This week, Seattle-based regenerative restaurant chain Mt. Pleasure introduced it’s opening its second location within the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. The brand new location – Mt. Pleasure’s first brick-and-mortar location after opening a meals truck this fall – can be nestled subsequent to Seattle’s solely Sweetgreen on the nook of eleventh and Pine in a brick constructing previously residence to the Stout Brewery.
A brand new restaurant opening normally doesn’t cross our radar, however what makes this one significantly fascinating is the grandiose imaginative and prescient of its founder, Robbie Cape. Cape, who made a reputation for himself first at Microsoft after which as CEO and cofounder of well being tech startup 98point6, has plans to open a nationwide chain of tech-forward regenerative hen sandwich retailers. Whereas a number of massive restaurant chains have made small strikes to burnish their regenerative bonafides (sufficiently small that some have labeled these efforts a brand new type of greenwashing), Cape has made it clear that his chain – and particularly his hen – can be constructed totally round hyperlocal, extraordinarily clear regenerative sourcing practices.
“After I say regenerative to each element of the availability chain and bringing pleasure to all of the constituents, I actually do imply it,” Cape stated when The Spoon sat down with him this September at his meals truck opening. “And I do know it’s audacious. And I do know we’re not going to get it proper on each one on a regular basis. However we’re going to strive, and we’re going to maintain making an attempt to get higher.”
Cape knew when he got here up with the concept that creating a totally regenerative-focused hen sandwich chain could be a heavy elevate, significantly for somebody with none earlier restaurant expertise. Due to this, he began cold-calling restaurant people, together with Seattle-famous chef and restaurateur Ethan Stowell, to soundboard the concept.
Above: Mt. Pleasure CEO Robbie Cape with Firm’s Chief Agricultural Officer, Grant Jones
“The primary lesson that I realized after I was beginning to get suggestions from individuals within the restaurant enterprise about this cockamamie idea that I had round constructing a restaurant round regenerative is the meals must be nice. Somebody instructed me, ‘You bought to know Robbie, irrespective of how good this story is, it received’t matter until the meals is the most effective,’” stated Cape. “And in order that was one of many causes I got down to attempt to meet Ethan Stowell, which was not straightforward. He’s a star, and I didn’t know that I had any connection to him. It seems I do. However I reached out by way of the ‘Contact Us’ kind on his web site.”
Because it seems, Stowell appreciated the concept and got here on as cofounder (as would Stowell’s former govt pastry chef, Dionne Himmelfarb, who ran level on designing Mt Pleasure’s menu). As soon as Cape had his chef(s) on board, he set about constructing the remainder of the group, together with bringing on a advertising and marketing particular person, a farmer with expertise in regenerative farming practices, and a tech particular person. Surprisingly, for a tech entrepreneur, it was this final rent – chief expertise officer – that Cape initially had essentially the most reservations about.
“I sat down with Ethan and stated, ‘I’m somewhat reticent about elevating this with you, however I feel that we want a technologist on the founding group as a result of we wish to construct a brand new manner of interacting with the restaurant.’ So I began to pitch it like, ‘I feel we want a technologist,’ and Ethan’s like, ‘Robbie, completely, we do. 100%.’”
And it’s this a part of the Mt. Pleasure equation – the shopper interplay piece – the place Cape’s (and CTO Justin Kaufman‘s) expertise background shines by way of. After I visited Mt. Pleasure’s meals truck set up within the fall, there was a QR code that confirmed me the way in which to the app, and as soon as I ordered my hen sandwich and fries, I bought a textual content notifying me when my meals was prepared.
That’s all fairly customary stuff these days, however Cape sees the digital order circulate as a option to create new and fascinating personalised experiences tailor-made round preferences and previous order historical past.
“Whenever you come to eating places, they by no means know who you might be,” Cape stated. “They don’t know what you ordered final time. They overlook about you, like each time it’s new. Whenever you go to Google, Google is aware of you. Whenever you go to Apple, they know you. We have to know you.”
Whereas I wasn’t as satisfied by Cape’s perception that he may differentiate round digital ordering interfaces as he was, I figured he and his CTO would develop some fascinating concepts. Nonetheless, I was satisfied about his effort to supply each single ingredient by way of native farmers and meals firms, one thing which was already evident within the menu. Each ingredient listed the supply and the mileage it had traveled earlier than being placed on the menu. About the one factor that traveled over 100 miles have been spices like paprika which aren’t grown within the Seattle market.
Cape wasn’t flustered after I instructed him his record of sources for every ingredient was spectacular, however replicating it past Seattle would require rebuilding the availability chain in every new market.
“It’s true, it’s arduous, somewhat dearer, but it surely’s largely like that’s an mental recreation,” stated Cape. “So you could have a group who’s going to have to actually be serious about sourcing, and we’re gonna must construct these comparatively native provide chains. However because it seems, there’s a whole lot of merchandise. There are a couple of areas the place we’d have a couple of challenges, and our reply to that’s we’ll be clear.”
Should you’re within the Seattle market and wish to discover out what a fried hen sandwich sourced from regenerative farming practices tastes like, you may go to Mt. Pleasure’s latest location beginning December 1st.
