![]() ![]() In June, Stewart and Estes' second restaurant, Bovolo-which means "snail" in Italian-opened inside of Evers' new Plaza Farms in Healdsburg. "They were the first people we thought of," says Evers. Turns out that Ridgely Evers, the owner of DaVero Olive Oil and the impetus behind Plaza Farms (see Sidebar below), was considering the very same thing. When the San Francisco Chronicle reviewed Zazu last year and named it one of the top 100 restaurants in the Bay Area, response was almost crushing.Īs things started to calm down last year-as much as the restaurant business can ever calm down-and people began to again eat out more often, Estes and Stewart started entertaining thoughts of opening another place. There were some early naming issues (the restaurant was originally called Zuzu, which is trademarked by another restaurant), staff problems (they once had to do 90 meals by themselves in a single night when a sous-chef didn't show), and the mixed blessing of dealing with the gushing critical acclaim that can often hit unexpectedly. Within just a few weeks, they had turned the restaurant around and opened for business, even though Estes was interviewing staff while breastfeeding a newborn and working the stoves with a baby backpack on. The couple, who were both well-respected chefs in Seattle's restaurant scene, decided to move to Sonoma County on something of a lark when the former Wildwood restaurant came up for sale. The foundation is Zazu, which opened just two weeks before Sept. And it just may be why they're succeeding in one of the toughest businesses around: owning a restaurant.įor nearly the last five years, Stewart and Estes have been tirelessly building a sort of food empire, though they're still not exactly sure how it will turn out. And, despite the grueling hours and sometimes thankless tasks, that's exactly how they want it. From raising much of their own produce to curing their own meats, making their own gelato, compiling their daily menus, working the line, seating diners and, well, fixing the plumbing, the couple do pretty much everything themselves (with the assured help of a small staff). You wouldn't know it to look at the couple-both clad in wrinkled, food-splattered T-shirts as they rush between bar, table and kitchen-but these two thirty-something chefs are among the most promising food talents in the country. It's anyone's guess as to what else will break, melt, self-destruct or implode before the night is through. It's Stewart's third shift of the day, and the dinner service at Zazu is just beginning. "This is such a glamorous job," he says, turning the corner. The night's just beginning, and already the weeds have won and plumbing is putting up a serious fight. But I have to go play plumber now." Stewart heads for bigger problems in the direction of the restaurant's bathrooms. "Can I fire him for that? I really would if I could. The co-owner of Santa Rosa's Zazu restaurant passes behind the bar where his wife and chef co-owner, Duskie Estes, stares down at a pile of receipts and timesheets. "I'd seriously fire him for that if I could," Stewart says in mock aggravation within earshot of the sous-chef who continues to taunt him. Snickering comes from the kitchen over the boss-man's plight. The thing's refusing to work despite 15 minutes of cajoling, tinkering and pleading by the chef turned handyman. 'I'm sooooo glad I spent 45 minutes fixing the weed whacker this morning," says an obviously irritated John Stewart, holding the broken trimmer in his hands. Hard and cooking slow make life complete at Zazu Metroactive Features | Arcadia | Zazu and Bovolo Restaurants ![]()
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