09: Staying True to Your Roots | Nelson German, alaMar, Sobre Mesa

02/21/23 • 58 min

“The end goal is to make people happy, and tell our stories through food” - Chef Nelson German
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Nelson German is the Executive Chef/Owner of alaMar Kitchen & Bar and Sobre Mesa in Oakland, CA. His restaurants tell the stories of the African and Caribbean diasporas through cultural foodways, and have achieved local and national accolades. Chef Nelson appeared as a contestant on Bravo’s Top Chef - Season 18, and he was named one of Plate magazine's “2020 Chefs to Watch,” and “Best Chef 2022” from East Bay Express.

In our interview we discuss Nelson’s journey from Washington Heights to Award-winning Chef, including:

The tricky balance between signing a new lease and raising funds for your first restaurant

Why it’s important to continue doing research even after you open

Being open to pivoting and adjusting along the way

Checking your P&L numbers weekly, so you have time to react and adapt before it’s too late

A BIG announcement about the future of alaMar – you heard it here first!

How he got invited to appear on Top Chef after initially thinking it was a prank call

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Where to find alaMar:

Website: https://www.alamaroakland.com/
Instagram: alamaroakland
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alamaroakland/

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Where to find Nelson:

Website: https://chefnelsongerman.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nelson-german-6411b82b/
Instagram: @chefnel4

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Where to find Bryan:

Website: https://www.myfirstrestaurant.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-tublin-03548910/
Twitter: @btublin

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Where to find Kitava:

Website: https://www.kitava.com/
Instagram: @kitavakitchen

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Referenced:

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In this episode, we cover:

(01:37) Chef Nelson’s background
(03:20) Nelson’s first dream before becoming a chef
(05:57) Training under the “French brigade” style in NYC
(07:17) The club that inspired Nelson’s journey to become a chef
(12:27) How Nelson’s cooking now is different from his start in New York
(14;47) “The end goal is to make people happy, and tell our stories through food”
(17:15) The steps Chef took to make his first restaurant alaMmar a reality
(19:42) How he found the location for alaMar
(22:24) The tricky dance between funding the business while trying to sign a lease
(26:24) What the initial months looked like after open

“The end goal is to make people happy, and tell our stories through food” - Chef Nelson German
--

In our interview we discuss Nelson’s journey from Washington Heights to Award-winning Chef, including:

The tricky balance between signing a new lease and raising funds for your first restaurant

Why it’s important to continue doing research even after you open

Being open to pivoting and adjusting along the way

Checking your P&L numbers weekly, so you have time to react and adapt before it’s too late

A BIG announcement about the future of alaMar – you heard it here first!

How he got invited to appear on Top Chef after initially thinking it was a prank call

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Where to find alaMar:

Website: https://www.alamaroakland.com/
Instagram: alamaroakland
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alamaroakland/

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Where to find Nelson:

Website: https://chefnelsongerman.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nelson-german-6411b82b/
Instagram: @chefnel4

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Where to find Bryan:

Website: https://www.myfirstrestaurant.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-tublin-03548910/
Twitter: @btublin

––

Where to find Kitava:

Website: https://www.kitava.com/
Instagram: @kitavakitchen

––

Referenced:

––

In this episode, we cover:

(01:37) Chef Nelson’s background
(03:20) Nelson’s first dream before becoming a chef
(05:57) Training under the “French brigade” style in NYC
(07:17) The club that inspired Nelson’s journey to become a chef
(12:27) How Nelson’s cooking now is different from his start in New York
(14;47) “The end goal is to make people happy, and tell our stories through food”
(17:15) The steps Chef took to make his first restaurant alaMmar a reality
(19:42) How he found the location for alaMar
(22:24) The tricky dance between funding the business while trying to sign a lease
(26:24) What the initial months looked like after open

Previous Episode

08: How to Make It in a Seasonal Economy | Jaime Sparrow, Sunbird

Jaime Sparrow is the owner of Sunbird Cape Cod, a zero-waste cafe specializing in fresh, local, and sustainable food. In this interview Jaime shares her journey from working in San Francisco restaurants to moving back home to open a food truck, and eventually a cafe, in a seasonal economy heavily driven by tourism. We discuss how Jaime and her husband tested their concept with a food truck, why popularity with Cape Cod locals gave them confidence to open their first restaurant, their early struggles due to not raising enough money prior to opening, and how Jaime manages to run a zero-waste kitchen. Jaime drops pearls of real talk wisdom in this one, making it a must-listen for anyone thinking about opening their first restaurant!

