Photograph by Kevin A. Roberts
Steve and Jamie Komorek own and operate Trattoria Marcella, one of the most popular destination restaurants in St. Louis, the success of which is due in no small part to their fraternal interaction: They are together day and night and they share the same work ethic, business philosophy, and vacation home. Even their cellphone numbers are a digit apart. Now, after several expansions and 17 years of prosperity, they chose this month—in one of the shakiest times in the restaurant industry—to open a second location, Marcella’s Mia Sorella (14464 Clayton). Misguided? Drunk on success? Shrewd? We now believe it's the last one—but it took both of them to convince us.
Have you guys always been close?
Jamie: We shared a bedroom growing up and we're three years apart, so we spent a lot of time together. We still live across the street from each other.
Steve: But we really are opposites in a lot of ways, but very compatible opposites. How so? S: Disagreements don't ever last long...we've cursed at each other and then gone to lunch 10 minutes later.
Your respective starts in the business?
S: Thirteen years old at the Slay's in Grantwood.
J: My uncle wouldn't hire me at the other Slay's on Hampton, so I bussed tables at Bartolino's. I was 12.
Customers really seem to love really young busboys.
J: I worked for $10 a night, and made a lot of tips. I was a hustler. I always had cash money...that's the part that got me.
S: Hustling was a natural. You wanted the approval of fellow workers, so you hustled. And cash came with hustle.
What did you do before you opened your own place?
J: I was waiting tables for Greg Perez at Painted Plates.
S: I was running the kitchen at Piccolo's tapas restaurant in the Met Square building. I had also worked in Vegas, and for David Slay in California.
You both grew up in the business. Any unusual restaurant stories growing up?
J: On weekend nights at Slay's, I remember our parents putting us in a banquet room, pushing two chairs together, covering us with a tablecloth, and saying "We'll come get you when we're ready."
Others? I know you have a hundred of them.
J: Twenty years ago, on a busy Saturday night at Painted Plates in U City, the police were busting three kids on the street, cuffing them right outside the door, their faces all jammed against our front windows. It was quite a sight. It was like a movie.
I wish I had a dollar for every restaurant story like that.
J: One Trattoria regular, a very interesting guy in his 90's named Rawlings Brewer, would drink one Johnnie Walker Black, every day--and never more than one, but you better fill that one up all the way to the top--and tell stories. One day he was talking about Charlie Lindbergh, who he knew. He'd been to all four St. Louis baseball stadiums.
S: His favorite player was Honus Wagner. Honus Wagner?
Hopefully he owned one of his baseball cards...
S: The best reward for being in this business is building relationships like that. We learned a lot just listening to that guy.
J: It's true. Gems like Mr. B will carry you through all the crazy customers and nutty situations.
Did you ever think you’d be partners?
J: We hatched that plan to do our own place on a drive back from Las Vegas.
S: We were driving all night. That crazy dream and plan may have hit us when we weren't thinking too clearly...
Were you ever not in the business?
J: I sold office equipment for three years. That wasn't very much fun.
S: When I was 12, I wasn't in the business...
J: But in our 8th grade yearbook, next to Steve's "Future Career," was "restaurateur/chef."
S: So I really always knew that this is what I wanted to do.
Did you ever go to chef school?
S: Not until I was 37; I was invited by the Italian government to participate in a Masters Program in Italy.
J: We were expanding the restaurant and he picks that time to go to Italy for 16 weeks. With Mia Sorella opening up, I figure I'm about due for that 16 week wine course I always wanted to take...
Jamie, do you have any say in the kitchen?
J: Only if he asks my opinion. Which does happen. Occasionally...We know where our talents lie.
S: When we started, it was me in the kitchen and Jamie on the floor. Period. I didn't know I was getting the hard end of the bargain.
J: That's what he thinks.
Do you have a mission statement in your kitchen?
S: It's simple. Do only what you can do, but do that well.
J: The same is true for service. We may not be the best, but what we do, we do well.
