Women + Wine: Women pave the way in growing hospitality industry
It’s 2021 and you can plan an entire weekend visiting restaurants, bars, and retail stores in Atlanta that are owned by women. A femme filled weekend like that would have been hard to come by 30 years ago, so we thought we would catch up with restaurateur/chef Anne Quatrano and wine broker Lisa Bonet to discuss their journey in what was once a male-dominated industry. These ladies paved the way for our success, and we wanted to get their take on the changing landscape.
We asked Chef Anne how Atlanta’s dining scene has changed since 1993 when she opened her first restaurant, Bacchanalia, originally located in Buckhead. We couldn’t agree more with her response. “The dining scene has changed immensely since 1993– all for the good in my opinion. Large restaurant groups and hotel dining dominated the food scene back then with very few, if any, chef owned and operated businesses. It was almost impossible to break into the industry without a big budget and a flashy space. Now, today, if you prepare great food and are friendly you can serve food from a van and be a popular and busy restaurant.”
Quatrano now owns 3 restaurants as well as Star Provisions Market and Café. Not only do her restaurants serve impeccable food day in and day out, the service in each establishment has also led to the success of her company. There is a synergy between the front of the house and back of the house that is obvious during the dining experience.
She comments, “I would say that service is as important if not more important than the food that we serve. This is always a balancing act in fine dining as you want to be friendly, intuitive but also professional. I feel a positive and respectful relationship between your kitchen and the front of the house is essential to give the best service to your guests. It takes a team, of which each individual plays an integral role to pull off a great service. Small, unexpected touches and surprises throughout a meal are what guests remember.” If you’ve ever been to Bacchanalia, we can guarantee you never forgot about the “gifts from the chef” between courses.