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<br />Orange County revealed
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<br />Feeding-and
<br />entertaining-the masses
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<br />by Sharon Tetrauh
<br />photography by Bill Furnish
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<br />C a.n ilJCCC'SS really be so ea~y'! Doug
<br />McAlh'sler WllU. Id hil~C' you th.lnk so
<br />Wh.:n he opened Sulru LouI1~e 1tI (osta
<br />\ten. he dId almost no advertising or
<br />marketUll!. ii( sImply ~preil.J the \\ord 10
<br />his innumerable "friends" "'la telephone and e-mail
<br />And lile b'tXJd minions. Uk'Y all .o;lx'l"liW up. More than
<br />I,OOOo(them
<br />.., can'l say thai I was 100 nervous about Ihe
<br />place's succen. On opening night. we had a line out
<br />the door ofs.:\'eral hundred people." says McAllililer.
<br />33, whose exceptionally nonchalant approach to
<br />businen makes it hard 10 belie..'C' that he takes his ca-
<br />rccrseriously.
<br />But the record speaks for itself The restaurant and
<br />lounge is thriving in a location lhat's been the death
<br />knell for so many businesses before, Vanil)' Fair maga-
<br />zine !IeJI1 I writer to check out ttw- dub. and on most
<br />nighu there's a line to get past security,
<br />L()l;ate<! on the lop floor of Triangle Square, a cen-
<br />ter thai perennially !leems 10 have more vacancies
<br />than lenants, SulTa practically hu free run of the
<br />place, lA'hich is a good thine considering lhat ils CUll-
<br />tomers lend to get going about the time most olhcN
<br />are fasl asleep
<br />"It WM the only location for lA'hat I 1A1lIlted to do, I
<br />never considered opening it anywhere else. There's
<br />plent) of paning and no residential areas righl afOund
<br />it so the noise isn't a problem," says McAllister, who
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<br />also O\lt"llS Kantina, an UpM:a1c: Mexican resuurant on
<br />the Newport Penin.<;ula that opened a few months ago.
<br />McAllister, who is pl'e'iidcnt and CEO of Culinal)
<br />Management Group, spent hule time deliberating on
<br />where to open Sulfa and K.anlina. That's his style. In
<br />his MlI'ld things come togelher quickly.
<br />Such WI! Ihe case with tbe now-defunct Josh
<br />Slocum's Supper
<br />Club. McAllister be-
<br />came good friends lUX,.. McAu.I;,TER'S
<br />wilh Dennis Rodman
<br />when they both lived RESTAU~ \Rt.: PRUVIN<3
<br />at Ihe beach. They Tll BE RE..-\l -;L'ENl:. STB\UR.."
<br />!alked aboul doing
<br />something together
<br />for a long lime, and when they heard that the Newport
<br />Beach restaurant wasn't faring ~ll they moved quickly.
<br />"[ made a call and found out what we n<<ded to
<br />do. Dasically. I paid off the debl and was in busi.
<br />ness," says McAllister, who revamped the interior
<br />into a suhry den of loud fabrics, animal rugs and an-
<br />tiquefumiture.
<br />Rodman's celebrily factor helped make Josh
<br />SI()l;wn's super hot. and businc5!l was good for. while
<br />~We grossed over Sl million in our frnt year, and that
<br />was wilh just 1,700 square feet of restaulV\t and bar
<br />space.~ he 5lI)'S
<br />SCYft1heleu, McAllister lel\ in 2001 al\er he and
<br />Rodman had a falling out, and the restaurant closed
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<br />IWO years laler. They've since n:sohed
<br />their differences, but McAllister says he
<br />isn't in a hurry to form that type of pan.
<br />nershipagain.
<br />Kantina is doing bri~k busim::s$, and
<br />it's not just the late-night folks who are
<br />nocking to the waterfront restaurant.
<br />McAllister recruited French chef
<br />Sl~phane Beaucamp to take chillge in
<br />the kitchen (he's also the elleculivechef
<br />at Sutta), and the food is just as impres-
<br />sive as the location and d~cot. a rich
<br />combination of mahogany floon, leather
<br />and textured limestone.