You guys have maintained a veteran staff.
S: The person with the least seniority has three years. Our dishwasher's been there eight, the average server, eight.
J: Joey Campisi has been with us since day one. We're one of few local places that can claim a professional serving staff. That's pretty rare.
So what's the secret? A lot of restaurant owners want to know.
S: There's a competitive spirit at the Tratt; the weak links tend to get weeded out on their own, so if you're not pulling your weight, you gotta go. Luckily, most get on board.
If your brother was not here, what would you both do?
J: Something in the wine business.
S: Cars or real estate. I can dream big with either. We've got some property downtown that has been several different things in my mind.
You've expanded the Tratt immensely since its inception.
J: In 1998, we went from 60 seats to 100 and then, in 2004, took it to 150.
S: Our idea was "let's grow this thing." Let's keep it all under one roof so that we all can make a decent living. And we're doing that.
J: But the families are getting bigger...our own plus the restaurant family. We want to take care of guys like Joey Campisi.
So will you take key employees to the new place?
J: Surprisingly, no; most of them want to stay at the Tratt and we can live with that. Most of the training will be done here. There's a cost involved, but we also think of it as a luxury.
S: Mia Sorella is a completely separate entity. If you want someone at the Tratt or something at the Tratt, you'll have to go there.
Will signature items like lobster risotto and fritto misto reappear at Mia Sorella?
S: No. We don't want a second Tratt; we need to create a new identity. Trattoria customers are begging me to add the salad with portabellas I just created. Guess where it will appear?
So is it easier to create a signature item by selling something cheaper, or by creating a brand new item?
S: Sorella's menu will consist of the successful specials from the Tratt, and allow me to try out the thousand I've been unable to do.
J: We are doing toasted rav's at Sorella, but that's it.
S: The reason I can't change the Tratt's menu is because of all the signature dishes.
J: The fritto misto is ordered by almost every table.
Will you ever do variations on those classics? You'll have to.
J: The goal is to create something similar to the frito misto, but different. But so far, we're not planning for any kind of risotto, for example, but we are focusing more on pizza.
Basic or gourmet-style pizzas?
S: Both, really. Fresher, quality-driven ingredients and a lot of different cheeses but using a more basic cooking method; I'm not sure families--the kids, specifically--appreciate a wood-fired pizza, for instance. Kids don't get that char.
J: What he didn't tell you was that we already own a Baker's Pride stone oven.
Will you make Sorella's pasta in house?
S: More of that pasta will be homemade, but not all. Some pasta dishes just work better with a dried product.
Will Sorella's pricing be similar to the Tratt?
J: Yes, not higher because we're in the county.
S: It may even be cheaper. Volume and efficiencies can make that happen. Limiting reservations can make that happen.
It took you awhile to add on a patio at Marcella. What's the story at Sorella?
J: Yeah, we finally figured that one out. It's a must-have. So your answer is two patios, one in front, and one in back that overlooks a little lake.
Will either be covered?
J: Not as yet. Covered in umbrellas, maybe...
So the big question, why choose such expensive real estate, one that requires a total build out?
S: Our first question to ourselves was, "we've been successful at a somewhat hidden location in South St. Louis, how much business would we have done at an "A" location, in the same neighborhood as most of our customers?"
Aren't there turnkey restaurants in residential, "A" locations?
J: Not many; most are in "B" locations. That should tell you something.
S: Once we announced where we were going, I can't tell you how many customers said "I live right by your new location!" It seemed like almost everyone.
But then the Tratt will lose "almost everyone."
J: I don't think our repeat customers--the ones who come to see long time servers like Joey—will stop coming. Plus, our business clientele isn't going anywhere. I'm not worried.
S: In reality, Sorella is splitting the distance for many of them. And it's the right size—100 seats. I'm not worried, either.
J: When we opened in 1995, it seemed people in the county were conditioned to drive into the city to eat. That's not as true anymore.
Especially in a poor economy, it seems diners want to stay closer to home.
