Philly chef 'steaks' his claim, rules prime retail kingdom

Nation's Restaurant News, Sept 9, 1996 by Suzanne Kapner

PHILADELPHIA -- "Location" may be the golden word in the restaurant business, but for chef Derek Davis the key term is timing.

"What I do isn't original," said the 34-year-old, who owns four restaurants and has a fifth in development. "I'm not creating concepts but capitalizing on trends."

In 1992 when brick-oven pizzas and pasta with pesto were making diners drool, Davis opened Sonoma, a casual restaurant serving Italian-Californian cuisine. A year later, with the red-meat craze stampeding through cities, Davis stepped in with Kansas City Prime, an upscale steak-and-seafood restaurant. This spring Davis saddled up and roped the Southwestern and barbecue trends with Arroyo Grill, which has a menu ranging from tamales to mesquite-smoked beef. And just as comfort food nestles in Americans' bellies, Davis will be there with The River City Diner, scheduled to open in the fall.

Davis also has a 50-percent stake in Gekko Grill, a Caribbean seafood concept in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

"I believe in the integrity of a concept," he said. "People want to know what kind of restaurant they're going to. I don't believe in an eclectic menu."

Davis may have timed the debut of his concepts as precisely as a pastry chef pipes cakes, but he also timed his entrance into one of the hottest real-estate sections in Philadelphia -- a virtual yuppie hotbed of coffee shops, eateries and retail stores with names like Main-ly Shoes and Public Image.

Called the father of Manayunk or the King of Main Street -- the 1-mile stretch that is the center of the SoHo-like haven -- Davis shares responsibility with real-estate partner Dan Nuducsin and attorney Allen Newman for turning deserted lots into some of the most valued property in Philadelphia.

"[Davis] has been instrumental," said Kay Smith, executive director of the Manayunk Development Corp., a group that fosters growth in the area. "He's a very significant player. He's rounded out the development and created critical mass."

The area may even be too dense now. With more than 20 restaurants on a one-mile cobblestone road, and with new operators scouting for space, the city passed an ordinance last December designed to reduce congestion and slow growth. New restaurants now must provide one parking space for every four seats. Because additional parking spaces are almost nonexistent, the influx of new restaurants has been curtailed.

Davis is able to continue expanding when other restaurateurs can't because he owns a parking lot with 300 spaces.

As Davis said, he may not be reinventing the wheel with his concepts, but he did have the vision to put down stakes in Manayunk when it was just a burned-out strip of empty warehouses.

Yet his career started years before he and his partners bought an old building on the strip wedged between the mountains and the canal, gutted it and built Sonoma.

When Davis was 12, he sliced hoagies for a family friend who owned a sandwich shop, and by age 15 he knew restaurants were what he wanted to do with his life.

After graduating from Bucks County Community College and completing a three-year apprenticeship program, he worked at a string of restaurants in the Philadelphia area, most notably DiLullo's and Apropos. He also became a journeyman of sorts and apprenticed at some of the top restaurants in the country, including Le Bernardin, Le Cirque and Jean Louis at the Watergate.

By 1988 he had enough funds to become executive chef and partner at 1701 Cafe at the Warwick Hotel in Center City. But the dark, uninviting design of the restaurant, combined with a faltering economy, prevented that operation from taking off.

"At that time there was no new business coming into town," Davis said. "The Gulf War was on, and business was terrible. No one was traveling. There were no tourists."

A friend suggested he clear out of Center City and look at Manayunk. After hooking up with his partners, Davis sold 1701 in 1991 and began formulating a plan for Sonoma.

"At that time Manayunk was just getting ready to break out," he said. "There was one nightclub open and about 40 or 50 empty buildings. It was right on the cusp."

When the 110-seat Sonoma opened, it soon generated $3.8 million in sales, with average checks of about $21. Diners come for the specialty pizza -- like wild-mushroom and spinach with smoked mozzarella, fresh garlic and rosemary, $9.50 -- as well as for the vodka bar, which features 100 varieties.

Kansas City Prime staked its claim to Manayunk by appealing to female diners, because it's too far from downtown to draw the business crowd.

"It's not an old-boys' club," Davis said, adding that women often meet each other for lunch in a setting marked by beige, white and pink colors and complemented by fresh flowers. While Davis said customers come for the filet mignon and the prime rib, both $26, they also like the selection of fresh fish, including grilled salmon, $19, and whole Dover sole, $29. However, he said, beef accounts for 75 percent of sales, which are $2.5 million annually. Average checks are $35 for the 120-seat restaurant.