Zuni Cafe History Essay

San Francisco is the location of the well known restaurant that has their own cookbook courtesy of Judy Rodgers. They first started out as an authentic mexican cuisine, with another business that was a cactus shop also having 4 partners for both business endeavors this was also including creator of the concept is Billy West. Now in the year 2015 the restaurant is still progressing in San Francisco with their known dishes like a caesar salad, oven roasted chicken to many more simplified recipes. What is intriguing about Zuni Cafe is how the changes made only enhance their business, growth, reputation to overall success. As displayed with information of Zuni Cafe’s history, the importance of change as well for the chefs who influenced the progress
Billy West was the visionary for Zuni Cafe with his partners and ten thousand dollars that kick started their business in 1979. West had a set view on what his restaurant would be, courtesy of Zuni Cafe Judy Rodgers Cookbook,“... He chose the name Zuni, after the native American tribe, and decided to offer mostly simple and authentic Mexican food, drawing inspiration from Diana Kennedy's cookbooks…” (Judy Rodgers Cookbook). Aside the 2nd business- cactus shop there were some challenges, like the space and locations, being understaffed when Vince Calcagno came to work with West. In that time the cactus business was absorbed and enhance the restaurant productivity and money revenue in
Vince Calcagno was now a chef at Zuni around 1986, with the investments of a weber grill , espresso machine with the help of Vince the well known Zuni Cafe roasted chicken that would reign in more success. Vince goes on to say, “ We never stop apologizing for the wait, but we just can’t roast chickens, fast enough” (Vince Calcagno). This would catapult them to more high praise for Zuni Cafe in the years to come. In 1987, Billy West convinced a chef named Judy Rodgers to join his restaurant, she accepted in 1987 taking over the kitchen and the altercations she made would make sucessfully ripple effect to this day. Making big improvements like a brick oven, simplifying the recipes, changing the decor an article on GrubStreet stating, “ Rodgers decides they need a whole roast chicken on the menu, seasoned only with salt and pepper...The chicken is then served cut up over the bread salad, and becomes the restaurant's iconic dish, unchanged to this day and widely imitated.” ( GrubStreet). Influencing so much of the restaurant success she becomes co-owner of Zuni Cafe, in 2002 she published Zuni’s Cafe Cookbook. Receiving awards and many die hard Zuni Cafe lovers was apparent, sadly in December of 2013 by a rare cancer of the appendix. Although she may have passed, her influence is still impacting the quality of Zuni Cafe