Cyd Koehn
Joe Tripp with Simon Goheen
Paul Rottenberg
HOSPITALITY
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TODAY?
By Jim Duncan
Simon Goheen’s restaurant, Simon’s, won top-20 status nationally in the James Beard Awards (JBA) Outstanding Hospitality category. That was the first time an Iowa restaurant was honored with that distinction.
Goheen’s neighborhood café at Merle Hay and Franklin is best known for hospitality in an old fashioned, Iowa form. He grew up in a family that ate out every night because restaurants were customers for the family business — Fancy Breads. He still serves a complimentary bread basket as well as a complimentary red velvet cake dessert. Bread baskets used to be standard in Des Moines, but only a handful of places still offer them.
By sheer force of personality, Goheen makes his customers feel like part of a neighborhood. Waiting for a table is an experience, not an annoyance. He makes an unusual effort to visit every table personally.
That’s a vanishing grace. From WWII into the early 21st century, Des Moines restaurateurs were almost always “front of the house” guys. Babe Bisignano, his brother, Chuck, and his niece, Linda; Johnny and Kay Compiano; Rocky and Ralph Compiano; Aunt Jenny Renda; Pete Riccelli; Gary Fatino; Paul Trostel; Red and Joe Giudicessi, their kids Rene and Ron; Noah Lacona; Guido Fenu; Rose and Jim Pigneri; Bobby Tursi; the father and sons team of Joe, Joe Jr., Louie and Mario Tumea; Prasong Nurack; Joe “Mr. V” Vivano; Mike LaValle; Steve Logsdon; Rabbi Yossi Jacobson; Mao Heineman; Alice Nizzi; Rosa Martinez; the Baratta family and the younger southsiders who now run that place; Marty Scarpino and his parents — all were the main attractions in their restaurants.
Babe told us that he would rather close his place down than operate it without his daily presence. Joe Giudicessi explained that, “If a first-time customer has a disappointing meal, you can get them back if you react and try to fix things. If he has a bad service, he’s gone forever.”
That kind of “Iowa nice,” personality-driven hospitality dissipated with the rise of chef/owners, was popularized by Food Network and the many culinary schools that developed in the 1980s and 1990s.
You can count the places that still have an active owner hosting on your fingers. Simon’s, Macabbee’s Deli, Christopher’s, Baratta’s, Jesse’s Embers and Tumea and Sons are still at it, but it is a lost art.
Goheen seems to be the last of a breed that does not fit the geist of the 2020s. His JBA honor is symptomatic of changing definitions of hospitality. When we served as a JBA judge, hospitality was defined by the trappings of luxury: the size of your wine cellar, number of sommeliers and maitre d’s, the grandeur of your trappings, your view, your caviar menu, your Michelin stars and AAA diamonds, your reservations system, private rooms, chef’s table and flowers in your bathroom.
Only half of this year’s JBA hospitality nominees are traditional. Aria in Atlanta has won at least four AAA diamonds for 15 years in a row. Its wine list is 19 pages long and has won the highest awards from both Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast, with several bottles more than $3,000. Atomix in New York City has two Michelin stars, three stars from the New York Times and ranked sixth in the 2023 World’s 50 Best Restaurants, the only USA restaurant in the top 15.
Compère Lapin in New Orleans has been on “best in America” lists by GQ, Conde Nast, Food and Wine, Wine Enthusiast, Saveur, Maxim and Esquire. République is situated in Charlie Chaplin’s house in historic Los Angeles and succeeds the legendary La Brea bakery there.
Harbor House Inn, in Elk, California, is always on best oceanfront hotel and restaurant lists. I once met New York Times legend RW Apple there. It has 27 adjacent wineries, two Michelin stars, and California’s only Michelin green star. Holly Hill Inn in Midway, Kentucky, is a hotel-restaurant in the middle of Bluegrass country. Owner-chef Ouita Michel has won James Beard awards, plural. A table there during Kentucky Derby week is so cherished that reservations are resold on the black market.
