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Mike Johnson finds success listening to customers and watching the payroll
• by Julie Failla Earhart - Photo by Jonathan Swegle
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Mike Johnson is a busy man. Busy, busy, busy. He is a partner in six of St. Louis’ hottest restaurants and is planning to open two more in other cities in the next few months. “I’m a 24/7 kinda guy,” Johnson said. “I’m go, go, go.”
Which restaurants are you involved with?
BARcelona, Mira and Roxane in Clayton; Boogaloo in Maplewood; Momos in University City; and Cyrano’s in Webster Groves. Plus my partners and I plan to open another BARcelona in Indianapolis between now and the fall sometime. We’re looking at expanding BARcelona to Cincinnati, but there’s no timetable.
Why BARcelona?
I like the tapas concept. Spanish food and wine is big in the States. Eating, drinking and hanging out almost define Americans these days. Also, it’s an easy concept, menu, atmosphere and wine list to duplicate.
Why so many restaurants?
I have an insatiable energy level. I have great partners that I can depend on to handle the day-to-day stuff, and I have lots of ideas.
Where do you get new ideas?
My wife is from New York, so when we go up there she visits her family and I hit all the restaurants. Plus, we take the kids [there are three] on lots of mini-vacations. We love to travel. And of course I read a lot, a lot of cookbooks.
I also pay a lot of attention to customers. In the old days, I would have just brushed their ideas aside, but now that I’ve grown, I listen to what they say and sometimes I get some really good ideas or their idea becomes a jumping-off point that may lead to something else. In other words, I keep my eyes and ears open.
How do you have time for a family and vacations?
I make it a point to spend only five days a week working. Those five days are long and there’s no wasted time. Well, as little as there can be. When I’m working, the restaurants get my undivided, complete, total attention. When I’m with the family, it’s the same.
With so many restaurants, how do you keep them running well?
I have great chefs in each location. Many have been with me for eight or nine years. I can trust them to make sure that what is coming out of the kitchen is quality food and that the service is the best in town. That takes a lot of pressure off me. Also, I try to spend at least a day at each site.
What’s the secret to knowing what’s going on at each restaurant?
I trust what my people tell me. Also, I do the payroll for each location. I spend four to five hours every Thursday doing payroll. That way I can see who’s going, coming, etc. Payroll is one of the largest expenses we have, and if I know how much is going out the door in that aspect, I have a pretty good feel for everything else. I read the reports concerning all the other expenses. Payroll is the thing I hate to do the most, but it’s important that I do it personally.
Which restaurant most reflects you?
Hmmm. I think that would be Mira. The décor is modern; the menu items are healthier.
How did you get involved in the culinary profession?
I knew coming out of high school that I didn’t want a 9-to-5 job, that I wanted to let my hair grow, and that I most definitely did not want to wear a tie. That was about 1989.
I did try college right out of high school, but I flunked out the first year. I had had jobs in restaurants like a lot of high school kids did, and I thought it was for me. Everyone else thought I was stupid. I moved to New Orleans on a whim and worked with Emeril when he opened his first place. There’s been no looking back.
What advice would you give aspiring restaurateurs?
Listen to your customers. When I first started, I had a big ego and said that they were gonna eat the way I cooked. It didn’t take me long to figure out that I had to drop the ego and listen to what people wanted. Concentrate on good food and even better service. Look at the books last.
Mira and Roxane are side by side. From a logistical point of view that makes a lot of sense, but from a competition standpoint, it doesn’t. Why did you go this route?
First, the space was so big. I didn’t feel like either concept – Mira’s global fusion or Roxane’s tapas – would be successful in such a large space. So we divided it in half. The customers who come to each location are so completely different, so it’s a win-win situation.
You were in that space about six years ago as Café Mira. How does it feel to be back?
I’m ecstatic. The decor and the attitude have changed so much. It’s still modern and we still have the highest quality food. It helps that I lost the ego a few years back. That only complicated my life. I don’t care so much about me anymore; I care about what the customers want. That’s what I concentrate on.
What was your biggest flop?
Figaro. That was weird. We had big, steady sales but we kept losing money. Those sales were actually bigger than BARcelona, but it lost money.
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