Madrid -
It is entirely too easy to forget small- and medium-size restaurants and those who work mightily in them to nourish us. The pandemic exacted its cruel toll on restaurants as well as their owners and workers who are only now starting to emerge into a new and even more difficult world of hospitality.
Restaurants are often modest, family-run businesses, as are the farms and others that supply them. As a result, they have zero clout with politicians long ago reeled in and captured by big-money interests. Restaurants nonetheless account for 16 million jobs in the United States and tens of millions more when including their supply chains. Plus, and this is a point often forgotten, restaurants employ massive numbers of people who might not otherwise be able to land and keep jobs elsewhere.
Some extraordinary leaders went to bat for the industry during the pandemic, combining determination and discipline with the patience necessary to explain restaurants’ needs and contributions to anyone who would listen. At times, it was hard to get the right people on Capitol Hill and elsewhere to take time to listen.
Bobby Stuckey is one such remarkable leader. Watch the recently released “Saving the Restaurant” (2022) documentary (Somm TV) and you will witness a man on a mission who frankly lamented amidst shuttered restaurants at the depth of the pandemic, “I’m really worried about this industry going down." Stuckey is a Master Sommelier and owner of several Denver area restaurants including one of our favorites, Frasca in Boulder, CO.
Stuckey would be the first to say that he has been joined by many others in the quest to secure emergency federal funding for restaurants. Of course, that’s the authentic humility great leaders demonstrate. No doubt that his starring role in Andrew Ackerman’s “Saving the Restaurant” film serves as proxy for many other owners, chefs, and somms who also saw their leadership moment and seized it.
One vital aspect of effective leadership that Stuckey teaches us in the film - and there are many - is the importance of self-care during times of crisis and great uncertainty. Leaders are not well positioned to see to the needs of their people if they are not taking good care of themselves - physically, mentally, and emotionally. Stuckey is thin. That’s due, at least in part, to his being a dedicated distance runner. Like many runners, he uses that frequent, meditative discipline to clear his head, think new thoughts, build his stamina, and feed his soul.
Good leaders model self-care behaviors and encourage their people to be intentional about taking care of their bodies, minds, and spirits. They encourage them to do so even when some employees claim they have no time to do so. These leaders do so because it’s the right thing to do, morally, ethically, and in terms of common sense. They also do so because it makes business sense, too. An exhausted or burned-out employee is not a productive employee. Far worse, they are also prone to making serious mistakes.
Katya Fernandez and Cathleen Clerkin undertook original research on leadership and exercise. They published their findings in an article on the Center for Creative Leadership website last year entitled, Three Evidenced-Based Strategies Shown to Help Leaders in Pandemic Stress. "Leaders make exercise a habit," they wrote adding that regular exercise helps us process stress, reduce anxiety, improve sleep, and bolster our immunity system.
Okay, here's another reason I admire Bobby Stuckey. My son Zack and I were dining at Frasca in Boulder before a University of Colorado football game a few years back. The dinner, wine pairings, service, and decor were superb. There was one problem with one of Zack's courses. We politely brought it to the team's attention whereupon Bobby apologized profusely (no need to have done so), replaced both our courses, poured a glass of wine on the house, and nicely chatted us up.
He asked about future travel plans. I said that Walt and I would be taking another trip to Napa Valley soon. He inquired as to whether or not we had been to The French Laundry where he served as a superstar, James Beard Award-winning somm. I told him no because it seemed just impossible (at the time) to get a phone reservation. One week later, my phone rings and it's The French Laundry calling to offer us a table on a Friday night. The woman on the other end of the line concluded the conversation by saying, "Well, you are very welcome. Any friend of Bobby Stuckey's is a friend of The French Laundry."
Image courtesy of imdb.com.