Puck + Mina Do Detroit: Naming Names

By JULIETTE ROSSANT How do chefs name their restaurants – especially when it's their fifth or sixth or tenth? Do chefs need to be original at each new restaurant they open? Or need they create familiarity at different locations so that customers believe they will eat what they expect? The chefs interviewed in Super Chef all had a distaste for the term "restaurant chain." Each seemed to understand it to mean cookie-cutter restaurants lacking in individuality and serving identifcal menus. No one wanted their restaurant to seem like McDonald's – everyone knows what they'll get at Mickey D's since it's always the same. Chefs pride themselves in their endless abilities to be creative and come up with new dishes. Yet sometimes it is only the signature dishes that their customers come to want. Take for example the machinations of one of Wolfgang Puck's concepts and Michael Mina's seafood restaurants. The latest Wolfgang incarnation is the recently announced Wolfgang Puck Grille at the MGM Grand Detroit. Wolfgang already has a Wolfgang Puck American Grille at the Borgata and a Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill at MGM Grand Las Vegas. They are, from their online descriptions, all essentially the same restaurant concept: a smattering of Wolfgang's classic and popular dishes from Spago and his Wolfgang Puck Cafes and Grand Cafes. So, why the multitude of names? Does a name signal that this is a unique restaurant with a menu designed specifically for a particular hotel? Including the "Wolfgang Puck" name means that the restaurant's menu will include the classics – but with some local variations. Michael Mina is also opening at the MGM Grand Detroit. He'll have two restaurants: Bourbon Steak which sounds a lot like his Strip Steak at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. He's also opening Saltwater, which has a similar menu to Seablue at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and Seablue at the Borgata in Atlantic City. Michael hasn't yet added his own name to the titles of his many restaurants, except his eponymous restaurant in San Francisco. Why is Saltwater not another Seablue? It will include many of his signature dishes he created at Aqua. Perhaps it is as simple as the fact that Detroit is not on the sea, and therefore a name like Saltwater is more evocative. Customers don't expect fine dining restaurants to be chains; they want novelty and uniqueness. Hotels and Casinos want to cash in on the chef's brand name and attract customers with the chef's recognizable signature dishes. Could it also be true that chefs would loose their extra bucks if the hotels were each getting a clone of one of their restaurants? Don't they get paid to come up with unique "new" dishes or spins on their own "classics"? If they were only selling a franchise, then the value of the franchise would go down. It is true that fine dining restaurants are often sourcing ingredients locally and offering specials off-menu that reflect the local bounty and local preferences – that is true of McDonald's, too. Vinegar for your fries in the UK, ayran in Turkey, Terikaki McBurger in Japan, Garlic Chili sauce in China, McChutney Burger in Pakistan, etc. Is it time to call a chain a "chain"? Previous articles: Wolfgang Puck: Celebrity Cooking Showdown Wolf's Oscar Party: Menu & Food Photos Wolf's Oscar Party: Prep Photos Wolf's Oscar Party: Room Photos Chef-Crashing Into Oscars Wolfgang Puck on 'Las Vegas' Wolfgang Puck: 'Vegas' TV Restaurant Rob Kautz: Cursed to 99 Cents Only? Requiem for Granita Fly Avion (Wolfgang Puck Included) Romancing the Stove - or The Way We Worked? Applause for Gamal Aziz and Tom Kaplan Iron Chef Pizza Wars: Batali vs. Puck Todd English: Pots and Pans Pucked? Wolfgang Puck: Eastern Empire Wolf Want Meat: Wolfgang Puck Steakhouse Iron Chef America: Running on Empty Wolfgang Puck Inaugurates Washington Wolfgang Puck Returns to Indiana Coffee Puck: Heats in Your Hands Fly With Wolfgang Puck Express And Now Puck Paints, Two! Wolf Wines & Dines, or Puck's Party Euro Puck Puck in a Box Wolfgang Puck Examines the Examiner [Wolfgang Puck (complete articles)] Michael Mina: The Rise of Restaurant Michael Mina Michael Mina: The Cookbook Melissa Perello: Boss Before 30 Restaurant Michael Mina Resurfaces World AIDS Day I: Michael Mina Michael Mina Meets SF Unions Maturely Agassi's Star Palate: Michael Mina The Rise of Restaurant Michael Mina [Chefs & Branding - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, Wolfgang Puck, Michael Mina --> back to Super Chef