<br />McAllisler's now looking to expand
<br />again, and he talks about "creating con-
<br />cepts" in other markets for his business-
<br />es. "Chain restaurants basically force
<br />their single concept in ....herever they see
<br />fit." he says. "I wanl to buy the real es-
<br />lale so I can tailor a concept for iI specif.
<br />ic location. The difficulty is in knowing
<br />the local market"
<br />One market McAllister knows well is
<br />the Palm Desen area. He has lots of friends
<br />who own second homes there bul says the
<br />paucity of nighttime entertainmenl venues
<br />makesthearea~alittletoosedate."
<br />He's currently scouting for a suitable
<br />location in Palm Desert 10 open a second
<br />Sutra Lounge. and he'lIlikely follOlA'lhat
<br />up by opening another Kantma. He's also
<br />workinj on ideas for four more restau.
<br />rants and lounges thai he hopes will be.
<br />come part of an inventory he can pull
<br />from when expanding into ne.... markets.
<br />He's also set 10 open a steakhouse called
<br />Aged in Huntinjton Beach" new Pacific
<br />City area in 2008.
<br />All this from a guy who says hc" never
<br />re.lly had to work for a Ii\iing and who
<br />doesn't consider what he does to be a
<br />job, job."
<br />"My work consists of answering my
<br />phone from thc time I wake up until the
<br />time I go 10 sl<<p," sayS McAllister, who
<br />Ii..-es on lhe Newport Peninsula with his
<br />English Bulldog, Harry. and who doesn't
<br />g<I to ~d before 2 I.m
<br />His unorthodo, approach to husiness
<br />started ~ ago when his desire to thro....
<br />a party mu...hmomed into something much
<br />bigger, His father, a former owner of
<br />McAllister Cadillac in Whinier, took over
<br />a restaurant in Dana Point after p;lltnerini!
<br />with a borrower who defaulted on a loan.
<br />McAllister, who wasn't even of legal
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<br />drinking age at the lime., decided it was a
<br />gre.t spot IOthf1)Ur,' a party.
<br />A thousand people turned out for the
<br />one-nighl affair that featured several dee-
<br />jays, a live band and multiple bars.
<br />McAllister made a bundle of money, and
<br />was off and running IS a premier party
<br />promoter. He was then asked to help open
<br />an adult bar in We>;tminstcr, which he says
<br />l.Iug:ht him a lot about how to set up a
<br />business. But be left before tbe bar
<br />opened. when the owner decided to take it
<br />from a topless to. full nude bar. '" diJn't
<br />want to be associated with that I)'pc of
<br />place,~ bela)S.
<br />Not long afterward. a friend introduced
<br />him to the owner of a management com.
<br />pany that ran tVr'O HOOItr.i franchi!lCS., one
<br />in Costa Mesa and one in Newpoc1lkach
<br />at the lite Kantina now occupies,
<br />McAllister started by doing some light
<br />marketing but soon took on a more im)lOT-
<br />tantrole.
<br />He was promoted to chief fmarci&! of-
<br />ficer of the company and treated to an in-
<br />valuable training program by the account-
<br />ing finn of Deloiue &; Touche, "For six
<br />months, an accountant would sit down
<br />with me one on one and teach me every.
<br />thing there was 10 know about account.
<br />inj,~ says McAllister, who left that role
<br />after six year.s,
<br />One day last year, McAllist(1' l1ruve by
<br />the shuttered Hooteri on the peninsula and
<br />decided it was the perfect spot for a new
<br />restat!nnlldea he'd been kicking around
<br />"I had Kantina on my mind fot a long
<br />time,~ he u.ys, "My idea was to creale
<br />an upscale Mexican restauranl that com.
<br />bines with the I.id.back Southern
<br />California lifestyle. The loution was
<br />perfect-it's on the walerfront, there's
<br />parkinj and people can walk or ride
<br />their bikes there."
<br />He made one call a.nd characteristical-
<br />ly, he qui,!dy hid an agreement to lease
<br />the property for up to 20 years. He's
<br />done mOlt of tbe del>ign wolk 00 K.antina
<br />himself and. .5 with Sutra. he didn't have
<br />to .pend much energy or money to at.
<br />tract customers.
<br />..)t's already packed every night." he
<br />says. "so there's not much I can do to im-
<br />prove on tbat.~ OC
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<br />-Sharon Tetrault is it frt'elilnrt> writ-
<br />er from Bitlboa Island
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