Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Gems of Boston - 2002-11-25 -

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Date: Mon, 09 Dec 2002 16:55:06 -0500

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From the November 22, 2002 print edition

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Special Report

Gems of Boston

Members of the Sapphire Group strive to be a cut above the rest

Naomi R. Kooker   Special To The Journal

CAMBRIDGE — Gary Sullivan acts like a new dad. He often pulls late nights, sometimes staying up till 4 a.m., yet on a recent morning, he's looking dapper in his suit, ready to go at 9:30.

And as a new partner in the Sapphire Restaurant Group, Sullivan is a new dad, in a way.

The group that operates the four-star restaurant Rialto in the Charles Hotel and Blu, a fine-dining restaurant, bar and cafe in the Sports Club/L.A. in Boston's newly christened Ladder District, opened Noir, a lounge in the lobby of the Charles Hotel, a few weeks ago. The new manager hadn't started yet, so Sullivan, as the front-of-house overseer, filled in.

"We all have areas of expertise," says Michela Larson, a founding partner of the Sapphire Group. "We all take responsibility for that arena."

One of Boston's powerhouse restaurant companies, the Sapphire Restaurant Group has built its success on partnerships, both internal and external, and vision. In eight years, it has gone from a one-restaurant operation to three; from pulling revenue of $3.5 million to between $8 million and $10 million (this year); from three partners to four (Sullivan came on just prior to opening Blu in 2001); and from banking on the hotel's public relations machine to maintaining its own in-house PR and marketing team — Chris Langley and Regan Dillon. The Sapphire Group employs 130 people.

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The internal partnerships began with Larson and Jody Adams, who worked together at Larson's restaurant Michela's, a Northern Italian fine-dining restaurant she opened in East Cambridge in 1985. Having few women restaurateurs in Boston at the time, Larson pioneered a gourmet-takeout section and garnered national recognition for the restaurant. Adams was her executive chef for four years.

Adams wanted to expand her cuisine; Larson didn't want to be the sole soldier at the helm. They also knew, as mothers, they wanted to create a family-friendly company that would have respect for their lives outside of work.

"It is difficult for women in our business sometimes," says Larson. "Not because it's a man's world, but because we are also very committed mothers. And so if there's any challenge we have to meet, it's around that."

Karen Haskell, an entrepreneur and mom attracted by the vagaries of the industry, joined the team. The women founded the Sapphire Group, named for the blue gemstone, in 1994.

Dick Friedman, managing general partner of the Charles Hotel and a real estate developer, was the first to take what he calls that "intuitive leap" when he brought them on to open Rialto. "We needed the creativity of an outside group," he says. "It's been very successful, obviously."

In fact, it's been a model — Sapphire pairing with larger operations — that's worked for parties on both sides of the bargaining table.

From the beginning, 212-seat Rialto turned a profit, according to Haskell. It launched the career of Adams as one of America's top chefs and Rialto as a world-renowned dining destination.

Small but noticeable improvements — new rugs, new fabric on the banquettes and new tabletops — revived Rialto's staying power.

"What we need to do is continually make it fresh — not respond to the trends, " says Adams of Rialto and their other properties. "We are the trend."

Adams oversees kitchen operations and menu development (her first cookbook, "In the Hands of a Chef: Cooking with Jody Adams of Rialto Restaurant," was published earlier this year). Sullivan runs the front-of-house operations, is keen on details and uses his architectural background during buildout. Haskell keeps the group on task, always assessing the larger picture with the day-to-day operations. And Larson conceptualizes what the company is doing, works on design, keeps the group connected to the community and ultimately oversees the marketing and public relations.

It is a tightly knit partnership that moves as one unit. (Part of the reason the group's members are considering a Nextel system is to hold four-way conversations on the spot.)

"We conceptualize a restaurant," says Haskell. "We design that restaurant. We promote it and market it, staff it and operate it. We do all of those things. Our partners provide the framework in which that can happen."

In Larson's words: "We'll take the risk with you, in that we won't take a penny until this thing makes money — and then we have a split."

The other benefit besides profit-sharing is being plugged into established human resource and accounting systems. Sapphire cuts down on labor cost, for example, and it also holds its managers — as its partners — accountable for tasks easy to put off in smaller, independent operations.

"We sort of marry the independent spirit with the careful guidelines that make it a good place to work," says Haskell.

Last year, the group suffered one casualty: They closed Red Clay, their family-friendly restaurant in the Atrium Mall in Chestnut Hill, which Larson refers to as "a great little restaurant in the wrong location."

"We had to take a very hard look at what it was we were doing and why," she says. "What it forced us all to do was sit down and say, 'This is what I can do, this is what I'm willing to do, and this is how much I need to make.' "

Their policy on the press — negative or positive — generated about their properties is to look at it with care, says Adams. "There is always truth in it, and there is always an exaggeration," she says. "It's always one person's perspective."

The family-friendly policies continue. Soccer games and parent-teacher conferences never get a raised eyebrow — it's just a question of making it work. The group meets every Tuesday morning to hash out agendas. Laughter flows easily, and each takes their coffee (and tea) differently. Communication is constant — and at the core, they say, of their success.

The group is growing. Soon, the group will be in larger offices in the same Charles Hotel complex.

"We're a company that's interested in growth," says Larson, whose own civic involvement has garnered awards for her entrepreneurial spirit and help in the community.

"And we're going to be very, very careful how we're going to make that happen, so it respects what we have in place now and, at the same time, allows us to continue doing what we're really good at."

©
2002 American City Business Journals Inc.

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