Kai is the only AAA Five Diamond and Forbes Five Star restaurant in Arizona. It backs up against Komatke Mountain Range. Its art is museum class. It is one of very few places (along with the mess hall of U.S. Naval Academy, the Ahwahnee in Yosemite, and the wind-grieved Windows on the World) in which I was awed to be in the room.
In that traditional sense of hospitality, Splash, 801 Chop House, Prime & Providence and Oak Park would be Des Moines’ best examples. Oak Park and Prime & Providence won’t be eligible for this JBA till next decade. It used to be that hospitality wasn’t built in a day, or a year.
Lavish trappings no longer define hospitality. At least five JBA nominees look like DEI entries, humbly celebrating the foods of Burundi, the Philippines, Indian reservations, Greek isles, etc. Simon’s joins the legendary soul food café Melba’s in Harlem as a personality-driven success. Melba Wilson runs her place like Goheen, as a living room for the neighborhood. But she’s expanding and will spread thin soon.
Looking for the state-of-the-art of hospitality, we talked with two business people who live the subject. They had so much to say we will now get out of the way and let them elaborate. Cyd Koehn’s Catering by Cyd consistently wins “best caterer” designation by CITYVIEW readers.
Koehn
“Hospitality begins when you answer the phone. That’s the first impression customers will have. You must answer professionally. That means good diction. You can’t have a mumbler taking calls. Basically, what you need to ask a customer is ‘How can we make your experience better?’
“In personal introductions, don’t ever leave a guest standing; don’t even rush them. Always smile. Never, ever chew gum, lean on a guest’s chair or table, or touch them. Make eye contact. Never sit down with customers unless they ask you to. Never show any annoyance with a customer, no matter how annoying they might be. Don’t rush people out the door; if they have lingered too long and you need to turn their table, you must anticipate that and make it clear at the beginning. You can’t just spring that on a party, but they will accept it as a condition from the beginning.
“Hospitality is super-sensitive to transparency, mainly the lack of it. Nothing turns me off more than finding a service charge of 20% or more hidden on a check that also leaves a line open for gratuities. It makes me feel deceived into tipping double the amount I thought I was tipping. That’s the worst kind of hospitality. Be upfront. People hate hidden charges, like for ‘inflation surcharges,’ ‘non cash payments’ or ‘equality and equity.’
“Great hospitality means caring about your trappings — the best silverware, cutlery, table cloths, and the padding under them — those things matter at the top level of hospitality.
“Wine service, at the highest level, means correct crystal stemware, or stemless ware, for each type of wine. At any level, it means a new clean glass with each serving. Never just push the most expensive bottle. Good wine service means explaining the value of what you are serving. People want their sommelier to sell them a discovery that is not the most expensive.
“Never mention your own shortcomings. I dined recently at an upscale Italian restaurant in Colorado Springs. The wine steward told us that he’s ‘not a real sommelier and he only knows American wines.’ But their wine list was overwhelmingly Italian. Then he recommended a wine and brought a $300 split (half-sized bottle) for a party of three. And he argued with us. Never argue with a guest.
“It’s very important that a server pay attention. I was at Harbinger recently and my server, Grace, noticed our table was wobbling and asked if she could balance it. That really impressed me.
“The best hospitality means serving four or five meals a day, including afternoon tea and high tea. I was at the Brown Hotel in Denver, and they served both teas with completely different and appropriate service, down to different napkins. Of course, servers should crumb your table cloth after courses and always replace napkins when a guest gets up from the table during the meal.
“The best service means training your staff in CPR and first aid. If you could actually save lives, don’t you want to know how?” Koehn’s staff has those kinds of training plus training in etiquette, Tero (violence prevention) and bar service licenses.
Rottenberg
Paul Rottenberg heads Orchestrate Hospitality Group, mostly known for its restaurants but also active in the hotel and grocery businesses.
