Dinner

lafb Q&A: Spitz Take

By all accounts opening a new restaurant in Los Angeles can be a harrowing experience. Bryce Rademan and Robert Wicklund planned to open Spitz, a small Spanish kebab shop, in Eagle Rock this September. The opening date has been postponed due to unpredicted obstacles and costly disappointments. I’ve driven past the Spitz storefront, and its promising “coming soon” sign, for a few months now. (I posted an initial entry about Spitz and its unique Doner kebab concept in early November). My curiosity finally bubbled over when I realized it’s almost 2006 and still no sign of a Merry Spitzmas. I jotted down a few questions for Rademan and Wicklund and they generously took the time out to reply.

Their responses provide a fair amount of insight into their hopes and dreams for Spitz and what it takes to build a small business from scratch in our fine city.

How did you decide on the location and did you consider anywhere else?
We decided on the location after an exhaustive search around the LA area. But it was a blessing that we found it, as Eagle Rock was our first choice. Robert and I graduated from Occidental College, which is also in Eagle Rock, and (we) have a keen awareness of the need for this type of food in the area. We’ve also seen how much Eagle Rock has changed over the years, and we wanted to be a part of that positive change.

What appealed to you about that specific site (2056 Colorado Blvd.)?
It had everything we wanted in a location. Our concept is unique and we want to be able to stand out from the crowd. We really wanted a place we could make our own. The fact that we found a free-standing building (as opposed to a space in a strip mall) really helped us fulfill this goal. The opportunity for outdoor dining, ample (and free) street parking, the new five-story mixed-use project going in across the street, and a high traffic count on Colorado Blvd. solidified it for us.

When did you originally plan to open?
We had originally planned on opening Spitz in late September 2005. But we were entirely unaware of the hurdles we would face with the city of LA when we set that date.

What’s been the most difficult part of the process?
Dealing with the City has been the most excruciatingly difficult and expensive part. The City required us to put in a $15,000 grease interceptor and pay thousands of dollars in fees along the way, not to mention the time we have lost dealing with them. In all, we estimate that LA City has cost us around $25,000 in lost time, fees, and requirements. If we had been unable to raise additional funding (the City) would have put us out of business before we could have even opened our doors.

Many of LA’s more formal, sit-down restaurants seem to be struggling, or closing altogether, while the healthy “fast-casual” sector is booming. Do you think of Spitz as “fast-casual?” (Yes, I’ve been reading NRN’s ’segment trends’ column a little too much.)
It’s fitting that you ask this question, as much of our business is based on the premise that there are too few high-quality “fast-casual” restaurants. We’re striving to fuse the class, quality, ambiance, and customer service of the high-end food industry with the casual, fun, and price-conscious atmosphere of a neighborhood cafe.

How did you come up with your recipe for the Doner kebab?
When I lived in Spain I became friendly with a kebab shop owner, who helped with the basic recipes of making a kebab. From there, Robert and I went through numerous rounds perfecting the ingredients and techniques to make the best kebab we had ever tasted.

How do you plan to work out the cost of doing business versus providing good value for your customers?
Using only the freshest and best ingredients for our homemade recipes, we’ll give our customers more value for their money than is available at most restaurants, especially when you consider the quality of the food that we’ll be serving. Our Doner Kebabs and Salads will cost around $5.50, and Combos will cost around $7.50. Our gelato (which is the highest quality available in the US) will range from $2.50 to $4.50, and our ultra-premium coffee will be around $1.80. While these prices mean lower profit margins for us, we believe that in passing the value on to the customer we will gain a more in the long run.

Are you planning an opening day celebration?
We are definitely having a grand opening party. The Eagle Rock Chamber of Commerce has offered to do a ribbon cutting for us. We will have a date set as soon as we get our final inspections from the city.

What are you most looking forward to about finally opening?
We’re looking forward to bringing a food to the US that is already hugely popular throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Australia and Canada. We’re excited to provide our customers with an experience unlike they’ve ever had before: ultra-high quality, ambiance, customer service and value…all for relatively low prices. It will also be nice to stop paying everyone so much money and start seeing some come in. But more than anything, we are looking forward to seeing people’s faces when they taste their first Doner Kebab.

(Ed. note: As of this posting, barring any permitting delays, Rademan and Wicklund expect to be open by the first week of January.)

© 2005 la.foodblogging.