Boxerbrand's Recipe for Success

West coast businessman and restauranteur Willie Rhine isn’t a gambler, and not likely to throw the dice on a frivolous concept. So when the hospitality industry was contracting nationwide during the pandemic lockdowns, Willie and his business partner Chad Gardner of Gardner Hospitality Group were thoughtfully opening a new concept in the affluent community of Rancho Mirage, Calif.; often called the “Camp David of the West.” In a community that has hosted past presidents, from Eisenhower to Obama, as well…

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In military aviation, the term “wingman” refers to a strategic flying partner situated just off the wing of another aviator. The idea is to protect and defend the flying group of two or more jets. The idea so resonated with restauranteur Brendon Mendoza of Walla Walla, WA that he named his eight-year-old family dining concept Wingman Birdz + Brewz. “A wingman will take one for the team, and always has your back,” Mendoza says. “I’ve drilled this concept into my…

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On California’s Monterey Peninsula, wildflowers growing along the coast have found their way inside. Just past the bright pink door that opens onto natural hardwood the sounds of the 1960’s float and painted flowers bedeck the walls. It’s a sensory bomb experience at Julia’s Vegetarian Restaurant. Chef/owner Anthony Gerbino, a self-taught cook and artisan of beautifully plated vegetarian and vegan cuisine, is a chef of few words. But his patrons aren’t.  And in social media review sites, they speak of…

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When oceanographer Christina Carollo decided to take the plunge into the hospitality business, even her business school education did not prepare her for the choppy waters that lay ahead.  The year 2020 was, to put it mildly, not kind. Government-imposed lockdowns shuttered her Italian concept Ambrogia Caffé & Enoteca, and most tragically, her chef was killed in an automobile accident. “After my chef passed away, there was a point where I considered giving the keys back to my landlord,” Carollo…

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The Stonebriar Country Club of Frisco, Texas is its own private world. And bills itself on being a “home away from home” for its members. On this expansive property there are two 18-hole golf courses, eight tennis courts, a Class III swimming pool with two diving boards and staffed with lifeguards. And a food and beverage experience for all moods and times of day. Built in 1988, the club was a cornerstone of the massive development of the high-end residential…

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“It’s a crazy story!” she begins. “I’d had a few restaurants, one I’d named Café Sari, and everyone thought it was an Indian restaurant, which it wasn’t.  “At another point I was a caterer who flew around the country on assignments because my work was in such high demand. I was a very successful pastry chef with 25 cupcake flavors, 15 cookie flavors and 10 varieties of cakes. “And one day I decided I wanted to open a concept that…

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A solid, lattice-truss bridge in the iconic Eli Whitney style, which once served only as a beautiful, covered walkway for restaurant patrons, was transformed during government lockdown measures into a means of survival for a 75-year-old destination restaurant. Festooned in twinkling white lights that shown like fireflies at night, the covered bridge at Bull Run Restaurant had a wait-list every night of the week as soon as outdoor dining was approved, says owner Alison Tocci. “When the pandemic hit, we…

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In Alaska, where the short growing season for produce is offset by the sheer abundance of the world’s freshest salmon and halibut, Nancy Alip began mastering her culinary skills by age 16. Though she dismisses the notion that she was a natural cook, Alip caught the cooking bug as a teenager and never looked back. Her career since 2002 taken her from line-cook to co-owner, and finally to becoming full owner of Jens’ Restaurant in 2016. “My family has been…

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During a dark time, a strategic restauranteur with three popular concepts in historic coastal New Bedford, Mass.,had a bright idea. The shuttered doors of a restaurant in the the old Candleworks Building, where products were once built to “light the world,” now cast a shadow on the neighborhood where Howie Mallowes and his partner Alfred Peters were running three successful concepts: Rose Alley Ale House, The Vault Music Hall & Pub, and others. “I didn’t like seeing a closed restaurant…

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Al Thomas began in restaurants at the ‘bottom of the bottom’ — “I was so low on the food chain I had to work up to becoming a dishwasher.” As a boy, he couldn’t wait to launch himself into restaurants. He got his feet wet at age 13 working in a seafood store and mini market. “I loved it! I sold fish over the counter all summer.” At age 14, the budding entrepreneur was doing cleanup work at 48-year-old Sperry’s,…

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