“I was very happy to see Simon included in the hospitality award. He’s a throwback guy like Bobby Tursi. There was no way that Latin King could ever be the same without Bobby. They also had the double whammy of losing Patrick (chef), too. I think a big part of Oak Park’s success was that (owners) Bill and Kathy (Ferhman) were there greeting people at the door.
“Trostel’s Greenbriar is a phenomenon. It survived losing Paul, Troy, Cody and still goes on the same way. Simon’s relaxed ‘owner on the floor’ style of hospitality is rare anymore. Baratta’s has it with their owners usually working the floor. The Brooks brothers (B&B Meat, Deli and Grocery) have it, and Rabbi Jacobson (Maccabee’s Deli).
“I don’t think it’s good hospitality to not take reservations. People need to plan their time and not wait indefinitely. But Simon’s customers don’t seem to mind. They even line up half an hour before the doors open.
“Simon’s hospitality-without-pretension is refreshing. After all, hospitality began in inns before there were any restaurants. The innkeeper’s personality was what brought people back. That expanded to pubs and restaurants.
“The era of restaurants bearing the first name of the owner is dying. Simon’s is the last one in Des Moines that I can think of. There are several bars but not restaurants. Today, restaurateurs want to expand to multiple locations. An owner can’t be in two places at the same time, so he has to depend on the culture he builds to serve as that presence. That’s not reliable. That’s why Hy-Vee’s ‘a friendly smile in every aisle’ is brilliant. It implies that such presence is there in all employees.”
“Hospitality takes a village. If you can inspire pride in your dishwashers, you can create a village from the ground, or sink up.
“Many things about the restaurant business are cyclical. Hospitality is not one of them. COVID was unprecedented, and we’re still adjusting. Most restaurant and hotel businesses began layoffs with their marketing department. We never did that because we thought that marketing was essential to maintaining relationships during shutdowns. Gen Z is unprecedented in many ways. They like to cook more and go out less. I don’t think they relate to traditional styles of hospitality. They understand that it’s better, but they don’t think it’s so much better that it’s worth the added cost.”
Simon Goheen’s restaurant, Simon’s, won top-20 status nationally in the James Beard Awards (JBA) Outstanding Hospitality category. That was the first time an Iowa restaurant was honored with that distinction.
Goheen’s neighborhood café at Merle Hay and Franklin is best known for hospitality in an old fashioned, Iowa form. He grew up in a family that ate out every night because restaurants were customers for the family business — Fancy Breads. He still serves a complimentary bread basket as well as a complimentary red velvet cake dessert. Bread baskets used to be standard in Des Moines, but only a handful of places still offer them.
By sheer force of personality, Goheen makes his customers feel like part of a neighborhood. Waiting for a table is an experience, not an annoyance. He makes an unusual effort to visit every table personally.
That’s a vanishing grace. From WWII into the early 21st century, Des Moines restaurateurs were almost always “front of the house” guys. Babe Bisignano, his brother, Chuck, and his niece, Linda; Johnny and Kay Compiano; Rocky and Ralph Compiano; Aunt Jenny Renda; Pete Riccelli; Gary Fatino; Paul Trostel; Red and Joe Giudicessi, their kids Rene and Ron; Noah Lacona; Guido Fenu; Rose and Jim Pigneri; Bobby Tursi; the father and sons team of Joe, Joe Jr., Louie and Mario Tumea; Prasong Nurack; Joe “Mr. V” Vivano; Mike LaValle; Steve Logsdon; Rabbi Yossi Jacobson; Mao Heineman; Alice Nizzi; Rosa Martinez; the Baratta family and the younger southsiders who now run that place; Marty Scarpino and his parents — all were the main attractions in their restaurants.
Babe told us that he would rather close his place down than operate it without his daily presence. Joe Giudicessi explained that, “If a first-time customer has a disappointing meal, you can get them back if you react and try to fix things. If he has a bad service, he’s gone forever.”
