Jon Wise worked as a journalist and TV critic for 15 years before realising his dream of opening a restaurant. In 2010 he bought his local restaurant – The Laughing Gravy on London’s Blackfriars Road – with plans to serve good quality food in a relaxed setting. Today the restaurant is a thriving business serving locals as well as those from other areas of London. Jon talks to Hospitality & Catering News about the challenges associated with running an independent restaurant, why he is grateful to TripAdvisor and where he likes to spend his rare days off.
You had a successful career as a journalist and TV critic, what prompted the move into hospitality?
I used to work in bars and restaurants while at university and when I left I was general manager of a big cafe bar and restaurant in Manchester. I ended up moving into PR and journalism, but still kept a special place in my heart for hospitality and retained a dream of owning a restaurant. I used to say that if I won the lottery, the first thing I’d do is buy a restaurant, but I realised that wasn’t going to happen and I live by the motto that life’s not a rehearsal, so I decided to make the move in 2010 and buy my own restaurant. I was getting a bit disillusioned with journalism and still had dreams about working behind bars and in restaurants so knew it was what I ultimately wanted to do.
Which profession have you found tougher, journalist or restaurateur?
Both have their own challenges and both can be exceptionally enjoyable but also incredibly stressful. With the restaurant, it’s more enjoyable because it’s what I really want to do and it feels more comfortable. Even though the first few years were unbelievably hard and intense, I loved it and enjoyed every aspect of the job. I think in seven years I’ve had two days where I didn’t really want to come into work.
For the first two and a half years of running the restaurant, I was still working as a TV critic and doing both jobs at the same time was definitely stressful. I’d work 15 hour days in the restaurant, then go home and watch TV until about three or four in the morning before returning to the restaurant at about 9am the next day. I’d do that for about four days on the trot before my deadline was due.
Independent restaurants often find it harder to stay in business than chains, what has been the secret of your success?
There lots of contributing factors. I’m fortunate that my head chef Michael Facey has been here since we opened and that has been a big boost. Also, I live around the corner from the restaurant, so knowing the area and the market has helped. When I decided I wanted to open one I was adamant that it wouldn’t be on some nameless, faceless high street somewhere – it had to be in a location that was important to me. Because I knew this area so well and the restaurant (I used to eat in it before it closed) and what competition was around I knew what the area was missing and what it needed.
People laughed at me when I opened, they said I might as well throw my money down the drain, but as a journalist I interviewed celebrities in some nice restaurants around London, which worked for them, but was also a great way for me to research what I was doing. At that point there were a lack of good restaurants offering a warm, personal service and I saw a gap for that. I’m also grateful for the power of the internet. TripAdvisor – whatever others think of it – has been enormous for us.
So you’re a fan of TripAdvisor?
It’s brought me a lot of business so I can’t complain about it. We’re lucky that a lot of people who come here and enjoy it write good reviews, so that’s really helpful. It’s been a great way for an independent on a shoestring budget who can’t afford big PR campaigns to drip feed lots of information out to customers. You can’t deny that a lot of people look at TripAdvisor, so it has been useful. I do find it frustrating that you can’t control what goes up there, however. We’ve had a couple of people who couldn’t get tables because we were too busy write bad reviews about us without experiencing the restaurant and that’s unfair.
Do you have plans for more restaurants?
I always wanted two but it’s becoming an impossible market. The combination of Brexit, massively inflated rents and the new business rating make it really difficult for independents to expand. The only ones who can are the big companies with corporate backing. I’d love to do another one and we’ve become close sometimes, but it’s been too difficult and now there’s too much uncertainty.
What is the biggest challenge you face running a restaurant?
There’s such a massive shortage of chefs and it’s only going to get worse. I’m lucky that my head chef has been with us since the beginning, but the rest of the kitchen team has changed. The service we offer and the wine and cocktails we serve are very important, but food is core to what we do and finding talented chefs who want to do that is really tough.
Who in the industry has inspired you most?
It changes all the time. I think people like Jason Atherton are unbelievably inspiring in terms of the brand, the business and the ideas and the implementation of them. He does such great stuff and has built an impressive empire which is worlds away from what I do. Right now, however, it’s the small independents who I have the greatest respect for, because now I know how hard it is and how much harder it’s getting. We are now battling with the groups and chains who are opening more independent-style restaurants and local eateries. For all those other business owners who are busting a gut and working all the hours, they are the ones I have respect for. The ones without the big corporate finance backing.
Where do you like to eat out on your day off?
As I’ve got older I’ve become more of a creature of habit and I tend to stay close to home. I love Hawksmoor in Borough. That’s a perfect day off for me – an amazing piece of steak, great service and a nice drop of wine. Happy days. We’ve also got some great food markets around here now like Mercato and Flat Iron Square which are great to visit. I like to go along and try food from different stalls and have a few beers.
What are your future plans for the business?
To keep doing what we’re doing. We’re aiming to get an AA rosette. We think our food is worthy of one and it would be recognition for all the hard work we’re doing. But we just want to continue to keep standards high. Saying that, I think it can be dangerous to rest on your laurels, so even though I want The Laughing Gravy to be a solid stable restaurant which is not too trendy and transient, to continue to operate in such a fast-moving market like London we still have to remain on point and progress. Hopefully, if we can do that, we might be able to expand at some point and open that second site I’ve dreamed of.
Emma Eversham
Hospitality & Catering News, Interviews Editor