CHAPTER SEVEN
As she watched Marcus dig into his pie, Sarah couldn’t imagine enjoying anything with as much gusto as he did. “What’s going to happen to Riley’s dishes that were going to be on Jane’s menu?”
Marcus finished the last smidgen of his pie. “Jane will try making them. I’m sure she has all of Riley’s recipes.”
“But following a recipe isn’t all that goes into making a good dish,” Emily said. “Chefs tinker with basic recipes. I doubt Jane will be able to do any of Riley’s recipes justice, which should be good for Southwind.”
“But if she does succeed in pulling off Riley’s dishes, what we tasted tonight was pretty darn good. That means we could have a tough competitor.”
Emily bit her lip. “Don’t worry, Marcus. We may both be farm-to-table restaurants, but we know our food is better than Jane’s.”
“Jane’s without Riley’s recipes.”
Eloise cleared her throat. “I know I’m not in the chef business, but I’m a foodie and I’ve had some experience with business competition and a touch of politics. On the council, I may want to please all my constituents, but the reality is I can’t, so I must find what is good for the majority and follow that route. Of course, that means I’m not going to get everyone’s vote next time, any more than you or Jane are going to get every customer. The key is to get the majority to approve of what you’re doing.”
“I’ll buy that,” Marcus said. “But you only need the voters to come out every few years. If we’re going to survive, diners must want to eat our food a few times a month and tell their friends how much they like us. Word of mouth is big in our business.”
Emily covered one of his paws with her delicately boned hand. “We’ll simply have to give better food and service than Jane. Making sure our waitstaff is well trained will be important.”
“And maybe you can come up with a gimmick,” Grace suggested. “A specialty day or some kind of discount?”
“Absolutely not. Emily and I create restaurants that stand on their own merits. Southwind isn’t going to be an exception. There will be no gimmicks.”
Emily patted his hand but spoke to Grace. “Marcus is a purist, but if you have any marketing or menu ideas to counter Riley’s dishes, even he will be willing to listen.”
“I’ll give it some thought.”
“Please do. Of course, nothing can happen until Botts performs our final inspection and we open.”
Marcus pulled his beefy mitt back from Emily. “All I can say is that for the sake of his continued good health, Botts better schedule us in the next few days.”