That kind of “Iowa nice,” personality-driven hospitality dissipated with the rise of chef/owners, was popularized by Food Network and the many culinary schools that developed in the 1980s and 1990s.
You can count the places that still have an active owner hosting on your fingers. Simon’s, Macabbee’s Deli, Christopher’s, Baratta’s, Jesse’s Embers and Tumea and Sons are still at it, but it is a lost art.
Goheen seems to be the last of a breed that does not fit the geist of the 2020s. His JBA honor is symptomatic of changing definitions of hospitality. When we served as a JBA judge, hospitality was defined by the trappings of luxury: the size of your wine cellar, number of sommeliers and maitre d’s, the grandeur of your trappings, your view, your caviar menu, your Michelin stars and AAA diamonds, your reservations system, private rooms, chef’s table and flowers in your bathroom.
Only half of this year’s JBA hospitality nominees are traditional. Aria in Atlanta has won at least four AAA diamonds for 15 years in a row. Its wine list is 19 pages long and has won the highest awards from both Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast, with several bottles more than $3,000. Atomix in New York City has two Michelin stars, three stars from the New York Times and ranked sixth in the 2023 World’s 50 Best Restaurants, the only USA restaurant in the top 15.
Compère Lapin in New Orleans has been on “best in America” lists by GQ, Conde Nast, Food and Wine, Wine Enthusiast, Saveur, Maxim and Esquire. République is situated in Charlie Chaplin’s house in historic Los Angeles and succeeds the legendary La Brea bakery there.
Harbor House Inn, in Elk, California, is always on best oceanfront hotel and restaurant lists. I once met New York Times legend RW Apple there. It has 27 adjacent wineries, two Michelin stars, and California’s only Michelin green star. Holly Hill Inn in Midway, Kentucky, is a hotel-restaurant in the middle of Bluegrass country. Owner-chef Ouita Michel has won James Beard awards, plural. A table there during Kentucky Derby week is so cherished that reservations are resold on the black market.
Kai is the only AAA Five Diamond and Forbes Five Star restaurant in Arizona. It backs up against Komatke Mountain Range. Its art is museum class. It is one of very few places (along with the mess hall of U.S. Naval Academy, the Ahwahnee in Yosemite, and the wind-grieved Windows on the World) in which I was awed to be in the room.
In that traditional sense of hospitality, Splash, 801 Chop House, Prime & Providence and Oak Park would be Des Moines’ best examples. Oak Park and Prime & Providence won’t be eligible for this JBA till next decade. It used to be that hospitality wasn’t built in a day, or a year.
Lavish trappings no longer define hospitality. At least five JBA nominees look like DEI entries, humbly celebrating the foods of Burundi, the Philippines, Indian reservations, Greek isles, etc. Simon’s joins the legendary soul food café Melba’s in Harlem as a personality-driven success. Melba Wilson runs her place like Goheen, as a living room for the neighborhood. But she’s expanding and will spread thin soon.
Looking for the state-of-the-art of hospitality, we talked with two business people who live the subject. They had so much to say we will now get out of the way and let them elaborate. Cyd Koehn’s Catering by Cyd consistently wins “best caterer” designation by CITYVIEW readers.
Koehn
“Hospitality begins when you answer the phone. That’s the first impression customers will have. You must answer professionally. That means good diction. You can’t have a mumbler taking calls. Basically, what you need to ask a customer is ‘How can we make your experience better?’
“In personal introductions, don’t ever leave a guest standing; don’t even rush them. Always smile. Never, ever chew gum, lean on a guest’s chair or table, or touch them. Make eye contact. Never sit down with customers unless they ask you to. Never show any annoyance with a customer, no matter how annoying they might be. Don’t rush people out the door; if they have lingered too long and you need to turn their table, you must anticipate that and make it clear at the beginning. You can’t just spring that on a party, but they will accept it as a condition from the beginning.