J: I hear that alcohol plays a part in that, too. Nobody wants to drink and drive through five municipalities on the way home. We see way more taxis and drivers than we ever used to.
S: The whole act of drinking is now thought through like it never was before.
J: And every Pinkel and LaRussa-type arrest reinforces it.
What part did design play at Mia Sorella?
J: People underestimate the importance of style, design, and functionality. It's critical because you're forced to deal with it every day. That's where existing, turnkey operations can end up being a nightmare. Many just don't work.
S: Sorella is a chance for us to streamline and simplify and get creative again.
Steve, you spent time cooking in Italy. What's the biggest lesson you learned?
S: Give the people what they want. When I returned, I had all these great ideas, like tripe. Everybody in Italy eats tripe, and I love tripe, so I was so excited to do that here. Flat line response. So I reluctantly, but wisely, abandoned it.
Why did you wait so long to do location #2?
S: Over the years, we looked at probably hundreds of deals. We've never not looked. We always listened. This is one of few deals not requiring us to surrender a firstborn.
J: Plus, we all felt the economy is improving. That also helped push things along. And, that area is affluent, just in case it decides to stall again.
What were your parameters?
S: It's funny, we said if we were to ever open another place, it would be an existing restaurant in a free standing building, and we would own the property. None of those happened here. But the deal made sense. The developer, Bob Brinkmann, was a good friend of my grandfather. He really wanted us there.
J: I'm 48, Steve's 45; if this was going to happen, it needed to happen now.
The Trattoria's business is built around wine. Same for Sorella?
J: We inventory a ridiculous amount of wine at the Tratt, 4000 bottles. I've put just as much effort and focus into creating a smaller, but equal, wine list at Sorella. Fewer bottles, but more wines by the glass, starting with 20. I'm willing to grow that.
Is there any new technology for keeping opened bottles of wine fresh?
J: No. Just different systems, but they all use inert gases like argon to keep wine from oxidizing. It's available at wine stores, too.
How about beer? That market's only getting bigger.
J: Ever since the purchase of A-B by InBev, our customers are more comfortable experimenting with microbrews. We will have draft beer, something space did not allow for at the Tratt.
S: Yet a lot of our older customers still prefer something more generic, like a Bud Light or a Mich Ultra.
J: I was weaned on Busch and Bud, to, so a few years ago I reeducated myself.
How about cocktails?
J: Matt Seiter worked for us…
S: Before he got famous at Sanctuaria.
J: But he set that ball rolling in our bar: fresh juices, muddled concoctions, passion...
This is a brand new space. Does that translate to "contemporary space?"
J: No. For example, we managed to locate the old walnut bar from Rick's Cafe American in Des Peres. It was in storage in Marthasville, MO.
Any other fears or trepidations?
J: Prom season. Weekend busboys get scarce during prom season.
What's the best job in a restaurant?
S: Coat check. It's seasonal, but people can make $100 in a night.
J: Done. I'll get my wife in there... Seriously, the money is good. I once worked with a girl here who packed up and moved to Minnesota, just because the coat season was longer. True story.
Any desire to do yet another place?
J: We own property downtown. That may be the next step for us. Eventually.
S: I would love to open a place like Stevie's Sausage Company. When I returned from Italy I was making all my own salumi, but people weren't receptive and we ended up giving it away. All they wanted was the fritto misto!
How do you relax?
S: With our families, together. We call Sunday "Fun Day." Church, then brunch at Brasserie or Cielo with Jamie and my sister. We're all best friends.
J: We all work the same hours, so it's a natural. We often follow with a family dinner on Sunday nights.
S: On a recent Sunday, we had a fried chicken cookoff, my 14-year old son up against me, in a secret ballot, blind taste test. He did all kinds of research and he beat me. His was marinated, seasoned, buttermilk-battered, re-seasoned. J: Sounds like a possible special: "Better than Dad's" Fried Chicken.
S: Jamie and I have always researched the absolute best way to prepare an item...we may have passed that down.
