Mel Johnson Professional Employer Consultant and Contributor on the Price of Business on Business Talk 1110 AM KTEK (on Bloomberg’s home in Houston) recently interviewed Owner, Jonathan Levine. Jonathan owns Jonathan’s The Rub located at 9061 Gaylord St Houston TX, 77024
Give me a brief history of your company?
After running a couple of restaurants in Cape Cod, I moved to Houston in 2000 and opened Jonathan’s Catering Company. It was a small operation but was very well received by the Memorial Village community and we were surprised at how quickly we grew. In 2008, Jonathan’s The Rub opened as a full-service restaurant and catering company in response to the increased demand. Since then, we have continued to expand and have now outgrown our current space and are excited to relocate to a much a larger and fancier place at the corner of Gaylord and Bunker Hill in the fall.
What is the biggest challenge facing your business today?
I think the biggest problem facing us today is keeping up with the demand, which is a great problem to have. With the help of Houston’s overall growth and strong economy, we have grown rapidly over the last couple of years and have had to adjust accordingly. Luckily, we were given the opportunity to relocate to our new building, which will allow us to serve more people in the restaurant and expand our catering services. We will also have the space available to make reservations, so people will not have to wait as long on busy nights. Parking has also been a challenge at our current location since it is very limited so we have made sure we will have more than enough parking at the new place.
The main contributors as to why Jonathan’s continues to grow in such a competitive industry?
In the restaurant industry, you see plenty of trends come and go. Restaurants experience increased traffic when a trend starts to take off but once the excitement fades so do business. I think we are able to stay competitive and continue growing by staying away from the food “trends.” We have a broad menu but we stick to what we know and don’t get caught up in the hype surrounding different trends. We stay consistent and people like that.
What part of your job gives you the most satisfaction?
It feels really great to have a job that I truly enjoy. Not only do I run the day-to-day business operations but I am also on the line preparing dinner each night. I love experimenting with recipes and creating new dishes. Creating something that is so well received by your guests always feels great. Many of our guests have been visiting the restaurant since the beginning and it always feels good to have the chance to catch up with them. Throughout the years, you get to learn about their families and what’s going on in their lives; they really are like old friends and these relationships mean a great deal to the restaurant.
For more information on Jonathan’s The Rub visit them at www.jonathanstherub.com