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Where to find Sunbird:

Website: https://www.sunbirdcapecod.com/
Instagram: @sunbirdcapecod
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sunbirdcapecod
Twitter: @sunbirdcapecod

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Where to find Jaime:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaime-sparrow-87544510/

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Where to find Bryan:

Website: https://www.myfirstrestaurant.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-tublin-03548910/
Twitter: @btublin

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Where to find Kitava:

Website: https://www.kitava.com/
Instagram: @kitavakitchen

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Referenced:

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In this episode, we cover:

(01:18) Jaime’s background and early career in restaurants
(05:03) Her role at SPQR in San Francisco
(06:18) What Jaime learned from opening other restaurants early in her career
(07:36) Where the idea for Sunbird came from
(13:28) Buying a food truck as a first step to creating Sunbird
(18:08) How support from Cape Cod locals gave Jamie the confidence to expand to a brick-and-mortar location
(20:18) Making personal ends meet with a seasonal restaurant business in a tourist town
(22:16) The perils of under-financing her first restaurant
(24:15) Surviving the first year after having their opening delayed 9 months
(27:18) How they viewed paying themselves in the early years
(29:42) An attempt to increase sales that backfired
(32:48) How Sunbird runs a zero-waste kitchen
(35:48) The evolution in Jaime’s role since opening
(38:14) Sunbird’s future plans to create a lifestyle brand beyond food
(39:58) The first thing Jaime does each day
(40:40) Book / resource recommendation for restaurant owners
(41:25) Favorite interview question
(41:55) One of her favorite vendors
(43:03) Unique staff tradition
(44:03) Common misconception about restaurants
(45:08) What Jaime does to unwind

Next Episode

10: Embracing Your Target Market | Benson Wang, Palm House Hospitality

“You need to be all in, otherwise it doesn’t really work.” - Benson Wang
Benson Wang is the co-founder and CEO of Palm House Hospitality, an experience driven lifestyle and hospitality company based in the Bay Area with a diversified portfolio in restaurants, nightlife and lodging.
In our interview we discuss:
- How Benson and team make data-driven menu changes by sending new items to the Thunderdome
- How they embraced their target market to help make operational decisions (e.g. Valentine’s Day blind dating show)
- What Palm House is doing to help bring a more holistic approach to team management
Benson has had phenomenal success by tapping into the unique attributes of the target market for each of his concepts. He also shares practical advice around menu construction, staffing, fundraising and expansion.
Enjoy!
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Where to find Palm House:

Website: https://www.palmhousesf.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/palmhousesf/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/palmhousesf/

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Where to find Benson:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benson-wang-38b06b17/
Instagram: @bensonsfreshsqueeze

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Where to find Bryan:

Website: https://www.myfirstrestaurant.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryan-tublin-03548910/
Twitter: @btublin

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Where to find Kitava:

Website: https://www.kitava.com/
Instagram: @kitavakitchen

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Referenced:

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In this episode, we cover:

(01:29) Benson’s early background and career before hospitality
(05:29) What drew him to working as an operator in the restaurant industry
(06:43) Where the concept behind Palm House came from
(08:19) Why they pivoted from “Cal Carribean” to a more “Cal tropical” concept
(09:45) The structure of Benson’s partnership group
(14:07) Benson’s initial plan for how he’d spend his time after opening Palm House
(16:19) The concept of “key money” when taking over a restaurant space
(17:37) How much money they needed, and the structure behind their fundraise
(21:39) The typical payback period structure on restaurant investments
(22:49) How long it took to pay back investors on their initial investment
(23:29) His salary after opening Palm House
(24:15) Early mistakes that showed they didn’t know what they were doing early on
(27:09) The art and science of using intuition to make operating decisions
(29:51) Their data-driven process to making menu changes, aka “The Thunderdome”
(34:49) How embracing their “serious leisure” tagline allowed Palm House to embrace their local market and stabilize as a business
(40:27) Expansion driven by the need for more revenue and profitability to hire quality management
(46:59) On The Fly Segment