Now in his second term as chairman of the board of the New York State Restaurant Association, Brad Rosenstein also presides over one of the more enduring success stories in the restaurant business, Jack’s Oyster House in Albany, N.Y. The 95-year-old fine-dining operation was opened in 1913 by Rosenstein’s grandfather, Jack, a former oyster shucker, and ranks as one of the oldest restaurants in the country to be continuously operated by the same family.
Jack’s has rung in numerous changes over the past 10 decades—recently, Rosenstein hired French-born chef Luc Pasquier to run the kitchen and plans to expand his dining space into an adjacent building later this year. At the same time, the restaurant continues to pay tribute to its deep roots and long heritage with a menu that features updated versions of classic favorites.
However, Rosenstein also acknowledges that times in general are tough, and that he and other New York restaurateurs are faced with increasingly difficult challenges.
What are the most critical challenges facing restaurateurs operating in New York state?
I’d say rising food costs and legislative and regulatory issues that make it tougher to operate.
For example?
There are so many that we’re tracking. But take New York City’s new menu-labeling law. You walk into Starbucks and see a muffin that’s 600 calories, and it makes a person think twice about ordering it. Ultimately, it could help the public healthwise, but I think restaurateurs were moving in that direction anyway.
How is the current economic situation affecting you?
FAST FACTS HOMETOWN: Albany, N.Y.EDUCATION: Cornell School of Hotel AdministrationCAREER HIGHLIGHTS: being inducted into NRN’s Fine Dining Hall of Fame; serving as chairman of the New York State Restaurant Association; commencement speaker at the Culinary Institute of America HOBBIES: golf, tennis, food and wine
With gas and other prices going up, people obviously are tightening their belts. And to get people into the restaurant, we have to be better than ever.
What are you doing to address that?
We’re fine-tuning all menu items and focusing on pricing. Other restaurants are doing à la carte, but we still include salad, vegetables and starch in the price. It provides us with a good value perception.
Also, it’s the era of the chef, and every great restaurant needs a name-brand chef who can put a quality stamp on operations. Luc Pasquier started with us eight months ago. He’s one of 52 certified master chefs of France in North America. Daniel Boulud recommended him to us. We were really fortunate to get him.
What do you hear from other upstate restaurateurs?
They’re very concerned. The feeling is to operate efficiently and do the best possible job and not incur any major expenditures. They don’t want to raise prices. They want to remain as competitive as they possibly can.
On the other hand, you’re about to embark on a major expansion of Jack’s.
Yeah. But the opportunity was there, and we needed to do it.… We needed the extra space. It’s in the best interest of restaurant. In business you sometimes have to take risks, but I believe it will be a good risk for us. The challenge is to bring an 1875 building into the present age.