Business Affairs
I have several friends who passionately loved the Fairway Grill (2820 West 53rd Street in Fairway) but didn’t give a damn when it abruptly closed September 15 after a four-year run. “They changed the menu so many times,” complained one friend.
“They couldn’t make up their minds what they wanted the place to be or what they wanted to serve,” says former Fairway Grill general manager Mark Kirke, who’s now the operating partner at the P.F. Chang’s China Bistro on the Plaza. “I was still surprised when they closed, because George Biel really loved that space.”
Biel, owner of the Phoenix-based Houston’s Restaurants chain, loved the space enough that he reportedly spent $1 million on the building’s interior, changing the concept three times. It opened as Bandera Grill in 1995, then became a Houston’s, then Fairway Grill in 1998.
The announcement faxed out the day after it closed offered little explanation, just a Houston’s vice president’s claim that the organization’s “market strategy is to focus on [its] Plaza location.” Within days, a “for lease” sign was in front of the building, the original home of the Fine Arts movie theater. Houston’s still owns the site, and several local restaurateurs have looked at the space, including PB&J’s Bill Crooks.
Another restaurant will be making frequent changes to its menu — on purpose.
Scott and Gigi Cowell, the newlywed owners of the nineteen-month-old Europa Café (323 East 55th Street), have decided to add Friday-night dinners to what had been a lunch-only operation.
I’ve watched plenty of husband-and-wife restaurant owners squabble and bicker over the years, typically over the issues that drive all couples crazy: money, drinking, betrayal (an owner with a wandering eye and a pretty waitress can be a volatile combination) and the demanding hours that can keep one spouse away from the family. But for every bitter divorce, there’s a success story, and Cowells’ is one of them.
The couple met four years ago, when both were working at Remington’s in the Adams Mark Hotel (I-70 at the sports complex). Scott was managing the restaurant; Gigi was a longtime server. They opened a catering business first, then expanded into the Crestwood space briefly occupied by Dennis Howell‘s Decadenza!
The lunch-only Europa Cafe was an immediate hit; now comes dinner from 6 to 9 on Friday nights. (Reservations are encouraged.) Last Friday was the first, and Scott offered three gorgeous entrées: lettuce-wrapped sole with scallop mousseline; sautéed chicken breast with artichoke sauce; and brandied tenderloin with a currant reduction.
The menu will change weekly, but Gigi’s lemon cake will always be on the dessert list. Diners who want to be completely unfaithful to that famous creation can try a chocolate-cappuccino-mousse tart served with hazelnut whipped cream. Don’t worry; the Cowells won’t tell.
