Agricultural News
Kansas Beef Producer Turned Restaurateur
Tue, 21 Oct 2014 17:14:01 CDT
As a veteran Angus breeder Mike Molitor knew cattle lines and genetics. He had already spent years developing a high quality herd, but a more recent leap into the restaurant gave him a full circle view. In March of 2010 the owners of the Lumber Yard Steakhouse in the small town of Zenda, Kansas came to Molitor. They wanted him to own it, but he had no restaurant experience. He said the last four years have been a learning experience.
"It's eye opening just how much labor it takes," Molitor said. "We have 30 employees at the restaurant and on a 300 customer night it takes at least 18 people at least to work. And if they don't work together things don't go right. Our motto has been quality food with quality service and that's the way we run it."
One of the first decisions the restaurateur made was serving Certified Angus Beef. On the first night they featured a 16 ounce Doc's Ribeye Steak. Doc is the nickname of his father.
"We ran out of ribeyes the first night, so the second night we got as many as we could unthaw out and serve and I've never looked back" Molitor said.
Success in his seedstock business and his restaurant all trace back to quality and paying attention to the customer
"We have to remember the individual, we just can't focus on the masses," Molitor said. "We can look at surveys or what they said they want, but we still have to look at the individual, their tastes and what they want."
Click on the video below to watch a feature on Mike Molitor in going from from a beef producer to a restaurant owner.
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