Mike Price, the cofounder of Blackfoot Hospitality, one of New York City’s top event and catering production companies, recently opened his fourth restaurant in the West Village Neighborhood, The Mary Lane. The Mary Lane joins Little Owl, Market Table, and The Clam, all within ten blocks of another, all corner locations.
The proximity of the restaurants’ locations as well as the team that Price has built alongside his partner Joe Campanaro has aided in the development of these restaurants. “After we opened Little Owl, we found that we were able to navigate and manage the opening of a second restaurant, Market Table. Once we added number three, The Clam, we started to think about how we needed to structure our business going forward; to continue to grow the business while maintaining some kind of personal balance. That was when we started to create the vision that has become Blackfoot Hospitality,” explained Price.
“Joe and I are chefs. We transformed into business owners, but we didn’t start there,” said Price. Price developed a passion for cooking early in life and pursued this career at the Culinary Institute of America. He met Campanaro when they worked together at Symphony Café on 56th Street early in their careers then worked together on and off until they decided to open a place of their own.
“Leading up to the opening of The Mary Lane, we grew into different aspects of hospitality to propel each restaurant forward. At Blackfoot Hospitality, we hired a CFO, Andy Gottlieb, who has been instrumental in growing the business. He has grown in the company to the point now that he is negotiating most of our leases as well as helping us budget and build the business infrastructure. We also added a Human Resources aspect. With well over 100 employees, on top of all the new regulations with Covid, having somebody to manage the day-to-day personal relationships with our staff is extremely valuable,” Price continued.
While Price and Campanaro are responsible for the theme of the restaurants’ menus, they are not the sole chefs. Each restaurant has what they have titled a “Chef de Cuisine.” “I couldn’t run this company the way that we do and have to work at the Mary Lane six days a week, twelve hours a day,” admitted Price. At The Mary Lane, Chef Andrew Sutin has been named the Chef de Cuisine.
Each restaurant has its own concept and varied menus accordingly. The chefs are not confined to a central food provider. Price has found that to be unsuccessful in the past. Price may suggest providers to his Chef de Cuisines they are not obligated to them, “as long as they are using quality products, the costs are in line, and everything is there on time,” stated Price. “At the Mary Lane, where the focus is on fresh and seasonal ingredients, we’re doing lots of runs to the market, maybe more than anywhere else, to get ingredients from small farms. We may be paying a couple cents more here and there, but I feel good about spending that extra cost for these ingredients.”
Among the changes that the Blackfoot duo has seen through the pandemic has been the growth in Takeout & Delivery at each of their eateries. “One of the challenges has been how to adapt packaging for menu items that were added to the takeout menu. We could not have accomplished that without the guidance of Matt Halper and his team at I Halper who have always been our ‘go-to’,” Price noted.
“The space for The Mary Lane came before the concept. We had our eye on this space for a while. The owners were concerned about the turnover they had in the space and were looking for a quality operator, and we were looking for a great space with a reasonable rent and good terms. I think we would both agree that we came to a great deal and the lease was signed in January 2020. The pandemic hit shortly after, but we were able to maintain this path forward by not giving up on the space and they didn’t give up on us.”
“Our relationship with our landlord is extremely important. They want us to be there and we want to be there. Over the last year, I have seen many friends lose fantastic restaurants because they didn’t have a landlord that they could have a conversation with over a tough experience,” stated Price.
Price and Campanaro have learned the importance of a strong support group. “At The Mary Lane, we are trying to create an atmosphere that provides a sense of family and belonging. It is a group effort to make this happen, and there is now a new level of stress in the restaurant industry that wasn’t there a year or two ago, so it is especially important that people feel a sense of community and support in this space.”
The last year or so has required flexibility and adaptability, two characteristics Price seems to have acquired. “To be able to maneuver through the pandemic can be attributed to our team at Blackfoot Hospitality and our event experience. An event is unlike a restaurant in that you have to do something different every time, you have to be able to roll with the punches.” From opening The Clam as a fish market and expanding their to-go menus, the motto at Blackfoot Hospitality has been “walk, don’t run.” “Just because indoor dining opens a certain week doesn’t mean that we have to start indoor dining the next day. We need to feel comfortable with what we’re doing, take our time to do it right, and then we will make that next step when we’re ready.”
Price concluded the interview speculating about what is next for Blackfoot Hospitality. How many restaurants can they fit in the West Village?
To learn more about Blackfoot Hospitality, visit their website.
