Profiles

Sal Howell

Sal Howell, Proprietor
Business: River Café, Calgary, Alberta
Contact Info: Tel. 403-261-7670; e-mail: sal@river-cafe.com

Description: River Café is an award-winning, high-end restaurant located on an island in a park setting in downtown Calgary. Featuring a panoramic view, or "window on the seasons", its décor - celebrating Canadian culture - and cuisine is inspired by the environment. The menu changes monthly, showcasing seasonal Canadian cuisine from local organic and free-range farmers and producers, some of whom River Café partners with to develop ingredients not found anywhere else. Employing 50 core staff, the restaurant also boasts an extensive wine cellar with some 450 selections from around the world and hosts visiting winemakers and chefs.

Background: Owner Sal Howell was born in Wales and grew up in the Channel Islands, New England and Florida before moving to the Maritimes where she studied fine art, which has influenced her restaurant concept. "I didn't plan to pursue fine art and photography as a career, but I always had an inclination to the arts. I believe I found the most creative outlet I could possibly find in the restaurant business where there is so much room and need for creativity." There's no question that food and wine are her passions (she studied with the International Sommelier Guild and became a certified sommelier in 1999). "I love food and the stories behind food," she emphasizes. Along with a group of partners, Sal started River Café in 1991 as a much smaller restaurant (it was originally an old park concession stand built in late 60's). "I had a great attachment to the potential of River Café, so when we went our separate ways, I completely redeveloped it - doing the concept design, overseeing construction and raising the funds."

Awards: Year after year, River Café has received reader- and panel-voted awards from such publications as Avenue Magazine, Where Calgary Magazine, Wine Spectator, FFWD Magazine, Calgary Magazine, Winetidings and has even received Gold for Best Out of Province wine list from the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival. The restaurant has been featured in publications such as Nuvo, Flare, Bon Apetit and Gourmet Magazine.

Unique Features: Access to River Café is by footbridge over a lagoon. The only building in Prince Island Park, the "fishing lodge" design is a tribute to fly fishing rivers, overlooking the Bow River on one side and Calgary on the other. "In the summertime, you can sit outside on the patio and you're surrounded by trees in this beautiful pastoral setting, but then you have this great city skyline," says Sal. "It's a very unique urban park setting." Inside, the restaurant décor includes a fieldstone fireplace, a 'wooden river launch' bar, bark chairs, birch tables and cabin treasures throughout.

Sal has adopted a sense of responsibility about what food is purchased and featured and sees her role partly as educator in that area. "Our cuisine," she says, "is very much a romantic look at what was indigenous to the area - what came from the land and the streams - trout, buffalo, pheasant. That expanded in an enormous way to our commitment to local and regional products. We support small local farmers and almost exclusively source naturally chemically-free grown products both in meats and produce and we support only fish from the coastal regions that is sustainable." The restaurant even features unique heirloom varieties of vegetables that were lost or forgotten, never before known to its clientele.

Key Success Factors: River Café's unique concept, well-trained staff, high-quality product and innovative culture go a long way in explaining the restaurant's success. But that's not all. "We continually ask for feedback, rework our internal systems, constantly explore new ingredients and new ways to present things and push ourselves to do better," explains Sal. "A fabulous location and good product are not enough - the essence is providing hospitality and presentation and a dining experience that is like an emotional massage to cultivate repeat clientele." The restaurant's success can also be attributed to Sal's vigilant attention to the numbers side of the business, with the result that sales have increased each year. She regularly sets goals. "Envisioning the future is a very powerful tool. You'll find people who are aligned and then anything is possible."

Biggest Challenges: A unique challenge for the restaurant is its location. "We work hard to be a destination worth the walk to in winter in 25-below temperatures! And you're only as good as your last meal," maintains Sal, "so the ongoing challenge is to stay fresh in people's minds and to be consistently good." One of the ways River Café fosters innovation is by hosting visiting chefs, who not only introduce new menu items but also inspire the staff. "Even though finding, recruiting and retaining good people is difficult in this industry, it can also be the biggest reward," says Sal. "If you create the right kind of culture, it will take on a life of its own and attract talented people who can make great contributions. I think our restaurant is a very creative place, offering our staff an opportunity to work with unique ingredients - and they get very excited about that." According to Sal, the first five years were the most challenging in establishing what River Café was all about. "The last five years have been smoother and quite successful - very much a tribute to the talent that we have assembled."

Greatest Satisfaction: "The daily pleasure of seeing clients enjoy the meal and experience at River Café is a huge driving force."

Biggest Lessons Learned: The labour-intensive restaurant business with its many variables and small margins has claimed many casualties. Sal pays attention to key indicators in the industry and understands the importance of good service. "I rarely ask my managers to worry about their labour costs because good staffing on the floor translates into customer success. You can market and advertise all you want, but if you're not delivering service at the highest level, you're not going to grow your business." Sal has learned the secret of balancing the cost of goods. "When you figure out how restaurant economics work, you can start to establish where you have room to do the things that make you better and then things will flow."

Growth Tips:

• "Don't be afraid to get out and ask questions of those who are doing what you want to do. Gather information and intelligence from them to circumvent reinventing the wheel."
• "Do your homework financially to ensure that your plans to grow your business make economic sense."
• "Make sure you have the proper support and help."
• "Being passionate about what you do is the real key to success."
• "Keep your eyes open all the time. What an education it is when you mature with your business. Personally, I can't dine out anywhere without thinking of all the components that go into that particular experience."

Mentors: In the early years, Sal learned the financial and design aspects of the restaurant business from her partners. Among restaurant owners who inspire her today are chefs Alice Waters of Chez Panisse in California (on supporting small local farms) and Sinclair Philip of Sooke Harbour House on Vancouver Island (on hospitality and nurturing regionalism in Canada). "Many creative individuals I've had the pleasure of working with have also imparted great wisdom and expertise. River Café has had three chefs - Dwayne Ennest, Glen Manzer and Scott Pohorelic - each of whom has made a remarkable contribution and elevated the level of cuisine here, building upon each other's success."

How RBC Helps: Sal, who has had a personal account with RBC for 14 years, received a small business loan to develop the restaurant in 1995. "Before that I banked elsewhere, but it was RBC Royal Bank that came forward and supported my project. My account manager is terrific and very energetic, never hesitating to facilitate what we've asked for, such as bridge financing for new equipment. I've never hit a roadblock."

Future Plans: Sal is exploring new ideas, which would be offshoots of the core River Café concept - for example, creating a retail component such as a grocery store and catering arm. This would be a logical move since the restaurant bakes all its breads and desserts.

Personal Interests: Part of Sal's initial motivation to move to Alberta was to experience the whole notion of the wild west and its cowboy culture. A fan of equestrian sports, she has two horses and rides competitively.

On Work/Life Balance: : "Like many women, I tend to put more on my plate than is achievable. When all is running smoothly, it's great, but there comes a point when you have to take a few deep breaths, look at what you value most and make some choices and changes."