Last fall, Krim Boughalem and Andrea Sims found themselves cornered by their own success. As owners of Table 310 and National Provisions, the couple was stretched so thin managing both operations that neither business was getting the attention it deserved.
“National Provisions became such an enormous project … and 310 was suffering because of it,” said Sims.
With Boughalem’s dream of a French-style bakery, café and beer hall made manifest in National Provisions, they knew what to do, much as they didn’t like that reality of turning loose of their highly regarded bistro.
“We knew it would be best to sell,” she said.
But to whom? A few candidates stepped forward, some with dreams of owning their first restaurant, others with plans to steer the 4-year-old bistro in another direction. Both were undesirable outcomes for Boughalem and Sims’s creation. But when Daniel and Florence Marlowe approached them about purchasing the restaurant, they were confident they had the right fit.
“We saw they were young, energetic and excited about it, and that both had been in the restaurant business,” Sims said. “We believed they were the right people to carry on what we wanted to do but couldn’t do any more. They also wanted to keep the name and concept, which meant a lot.”
The Marlowes moved to Lexington last year from Colorado, where each lived for many years. With the birth of their daughter, Daniel, a Lexington native, wanted to return home, and Florence, a native of France, was happy to follow.
A veteran restaurant operator, Daniel Marlowe intended to open a concept of his own making until a broker led him to Table 310. Florence, a graphic designer, was immediately taken by the space, saying she knew it would bust their budget to try and create one equally comfortable and cosmopolitan.
“You can walk into that space and feel like you’re in New York City or San Francisco,” said Florence Marlowe, Daniel's partner in the business. “That’s really what appealed to us.”
Taking stock
When the Marlowes took ownership of Table 310 in March, their first order of business was to close it and assess the entire operation. After a thorough cleaning, they installed a new kitchen floor, made a few appliance repairs and took stock of their staff. When 30 percent of the staff left, Daniel Marlowe said he was actually relieved because it ensured he and his wife stood a better chance of instituting their standards with a blend of new hires and those who wanted to stay.
Table 310’s kitchen team remained largely intact. Chris Smith, its longtime sous chef, was promoted to head chef, partly because of his proven history and partly due to endorsements from mutual Colorado restaurant friends of Daniel’s.
“I knew the pedigree of the places he’d worked, and that definitely helped,” he said. “He’s hungry and has the talent, and we’re excited to see how he brings the food here into the next era.”
The service staff needed more work, however, a sentiment reflected in some customer comments and negative online reviews. Fortunately for the restaurant, Marlowe’s expertise lies in the front of the house.
“We knew that was something we could manage, that we could improve those standards,” Daniel Marlowe said. “You hear people say that the kitchen is heart of the house, but in reality the restaurant surrounds all that. So our challenge was to get everyone on our staff to take ownership of what we believe is genuine hospitality. We had to have a high level of service to back up the beautiful food the kitchen produced.”
In screening new servers for hire, Marlowe asked applicants continually, “What does hospitality mean to you?” Correct answers reflected a server’s warmth and appreciation for guests and an innate sense of knowing customers’ needs without being intrusive. Wrong answers included mechanical greetings like fake smiles, scripted goodbyes and robotic recitation of menus and specials.
“Great servers are naturally intuitive and know which guests want some privacy and which want to be walked through every step of the process,” Marlowe said. “They know how to meet people’s needs before they even have to ask for things.”
But as Florence Marlowe added, restaurant owners are ultimately responsible for creating a great working environment that leads servers to want to care for customers.
“You cannot have great service if you don’t take care of your people,” she said. “If they’re not happy, they’ll not make the customer happy. … And I don’t think it’s something you can teach as much as it becomes the product of an environment we want to foster.”
A restaurant reborn
When Table 310’s three-week shutdown ended April 8, it reopened with a happy hour and plans for regular Sunday brunch, which began on Mother’s Day. A bonus, Daniel Marlowe said, was his two bartenders, Becca Sanders and Natalie White, amazing him with a new cocktail menu.
“Cocktails are definitely my world, and I was expecting to lead the conversation more than I did,” he said. “These two ladies are so passionate about the craft. … I haven’t been to every bar in Lexington, but I haven’t yet found a better cocktail here.”
Monthly farm dinners will begin in June and come with a twist: farmers supplying the raw materials will be special guests. Winemakers, brewers and distillers are frequently brought in for such feasts, but he wants to see farmers at the tables and interacting with guests.
“You talk to them, and they’re so passionate about what they’re growing and raising,” Marlowe said. “We want to bring that connection to those dinners, that chance to shake the hand and meet the person who actually grew that food. When that happens, it fundamentally changes your perspective on what you’re eating.”