“Hospitality is super-sensitive to transparency, mainly the lack of it. Nothing turns me off more than finding a service charge of 20% or more hidden on a check that also leaves a line open for gratuities. It makes me feel deceived into tipping double the amount I thought I was tipping. That’s the worst kind of hospitality. Be upfront. People hate hidden charges, like for ‘inflation surcharges,’ ‘non cash payments’ or ‘equality and equity.’
“Great hospitality means caring about your trappings — the best silverware, cutlery, table cloths, and the padding under them — those things matter at the top level of hospitality.
“Wine service, at the highest level, means correct crystal stemware, or stemless ware, for each type of wine. At any level, it means a new clean glass with each serving. Never just push the most expensive bottle. Good wine service means explaining the value of what you are serving. People want their sommelier to sell them a discovery that is not the most expensive.
“Never mention your own shortcomings. I dined recently at an upscale Italian restaurant in Colorado Springs. The wine steward told us that he’s ‘not a real sommelier and he only knows American wines.’ But their wine list was overwhelmingly Italian. Then he recommended a wine and brought a $300 split (half-sized bottle) for a party of three. And he argued with us. Never argue with a guest.
“It’s very important that a server pay attention. I was at Harbinger recently and my server, Grace, noticed our table was wobbling and asked if she could balance it. That really impressed me.
“The best hospitality means serving four or five meals a day, including afternoon tea and high tea. I was at the Brown Hotel in Denver, and they served both teas with completely different and appropriate service, down to different napkins. Of course, servers should crumb your table cloth after courses and always replace napkins when a guest gets up from the table during the meal.
“The best service means training your staff in CPR and first aid. If you could actually save lives, don’t you want to know how?” Koehn’s staff has those kinds of training plus training in etiquette, Tero (violence prevention) and bar service licenses.
Rottenberg
Paul Rottenberg heads Orchestrate Hospitality Group, mostly known for its restaurants but also active in the hotel and grocery businesses.
“I was very happy to see Simon included in the hospitality award. He’s a throwback guy like Bobby Tursi. There was no way that Latin King could ever be the same without Bobby. They also had the double whammy of losing Patrick (chef), too. I think a big part of Oak Park’s success was that (owners) Bill and Kathy (Ferhman) were there greeting people at the door.
“Trostel’s Greenbriar is a phenomenon. It survived losing Paul, Troy, Cody and still goes on the same way. Simon’s relaxed ‘owner on the floor’ style of hospitality is rare anymore. Baratta’s has it with their owners usually working the floor. The Brooks brothers (B&B Meat, Deli and Grocery) have it, and Rabbi Jacobson (Maccabee’s Deli).
“I don’t think it’s good hospitality to not take reservations. People need to plan their time and not wait indefinitely. But Simon’s customers don’t seem to mind. They even line up half an hour before the doors open.
“Simon’s hospitality-without-pretension is refreshing. After all, hospitality began in inns before there were any restaurants. The innkeeper’s personality was what brought people back. That expanded to pubs and restaurants.
“The era of restaurants bearing the first name of the owner is dying. Simon’s is the last one in Des Moines that I can think of. There are several bars but not restaurants. Today, restaurateurs want to expand to multiple locations. An owner can’t be in two places at the same time, so he has to depend on the culture he builds to serve as that presence. That’s not reliable. That’s why Hy-Vee’s ‘a friendly smile in every aisle’ is brilliant. It implies that such presence is there in all employees.”
“Hospitality takes a village. If you can inspire pride in your dishwashers, you can create a village from the ground, or sink up.
“Many things about the restaurant business are cyclical. Hospitality is not one of them. COVID was unprecedented, and we’re still adjusting. Most restaurant and hotel businesses began layoffs with their marketing department. We never did that because we thought that marketing was essential to maintaining relationships during shutdowns. Gen Z is unprecedented in many ways. They like to cook more and go out less. I don’t think they relate to traditional styles of hospitality. They understand that it’s better, but they don’t think it’s so much better that it’s worth the added cost.”
