Turning a Failing Restaurant Around

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Rapp uses this converted 1955 Ford fire truck for his series of outdoor dinners at local farms. Michelle Parr Paulson

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I set out to change that, starting with my own attitude.

Our customers here at River Tavern have a different set of assumptions and expectations of a restaurant than I had come to expect in New York City. Good food and service are still paramount, but they want it in a package that's familiar. Our customers tend to be more conservative and less excited by the prospect of being challenged by their dinner.

While our fundamentals remained unchanged, I redirected much of the focus, work, and imagination that I had given to cooking to the task of growing a truly successful, sustainable business—one based on a real concern and strategy for making our customers happy.

For starters, I fired my very talented chef who refused to make the changes that I felt necessary to save the restaurant. We renovated the dining room to make it more comfortable and warmer, and we expanded our offerings with an inexpensive bar menu full of simple favorites. We also tried to make the restaurant more accessible, opening for lunch and dinner every day. We offered a roster of half-priced weeknight specials: wine on Mondays and Tuesdays, cocktails on Wednesdays, beer on Thursdays, and a family dinner on Sundays where children could eat for free.

Once we implemented those changes, we started thinking about how to extend our reach and capture new customers for the future. We began publishing a seasonal calendar of special events: monthly wine lunches, town-wide holiday events, and art openings with local artists. Our collaborations with local artists, restaurants, and businesses draws on and reinforces our image as a member of an unique, thriving village. Our customers love the sense that we are working creatively together to make Chester vibrant.

By far the best and most promising idea I've had is Dinners at the Farm, a summertime series of outdoor dinners that we put on in the fields of local farms. The food, 100% locally produced, is cooked from scratch on our bright red 1955 Ford fire truck kitchen. Each dinner benefits a local agricultural nonprofit. Over the past two seasons, we have donated $28,000 and purchased over $50,000 worth of food and wine from local producers. More than 150 guests show up on any given night.

I now get as much satisfaction from the challenges of keeping my restaurant fresh and exciting as I did from cooking. It is now more than twice as busy as it was and growing at 20% a year—teeming daily with regulars and newcomers. With the economy slumping, things will certainly be tough in the coming months, but I think we are in a better position than many of our competitors.

Looking back over the last four years, I am amazed at the change in my restaurant. River Tavern now embodies the idea that while you can't be all things to all people, you can be a lot of things to many.

—edited by Stacy Perman

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