakers will be purchased.

A sales rep for Sysco, the nationwide restaurant food supplier, appears, unannounced. He assumes that construction means a new client. Fox politely tells him he won't be using Sysco products, and the man seems genuinely surprised and departs.

The site of the new restaurant is the ground floor of the Capitol Hill Apartments. The space had most recently been home to the restaurant Underground Kitchen, there for less than a year before a fire in June 2011 almost destroyed the whole building. Before that, the space had been home to the beloved Café Montmartre. It is coveted downtown real estate, and a number of parties other than Fox and company were interested in the restored venue.

Peter Siepe from Lee & Associates worked as Fox's real estate agent for the project. "It was extremely important to me that I have an approachable spot," Fox says. "I wanted it to be casual enough to not be just a special-occasion place."

The location is not without potential issues, however. The Capitol Point condominium association across the street is curious about its new neighbor.

After the meeting with builders, Fox and Vogel head to a gathering of the condo dwellers. Noise from the street carries straight to their windows, they say, and residents are anxious about closure times, wheelchair access and live music. Will there be outdoor seating? Will it be loud?

Worries of a conflict are set aside, however, when resident Tom Terry gives Fox a ringing endorsement, and argues that the restaurant will set a classy tone for the street. Fox's cooking has already earned him fans in the building.

Later that night, at a meeting of the city's Alcohol License Review Committee, the Fox project is approved.

The breakup
"I've bought a house, remodeled it and set up kitchens. I've been divorced. But this is, hands down, the toughest thing I've ever done."
Fox is sitting at a bar staring at a goblet of Belgian beer.

Financing restaurants in Madison has been grim since the economic downturn, even though there are strong federal incentives for banks to lend. "Every Madison bank told me, 'Sorry, we're not currently loaning to restaurants,'" says Fox. "The State Bank of Cross Plains was literally my last phone call, and they said 'Yes.'"

Fox raised the majority of the money needed to open Heritage Tavern privately, but bank lenders were still hesitant to fill in the gap. During the loan negotiations, Fox and Vogel parted ways, amicably, with Vogel deciding to pursue other opportunities. (Because of nondisclosure agreements, neither could comment on the breakup for this story.)

Fox & Bird became Heritage Tavern, a link to Fox's retail business, Fox Heritage Foods.

"To secure the money, the lawyers go through a number of doomsday scenarios," continues Fox, downing his beer. "This process has been like going to business school."

After undergoing drug testing and procuring life insurance, Fox finally received the necessary financing to move forward. Alone.
Vogel's departure left Fox without a front-of-the-house bar manager and decision-making partner. To make matters worse, his farming partner, Micah Nicholes, broke his ankle and could no longer farm the pigs.

Fox is now driving to Cress Spring, outside Blue Mounds, to farm in the mornings, and returning in the afternoons to run the catering company as well as continue opening the restaurant.

For a time, the office at the commissary kitchen had drawers filled with Fox's clothes, to accommodate changing between farming and running the businesses.

What's in a font?
How does a font translate into a flavor? This is the question Kristin Redman, or Cricket, as she is known, asks herself. Over the past few years, Cricket Design Works has become a go-to shop for food-related businesses in Madison looking for brand and design help.

Beginning with Ancora in 2002, the company has worked with an impressive list of clients: Sardine, Graze, Marigold Kitchen, L'Etoile, Pizza Brutta, Gates & Brovi, Fromagination, Wollersheim Winery and the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

To round out the company's offerings, Leah Caplan, former chef and Metcalfe's Market adviser, has joined the team. Caplan brings years of food-industry-specific experience, and assists clients with brand strategy.

"We look at chefs really as artists," Redman says of her company's approach. "They are artists but also taste makers, and they are constantly putting things in front of people. That's already baked into their awareness, so that's not a job we have to do." However, she adds, "It's sometimes hard to get them to articulate that. We help tap into the visual or linguistic side."

From this premise, Redman and her designers work on elaborating a chef's abstract ideas, helping realize them in images, colors and fonts.
To begin, thoughts and reference points get tagged to Pinterest boards. "It can start with phrases or just words," says designer Tracy Harris, who is working on Fox's restaurant designs. "A cuckoo clock. An old pool table. We have conversations about what color green an old pool table is or should be."

This initial inspiration-gathering phase leads to more talking with the client. Often, two designers will work alongside each other independently in two different directions. Then they present their findings.

