Restaurateurs' tips for succeeding during tough economic times

Owners of both newly opened and long-established restaurants use various strategies and tactics to stay afloat — and keep busy — during any economic climate.
Lucas Nuehlenweg, 45, owner of Petite in the Village of Pawling, which opened in late August, said when deciding to open a crepe restaurant, he took into consideration the current economic climate.

The creperie elevates a street food, he said, to a fine-dining experience, for a couple dollars more than a slice of pizza. The restaurant serves both sweet and savory crepes. Its menu, posted on its website, includes a sweet fig butter and goat cheese crepe for $6, and a savory ham and Gruyere cheese crepe for $6.50.

Aldo Milanese, 49, a Town of Poughkeepsie resident who owns the Milanese Italian Restaurant in the City of Poughkeepsie with his brothers Sandro Milanese, of Highland, and Roberto Milanese, a city resident, said they provide good food in a comfortable, yet elegant, setting.

He said guests come back to a place that combines two or three elements that people like; just the food, or only ambiance, isn’t enough.

“You need a combination of factors,” he said.

For an Italian restaurant, he said, “The tomato sauce is very important. You put it on your chicken Parmesan, your pasta. If that’s not done right, then nothing gets done right.”

Milanese said his restaurant uses some of their mother’s recipes.

“If you come here, you’re going to feel like you’re at home,” he said.

Bull and Buddha in the City of Poughkeepsie, with its upstairs nightclub Orient, opened in December 2010.

Andy Arkun, 55, now a city resident with decades of experience in the industry, took over as managing director in November with his equal partners, John Hooper and Renee Hooper, of Stamford, Conn.

Arkun said he doesn’t believe in “individual success” and that community involvement is key. The restaurant, as much as possible, employs locally, uses local farms for produce, meat and cheese, local vendors and local supplies.

“Everyone becomes successful,” he said. “It brings the community up.”

Bull and Buddha recently began hosting a jazz brunch Sundays with a live trio. The brunch menu includes a “Bull and Buddha Benedict,” with poached eggs, roasted pork loin, chorizo (pork sausage) and hollandaise sauce on an English muffin for $10. The restaurant also has happy hour from 4-6 p.m. Monday through Friday with $4 appetizers and $5 mixed drinks, like the sake pear margarita.

Getting started
Petite’s Nuehlenweg grew up in Germany and spent summers with an aunt in Paris, France, where began working in a restaurant at age 14, peeling potatoes and sweeping floors, he said.

“It started a bit of a passion,” he said.

He came to the United States in 1994, lived in Los Angeles and New York City, then moved to Pawling several years ago.

“I finally feel at home,” he said.

Nuehlenweg said he wants his restaurant to be accessible to everyone in the community.

Aldo Milanese said his father, Santino Milanese, of Highland, opened the restaurant in 1971, after he was laid off from Schatz Federal Bearings on Fairview Avenue in the Town of Poughkeepsie. His father’s grandfather owned the building, and the space was empty, so that was an advantage, he said.

Some, at the time, didn’t think lower Main Street was a good location, he said.

“Everyone was calling him crazy,” he said.

Aldo Milanese said the family expanded the restaurant slowly, and didn’t take on a lot of debt. That helped when the recession struck, he said.

“A lot of restaurants, I believe, try focusing too much on what the other restaurants might be doing — the competition,” he said. “Regardless of what the competition might be doing, if you can stay focused on your own place and improve on what you’re doing, you’ll be fine.”

Arkun was born in Turkey, lived in New York City for about 25 years, then moved to Palm Beach, Fla., until he moved to Poughkeepsie to run Bull and Buddha. He has managed numerous restaurants, including the former Tavern on the Green and Smith & Wollenski, both in New York City, during the 1990s.

He began to visit the Hudson Valley as a tourist when he lived in New York City.

“I love Poughkeepsie,” Arkun said. “There is a lot of history ... natural beauty. Just where we are right now, Main Street, the old buildings and historical places, and the arts — which is what I like about it. This place can be like New York.”