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Mike Wilson,
Brix and Nava restaurants,
Richmond Hill, Ont.
By Gary Lipovetsky, President of MenuPalace.com
 City-dwellers often complain the suburbs of Toronto are devoid of authentic experiences. It’s the land of the large chain business, where every corner has a Tim Horton’s and a bland, family casual eatery. In fact, some busy corners have five. Everything’s spaced out and inconvenient, unless you’re the type who loves driving everywhere.
When Mike Wilson and his wife, Teresa, opened Brix Napa Valley Grill & Wine Bar (and later, his second resto, Nava), he was determined to change all that. His idea — to offer authentic, regionally inspired cuisine and excellent wines for a great price, and if you wanted to head out afterwards to really get your groove on, all you needed to do walk across the room.
MP: How did you get into the restaurant business?
MW: I went to UWO and finished up with courses at Seneca College in accounting and financial management. While at Seneca, I worked at The Keg in the evenings, and I learned to enjoy the hospitality business. I liked the energy, the atmosphere and the environment. I certainly wasn’t that enthralled with spending my working years in a cubicle, although the accounting aspect taught me the business side of restaurants.
MP: What was your inspiration when you were developing these concepts?
MW: The inspiration for Brix comes from California. We spent a lot of time in Napa doing wine tours. I always liked California cuisine because it is farm fresh and market inspired. Brix serves fresh market, California cuisine. In California, we have found there are Asian influences in many of their restaurants, so we put that twist into our menu. The wine is essential as well. But we always liked going to supper clubs, too, so we worked the entertainment aspect into it also.
MP: OK – what about Nava?
MW: At Nava the food hits a spectrum from simple items such as nachos and wings to a fantastic steak frites. The location for Nava had a lot of square footage, so we wanted to incorporate a nightlife element to it as well.
MP: Are you a proponent of local food?
MW: Our corporate chef Steve Sandiford is a big supporter of that. He loves getting locally grown produce and Canadian product. For our wine dinners at Brix, he’ll bring in local artisanal cheeses and local seasonal produce. Steve believes local products are a great challenge for chefs because it forces them to cook seasonally, for example you will rarely find asparagus on our menu in any other season besides Spring or Summer. On the other hand we are commercial and people do expect to see variety all year long which is where the challenge lies.
MP: How important is it to have a completely cohesive concept?
MW: It’s extremely important. It all has to flow and work together. Our philosophy has always centered on food and service. But we also want to have long sales windows where you can have a good lunch trade, a good cocktail hour, a good dinner rush and then you can roll into your late night.
MP: Speaking of late night, your restaurants double as a night-time hotspots. How hard is it to balance the two?
MW: Customers don’t like to get back into their cars and drive somewhere else after dinner. We call it one-stop shopping. We’re known as a party place, so you don’t have to get back into your car and drive somewhere else after dinner. Now, finding that balance isn’t easy — the transition from restaurant to club has to be smooth. You need to have the right atmosphere, lighting, sound system, deejay and a dance floor never hurts.
MP: What are the three most important things in any successful restaurant?
MW: Most important is food quality. Second most important is your staff and staff training. Staff must be able to intelligently answer questions from customers. And third, is to work as a team.
MP: What is the one thing about being a restaurateur that you love the most?
MW: No day is ever the same. It is always changing and challenging and that’s what keeps it interesting.
MP: What is the most challenging part of your job?
MW: To make staff care and get staff to treat the business like it’s their own.
MP: This past year has been tough in the hospitality business. What did you do to drive more business into your restaurant?
MW: Customers are value driven — that’s true now more than ever. Our food and wine is moderately priced. It’s funny, but the more value our customers get, makes us stronger in an economy like this. You can never stop marketing, advertising and promoting during these times.
MP: What’s next for you?
MW: We’re looking at a few ideas and working on a new concept, but we can’t tip our hand on it right now. We’ve also been approached by some people to franchise Brix. That’s another big opportunity for us.
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