"Concepts will grow, and then we'll whittle them back down. It's a spoke effect," Redman explains. "Strategy is important at this stage as well, because we know Dan Fox needed to be able to expand at some point down the road. We wanted our images for him to work on his products as well as for a restaurant."

Caplan agrees: "We're not just making things look good. Whatever we do graphically supports their way of doing business. We ask ourselves, 'How do they tie together?'

"Cricket is incredibly well versed in fonts and their impact on a brand," Caplan continues. "It's one of those things the layperson doesn't see."

Fox's principal font is called Abraham Lincoln.

Design is never so satisfying as when an element can reappear. A drawing of a fox head that Harris worked on will appear on shirts, business cards, postcards and the website. It will also be designed into the restaurant's handmade chairs.

"Dan has been so easy," Redman says. "He wants the designer to complete the look. He's decisive but not micromanaging."

On the day of final approval, Fox looks at the options in front of him with Redman, Caplan and Harris at the Cricket Design Works offices on Monroe Street. They are all good options, each a different direction the restaurant could go in. He chooses one.

Out of a multi-stage abstract process comes a completed restaurant look and feel. "Sadly," says Harris, "when one is chosen all the other children are now orphans!"

It's a surprising way of thinking about it: Of the Madison restaurants that exist, there were many possibilities, each a different version. The city is dotted with invisible, orphaned ideas.

Gathering the team
With the financing secured, build-out proceeding as planned, design elements chosen and in production, Dan Fox turns to assembling his team. He's hired a personal manager to help stay organized. He's also hired his former colleague from the Madison Club, Jason Veal, as executive chef and manager of Fox Heritage Farms, the catering and retail arm of his business. But there's still a sous chef position to hire for. And, with Chad Vogel's departure, Fox needs to find a bar manager fast.

Applicants for cooking positions try out for the job in the commissary kitchen in Fitchburg. After Fox has sifted through resumes, the final applicants are asked to create three courses from a box of mystery ingredients. These full meals are then critiqued.

Jon Rosnow from the much-lauded Minneapolis restaurant the Bachelor Farmer, is offered the sous chef position. He produced three straightforward, well-executed dishes from the box, which in his case included a live lobster.

For bar manager, Fox taps local mixologist Grant Hurless. Hurless is a familiar face, having worked at Nostrano, Tornado Steakhouse, Merchant and Forequarter. A Chicagoland native, he started behind the bar with famed tender Charles Joly at the Drawing Room.

Following a Skype interview and a few meetings in person, Fox then hires Zack Lozoff as front-of-the-house manager. Lozoff has worked at the farm-to-table Chicago restaurant North Pond with James Beard-winning chef Bruce Sherman.

That these two positions were filled by people with time in top Chicago establishments is not lost on Fox: "I didn't set out to do that; it just happened," he says. "But I do think that experience will serve the clientele here well."

To build the restaurant's wine list, a time-consuming task requiring knowledge of what is available in the Madison market, Fox approaches Andrea Hillsey, owner of Square Wine Company. It's just around the corner from Heritage Tavern, and the two have collaborated on events; she understands his aesthetic.

With the major positions filled, each manager begins hiring the remaining staff needed to work the nearly hundred-seat restaurant.

Opening night
The original date for opening Heritage Tavern was early July. But as so often happens, the build-out took longer than expected. There were issues with the counter and some of the tables, which had to be remade. There were more issues with the outside sign. A major party that was to act as a soft open had to be pushed back.

"I didn't come to Madison with the idea of opening a restaurant," says Fox. "But it may have been subconscious. It is certainly not something that would have been possible in this way in Chicago with this kind of support."

Fox has earned a strong following from his work with the Madison Club and SloPig. He has exposed even more diners to his cooking through his many pop-up dinners. And he has surrounded himself with a successful, experienced team.

Even so, one in four restaurants closes or changes hands in its first year. The reality is that even the best restaurant concepts can experience trouble if they fail to connect with their clientele.

"We're starting manageable," Fox notes. "Dinner first, then lunch in a few weeks. Just because the restaurant is open doesn't mean there won't be problems. Opening may be the big milestone, but it's not the finish line."

Heritage Tavern is expected to open to the public at the end of this month. Staff training has already begun in earnest, and the final touches to what has become a luxurious space are being completed. Light fixtures, seat cushions and glassware seem to arrive hourly. Dan Fox's first restaurant, begun as an idea, shepherded through months of hurdles and heartache, is about to become a reality.


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