Meet A Couple Restaurant MVPs Who Fly Under The Radar

Forbes

a day ago

These team players represent the best of what it means to do some much-needed heavy lifting out of the spotlight.
Chef-turned-jack-of-all-trades
Sean Hartley's path to the kitchen was far from traditional. He studied physics at the University of Washington, working for a scientist who was a Nobel Prize winner. NBD.
After graduating, he crewed on a fishing boat in Alaska and then landed a job at a beloved spot in Seattle called Longshoreman's Daughter, before joining the team at the venerable Cafe Lago. That was a memorable gig largely because he met his wife, Julie, there (she was the pasta maker). Then he landed at Tom Douglas Restaurants. During those early days in the early 1990s, Hartley worked alongside some incredibly talented chefs who would go on to helm their own award-winning restaurants: Holly Smith at Cafe Juanita, John Sundstrom from Lark and Matt Costello, who was chef at the Inn at Langley on Whidbey Island for many years.
When the company began expanding, Hartley recalled a humbling moment in a well-attended team meeting during which Douglas gave him a back-handed shout-out: 'He said something like look how far Sean has come. I almost had to fire him and now look at him," he said, laughing.
Hartley went on to run the popular Palace Kitchen for nearly 10 years until another opportunity in the company came up. 'I don't think I was ever super creative as a chef. I ran a good team, but I was looking for a lifestyle change with a young kid at home and a spot came up.'
Initially, he wasn't that excited about the title of facilities manager, but that role has expanded and evolved. In the past decade-plus, he's worked on building out or refreshing 15 restaurants.
'It definitely helped that I had experience in the kitchen… an architect doesn't have the same perspective,' he said. The process is 'very non-linear.' A new concept often starts with a hand-drawn sketch. 'It's Tom's vision, and during the process, plans might change. It's all about being flexible.'
The latest reboot is Mr. Fish, formerly known as Seatown. The casual spot near Pike Place Market is all about nautical colors, the vivid blue and white adding a fresh feel to a menu that's fish-and-chips and chowder focused. The kitchen's also been fine-tuned to deal with the volume of business that's driven by summer visitors.
So, what's next on Hartley's to-do list? He's looking to eventually pass on the nuts-and-bolts knowledge of the workings of a busy restaurant group to others. Before cuing up the dark theme song from 'Succession', let's get real. Hartley's driving ambition involves showing up and supporting: 'It's really about taking care of people on our team so they can take care of the guests.'
Oh, and you'll still occasionally find him in the kitchen, maybe mixing up a batch of from-scratch tonic water at Palace, a practice first launched nearly 20 years ago by another veteran Tom Douglas Restaurants superstar, Gretchen Geisness, who now manages Mr. Fish and Half Shell.
Building a restaurant family in Memphis
Deni Reilly and her husband, Patrick, opened The Majestic Grill in a historic building in downtown Memphis some 20 years ago. To many, the affable Deni might present primarily as chef Patrick's No. 1 fan and business partner, but that's just a portion of the big picture.
As a longtime supporter of arts organizations with a deep background in hospitality, Deni approaches her role with warmth and enthusiasm: 'At heart, I'm a storyteller and an events gal. So those passions combined with my previous experience (she worked for The Center for Southern Folklore, The Blues Foundation and Memphis in May, and as Director of Operations for a Destination Management & Events Company now called Leo Events) just naturally work in the restaurant world,' she said.
Of the many hats she wears – including Mom – bringing people together and building a team that feels like family is what she most enjoys.
'My proudest achievement is the work family we've built and the culture of hospitality professionalism that continues to grow within our walls and beyond. We've got folks who've been with us since before we opened our doors. Hosts and prep cooks who are now senior managers. After the pandemic, we re-opened after being closed for eighteen months with 100 percent returning staff. We have more than one career staffer getting ready to retire whose kids now work here. And our alumni include three sommeliers, two restaurant owners, a handful of executive chefs, and multiple small business owners.'
Aside from the non-glamourous tasks like reviewing the sales and shift reports, dealing with emails, managing social media, following up on any pressing issues, as well as meetings with business and operations managers, Deni still finds time to visit with guests, and do a little menu R&D. She recently worked with the cocktail team at the second location of Cocozza to come up with a Slurpee Martini, a sort-of silly tribute to the building's previous tenant, a 7-11.
What she loves about her job is the way no two days are ever the same: 'It's like staging a live show or putting on a different event each day. You can be completely prepared, have all the players in their right spots, trained, well-rehearsed and ready to go, but it's never exactly the same from shift to shift. And that is where the magic happens! Those places, in between putting out fires, where you witness your team make someone's day, or you see a new server take ownership of our culture or watch the kitchen just work in perfect synchronized harmony and feed hundreds of people delicious dishes in just a few hours. Those are the moments.'
Then there's also the rewards – and challenges – that comes from working with your spouse: 'It's definitely not for the faint of heart. But, seriously, we've worked really hard to create a place where people learn to embrace the joys of working in a restaurant, as a team really having each other's backs, and creating special moments for the people who walk through our doors.'
Have a restaurant MVP story? We'd love to hear about it, please share in the comments section.