Stories Of Misconduct

Every once in awhile I wonder just why some people are keen to lavish praise on restaurant owners.

Yeah,
I know–the Food Network and those in the media who promote the
celebrity chef idea share a portion of the blame. But many of the folks
who dine regularly simply don’t wish to peer behind the curtain and
find just what kind of men and women are responsible for our favorite
places.

At best, they are ordinary, hard working entrepreneurs.
But the weekend’s revelations about two local restaurant names illuminate a
shadier side of the industry. Bob Sambol’s spat with one of his
investors captured the most attention. As most of you know, the man
behind Bob’s Steak and Chop House was accused of swindling Lee Thompson
out of $300,000–money supposedly intended to construct a cigar lounge
on restaurant property…in a city that bans smoking. Accusations flying about on Friday included allusions to alleged gambling
problems. Meanwhile, a few people in Addison brought up concerns over
mayor Joe Chow’s residency. Chow–who owns also owns May Dragon–has a
permanent home in Dallas, renting in the suburban city in order to
qualify for public office. Many a politician (Dick Cheney, George H. W.
Bush, Hillary Clinton) has had the luxury of choosing from several
possible “residencies,” of course. But his son and daughter, who live
in the Dallas home, voted in Addison elections last November, at least
according to county records.

And these are just the most recent and noteworthy incidents.

Years ago, Alberto Lombardi sent a letter to a couple of local food
writers claiming the lack of foot traffic downtown forced him to
close–reluctantly–the West End destination 311 Lombardi. According to
his landlord at the time, however, the restaurateur failed to pay rent
several months running, forcing the property owners to take the initiative and lock him out. Stories I’ve heard in the past include one about a drunk owner
firing a pistol inside his own joint. Must’ve happened, because the guy
in question confirmed the story, adding the bullet pierced the wall and
shot through a neighboring business. Another involved a club owner for
some reason putting his venture into a girlfriend’s name, a move that
backfired when she found out about certain shenanigans.

When an
old Lower Greenville restaurant shut down some time back, the manager
sent me an email lamenting the event–and the end to Scotch and “good
coke.” Then there’s the oft repeated rumor about the noted restaurateur
who could check up on his establishments from home, through a series of
video cameras linked to a monitor. Unfortunately, the story goes, his
wife happened to glance at the screen as he entertained several young
women in one of the places, long after hours.

The lot of them–minus exceptional cases–are notorious for disputing advertising and PR bills.

We
want them to be somehow better than this. But food service is a
demanding industry. It requires long hours, late nights, thin skin and
a frantic pace that would rattle the average 100-cold-calls-per-day
salesperson. Add to this narrow profit margins that rise and fall on whims beyond
their control and you end up with an industry hardly attractive to
those in search of a “normal,” stable life.

Remember, in Kitchen
Confidential, now popular celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain admitted his
desire for kitchen work stemmed from the time a wedding party rented
out the restaurant where he worked one summer. During festivities, he
spotted the chef on a secluded deck having sex with the bride.

And that was enough to lure him in.

This is not an indictment of all chefs and owners. The majority are, as
I said, hard working entrepreneurs. It’s just that stories of
misconduct hardly seem shocking.