The Heat is On: Puck’s Career Takes Off
The Heat is On: Puck’s Career Takes Off
After finding investor backing from two dentists who were fans of his cooking, Puck opened Spago (slang for ‘spaghetti’), a fine dining establishment on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. Lazaroff, a biochemistry major from New York City, took charge of the restaurant’s interior design and turned Puck’s vision of an Italian eatery with checkered tablecloths into a more upscale and white-linen laden venture. It was also her idea to build an open kitchen that would be visible to the diners, which was something of a novel concept at the time. Four years and $512,000 later, the restaurant was completed.
In a relatively short amount of time, Spago had become a fashionable stopping point for celebrities who especially couldn’t get enough of Puck’s unique specialty pizzas. The casual yet hip décor of the restaurant echoed the theme of the cuisine – gourmet yet simple. After Puck began topping his pizzas with the likes of caviar and smoked salmon, business took off. As he continued to raise the quality of his ingredients – wanting to use only the best – Puck also began raising his prices, and his clientele kept coming back for more.
The success of Spago set the stage for what was about to come. Puck and Lazaroff opened a second restaurant, Chinois on Main, in Santa Monica. Working with fresh ingredients from the local Chinatown and Koreatown, Puck set about creating a new Asian-Californian cuisine. Lazaroff again designed the eatery’s interior, and once more included the popular open kitchen.
In 1983, Puck launched the Wolfgang Puck Food Company, which first began producing frozen desserts. At the same time, his chain of restaurants continued to expand outside of southern California with the launch of Postrio in San Francisco. The next two ventures, Eureka in west Los Angeles and Granita in Malibu, both struggled and were eventually abandoned after losing millions. Unfazed, Puck tried his luck in Las Vegas, opening a Spago there, as well as a Wolfgang Puck Café and another Chinois, all of which proved to be huge successes.
Puck’s Cafes and the new self-service Wolfgang Puck Express were quickly expanding their presence throughout the U.S and were soon earning between $2 and $4.5 million each annually. The success of Puck’s Asian fusion cuisine led to the launch of a new chain, Oba-Chine, in Beverly Hills and, later elsewhere. As the Food Company continued to grow by 50% a year, Puck expanded its operations to include merchandise and souvenirs and changed it to Wolfgang Puck Worldwide, Inc.
After having conquered the American market, Puck took his products overseas, launching a Spago in both Tokyo and Mexico City. He also created Wolfgang Puck Catering & Events, which caters to such high-profile events as the Academy Awards Governor’s Ball. And, in 2001, Puck partnered with the Food Television Network to create the Wolfgang Puck show, later Wolfgang Puck’s Cooking Class.
Puck now operates 12 upscale restaurants and 54 Cafes and Expresses in the U.S., four in Japan and one in Canada. Over 300 Expresses are planning to be launched in the coming year. Although the original Spago has closed its doors and Lazaroff and Puck are now divorced, Puck’s businesses continue to thrive and he remains one of the leaders at the forefront of the American culinary world.
The Heat is On Pucks Career Takes Off
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In 1982, Puck launched his first cookbook, Modern French Cooking for the American Kitchen. With the success that followed, and upon meeting his future wife and business partner Barbara Lazaroff who would encourage him to follow his dreams, Puck got the confidence he needed to finally realize one of his lifelong goals; Puck was going to open his own restaurant. He had left Ma Maison after tensions began to build with his business partner and he decided that he was now ready to go it alone.
After finding investor backing from two dentists who were fans of his cooking, Puck opened Spago (slang for ‘spaghetti’), a fine dining establishment on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood. Lazaroff, a biochemistry major from New York City, took charge of the restaurant’s interior design and turned Puck’s vision of an Italian eatery with checkered tablecloths into a more upscale and white-linen laden venture. It was also her idea to build an open kitchen that would be visible to the diners, which was something of a novel concept at the time. Four years and $512,000 later, the restaurant was completed.
In a relatively short amount of time, Spago had become a fashionable stopping point for celebrities who especially couldn’t get enough of Puck’s unique specialty pizzas. The casual yet hip décor of the restaurant echoed the theme of the cuisine – gourmet yet simple. After Puck began topping his pizzas with the likes of caviar and smoked salmon, business took off. As he continued to raise the quality of his ingredients – wanting to use only the best – Puck also began raising his prices, and his clientele kept coming back for more.
The success of Spago set the stage for what was about to come. Puck and Lazaroff opened a second restaurant, Chinois on Main, in Santa Monica. Working with fresh ingredients from the local Chinatown and Koreatown, Puck set about creating a new Asian-Californian cuisine. Lazaroff again designed the eatery’s interior, and once more included the popular open kitchen.
In 1983, Puck launched the Wolfgang Puck Food Company, which first began producing frozen desserts. At the same time, his chain of restaurants continued to expand outside of southern California with the launch of Postrio in San Francisco. The next two ventures, Eureka in west Los Angeles and Granita in Malibu, both struggled and were eventually abandoned after losing millions. Unfazed, Puck tried his luck in Las Vegas, opening a Spago there, as well as a Wolfgang Puck Café and another Chinois, all of which proved to be huge successes.
Puck’s Cafes and the new self-service Wolfgang Puck Express were quickly expanding their presence throughout the U.S and were soon earning between $2 and $4.5 million each annually. The success of Puck’s Asian fusion cuisine led to the launch of a new chain, Oba-Chine, in Beverly Hills and, later elsewhere. As the Food Company continued to grow by 50% a year, Puck expanded its operations to include merchandise and souvenirs and changed it to Wolfgang Puck Worldwide, Inc.
After having conquered the American market, Puck took his products overseas, launching a Spago in both Tokyo and Mexico City. He also created Wolfgang Puck Catering & Events, which caters to such high-profile events as the Academy Awards Governor’s Ball. And, in 2001, Puck partnered with the Food Television Network to create the Wolfgang Puck show, later Wolfgang Puck’s Cooking Class.
Puck now operates 12 upscale restaurants and 54 Cafes and Expresses in the U.S., four in Japan and one in Canada. Over 300 Expresses are planning to be launched in the coming year. Although the original Spago has closed its doors and Lazaroff and Puck are now divorced, Puck’s businesses continue to thrive and he remains one of the leaders at the forefront of the American culinary world.
The Heat is On Pucks Career Takes Off
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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