WASHPO: Restaurateur Michael Landrum is cranking out more Ray's
The Advoc8te was really happy to read this Washington Post article because (a) it's about the soon to be open for business "Ray's: The Steaks at East River" and (b) one of my friends is quoted in the article. Gold star for the WashPo today. :) How stoked are you about this new dining option coming to Ward 7? Excerpt of the article is below.
By Jane Black
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 3, 2010; E01
The new restaurant in the East River shopping center is nothing like the fast-food takeouts that are the norm in Washington's Ward 7. There will be seafood and steaks, all priced under $20, for Mom and Dad; fried chicken for the kids. The space, with its pressed-tin ceiling and shiny black granite bar, will also offer something else the neighborhood needs: jobs. Eventually, 45 people, mostly residents, will be trained as waiters, hosts and cooks. And, as at the owner's other restaurants, the staff will be eligible for bonuses and will get health-care coverage and guaranteed hours.
The restaurant, slated to open by March 1, is Ray's: The Steaks at East River. The vision -- of a restaurant that serves as anchor and hub of a community -- is that of its owner, Michael Landrum.
If you follow the Washington dining scene, you've probably heard a lot of other things about Landrum, and not much of it paints him as a pillar of the community. The 44-year-old is more famous for throwing diners out of his restaurants than welcoming them in. (The incomplete party that dares to complain about not being seated? They're outta here!) He's also notorious for refusing to cook certain cuts beyond medium, for his almost religious opposition to decor and for barring The Post's Marc Fisher from his restaurants because he didn't like a column Fisher wrote. As he prepares to open the new Ray's: The Steaks and three other places, can diners reconcile the conventional wisdom about Landrum with the picture he's trying to project?
Maybe. True, he is the enfant terrible of Washington dining. But look at the world through his eyes and a certain logic emerges. Landrum is driven by a social mission that trumps profits: to create economic opportunity. And his restaurants are designed as an alternative to the elite downtown dining scene. Landrum caters to what he describes as "real" people, with budgets and babysitters waiting at home.
"Over the past eight years, my biggest battle -- and kind of a painful battle, too -- has been fighting the stereotype of the steak Nazi," Landrum said. "My struggle has been: How do I stand my ground on my quality, my beliefs and my principles but still let the public know, or at least our public know, that we are here to accommodate, that we're receptive and responsive and, ultimately, we're working for them?"
Landrum's message appears to be getting through. Since mid-2008, revenues at his restaurants (all of them unencumbered by partners, loans or investors) have more than doubled, from about $4 million to $8.5 million. The jump is a result of his mini-empire's expansion but also of changes that are a direct response to customer complaints. The new Ray's: The Steaks, at 2300 Wilson Blvd. in Arlington, is about three times as big as the original (to alleviate cramped conditions) and now takes reservations (to end long waits). The new Ray's Hell-Burger, a few doors down from where it was when President Obama came for a surprise visit, is larger, too. But this summer, it will move across the street to an even bigger location that will accommodate more people more comfortably. It will also have a kitchen large enough to turn out house-made french fries, instead of the frozen ones customers largely have deemed unworthy of the burgers. Ray's: The Glass, a tasting room featuring elaborate set menus and wine pairings, answers calls for leisurely date-night dinners and represents a departure from everything Landrum has done before.
Go HERE to continue reading.
To contact The Advoc8te or to submit an article for posting on Congress Heights on the Rise email congressheightsontherise@gmail.com.
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Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 3, 2010; E01
The new restaurant in the East River shopping center is nothing like the fast-food takeouts that are the norm in Washington's Ward 7. There will be seafood and steaks, all priced under $20, for Mom and Dad; fried chicken for the kids. The space, with its pressed-tin ceiling and shiny black granite bar, will also offer something else the neighborhood needs: jobs. Eventually, 45 people, mostly residents, will be trained as waiters, hosts and cooks. And, as at the owner's other restaurants, the staff will be eligible for bonuses and will get health-care coverage and guaranteed hours.
The restaurant, slated to open by March 1, is Ray's: The Steaks at East River. The vision -- of a restaurant that serves as anchor and hub of a community -- is that of its owner, Michael Landrum.
If you follow the Washington dining scene, you've probably heard a lot of other things about Landrum, and not much of it paints him as a pillar of the community. The 44-year-old is more famous for throwing diners out of his restaurants than welcoming them in. (The incomplete party that dares to complain about not being seated? They're outta here!) He's also notorious for refusing to cook certain cuts beyond medium, for his almost religious opposition to decor and for barring The Post's Marc Fisher from his restaurants because he didn't like a column Fisher wrote. As he prepares to open the new Ray's: The Steaks and three other places, can diners reconcile the conventional wisdom about Landrum with the picture he's trying to project?
Maybe. True, he is the enfant terrible of Washington dining. But look at the world through his eyes and a certain logic emerges. Landrum is driven by a social mission that trumps profits: to create economic opportunity. And his restaurants are designed as an alternative to the elite downtown dining scene. Landrum caters to what he describes as "real" people, with budgets and babysitters waiting at home.
"Over the past eight years, my biggest battle -- and kind of a painful battle, too -- has been fighting the stereotype of the steak Nazi," Landrum said. "My struggle has been: How do I stand my ground on my quality, my beliefs and my principles but still let the public know, or at least our public know, that we are here to accommodate, that we're receptive and responsive and, ultimately, we're working for them?"
Landrum's message appears to be getting through. Since mid-2008, revenues at his restaurants (all of them unencumbered by partners, loans or investors) have more than doubled, from about $4 million to $8.5 million. The jump is a result of his mini-empire's expansion but also of changes that are a direct response to customer complaints. The new Ray's: The Steaks, at 2300 Wilson Blvd. in Arlington, is about three times as big as the original (to alleviate cramped conditions) and now takes reservations (to end long waits). The new Ray's Hell-Burger, a few doors down from where it was when President Obama came for a surprise visit, is larger, too. But this summer, it will move across the street to an even bigger location that will accommodate more people more comfortably. It will also have a kitchen large enough to turn out house-made french fries, instead of the frozen ones customers largely have deemed unworthy of the burgers. Ray's: The Glass, a tasting room featuring elaborate set menus and wine pairings, answers calls for leisurely date-night dinners and represents a departure from everything Landrum has done before.
Go HERE to continue reading.
To contact The Advoc8te or to submit an article for posting on Congress Heights on the Rise email congressheightsontherise@gmail.com.
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