Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
It was a tough call. John O’Brien dreamed of a restaurant with only “40 Seats and a Bar”—and he wanted to call it just that. But the well-traveled chef instead decided on Three Flags Tavern, a name rooted in local history and in the cuisine that each flag—French, Spanish, and American—represents. Plus, the sprawling, two-level wooden patio that he inherited at the former Harry’s Bar & Grill has been a neighborhood beacon for years. Somehow, “190 Seats and Two Bars” just wouldn’t have cut it. So three cheers for Three Flags Tavern, slated to open this month.
Was there a restaurant memory that stuck with you since your youth?
Looking back, I still can't believe that for a time, a high-school friend and I were the two main cooks at Ruggeri's, an enormous place with 1,100 seats. The kitchen was as big as my entire restaurant. We were like 16 and 14 at the time.
When did you know the restaurant business was a career choice?
I worked for a time with my father in the title insurance business. But the restaurants I worked in seemed to have a core of fun, into-it, high-energy people who could have done something else, but stayed in because they liked it. I'm that guy. When I was at Redel's, I asked the kitchen manager, "How can I be you?" And he said, "You don't want to be me; you want to go to culinary school," as he had not. So I did.
Who were your mentors?
Joe Ruggeri, Herbie Balaban, Lee Redel, Pierre Chambrin of the St. Louis Club. I was this renowned French chef's butcher, which was a big deal. I respected my father, a businessman who wore a suit and tie and drove a nice car, but also my uncle Butch, who was a union tradesman. He built things. Two different worlds, but each got the same level of respect from me.
Do you have a mantra?
[Smiling.] That involves an economy of words that obviously I do not have. The answer to your question is technique. It's not what's in the pantry; it's using proper technique. The French drum that cornerstone into you, and they should. I get that.
Describe your personal cooking style.
I'm a modern person who leans backwards. I want to do simple things really, really well. I'm not interested in making lobster foam and dehydrated bacon dust. I just want to make good fried chicken and bake some really nice bread. Razzle dazzle has a time and place...but not in a building that dates from 1928. It's been a tavern for a long time.
Do you have a mission statement?
If "extreme hospitality" counts, then that's it. We want to under-promise and over-serve. Customers deserve a scratch kitchen, quality products, the option to make a reservation... Did you feel like you were attended to, but not hovered over? You want to make sure you get a lobster roll? Just ask for one when you make the reservation, and we'll make that happen.
So it's more service-based?
Not really. The customer is the star of the show. The chef is one player, the servers are like ninja actors—with heads on swivels, swooping in and out quickly. I'm a backstage player.
You're the director, the recipient of credit and blame. So what's the secret to getting more credit than blame?
For me, it's a function of size. What my wife and I originally conceived—40 seats and a bar, which is what this still is—addresses that. Limiting seats limits the staff, front and back, which limits the issues. It allows us to be more selective when hiring. When the patio gets rolling, we'll limit the food options to things that we can prepare outside. Keeping it simple will allow us to maintain the same standards that we set inside.
How did the Three Flags name come about?
Three Flags Day was the commemoration of a historic, three-way land swap where Spain turned over the Louisiana Territory to France, which immediately granted to the U.S. Many people don't realize that all of this took place in our city on March 9 and 10, 1804. The Spanish flag was lowered on March 9, the French flag got raised for just over a day, and the following day, the U.S. flag replaced the French.
I like restaurant names that mean something.
It worked out perfectly, as those styles of food are what I like to cook and eat: fried chicken, steak, brandade, manchego frito, lobster rolls, mini monte cristo's, crema Catalana—it's across the board by design. There'll be an outdoor cooking station as well, with a smoker and wood-fired grill, that will help service the patio.
Will your wife play a part at Three Flags?
Cathy's one of the best maitre d's I've ever run across. So yes, my wife will play a huge part. The core is there.
Small establishments usually necessitate jack-of-all-trades employees.
And I like that, that the cooks bake, make sauces—and wash dishes—as well as sautee. Lateral service is mandatory in a restaurant of our size.
How important is proper service in a casual setting? For example, does it matter that a woman doesn't get served first?
Table numbers, seat numbers, women served first...all of that's important. Just because you're in a casual setting doesn't mean decorum gets tossed out the window. Hospitality should never suffer, regardless of venue. If you entertain casually or formally at home, your guests always get treated the same way.
Hiring, training, and maintaining a good service staff is still the bugaboo of the industry.
Training's the key. Many times, I thought I was the failure with those I've had to fire...for not training them better. I didn't nurture them; I wasn't observant enough of their shortcomings. It wasn't all their fault.
Will Three Flags be more restaurant than bar, or vice-versa?
We're gonna be a bar that leads with food.
What does that mean?
I want to be thought of as food first. The menu, the build-out, the standard of service will discourage it from being the raucous sports bar that it used to be. I don't think people want to live in 1988. People are more selective about food now. They grew up watching the Food Network. There are plenty of places to go for a decent drink.
Who's your customer, then?
Remember it's a new and improved neighborhood place. Having a restaurant, bar, and large patio just means being able to entertain different demographics.
True, you need to be approachable, yet appeal to a more sophisticated palate. How do you do that?
Take fried chicken: Who doesn't appreciate good fried chicken? We have rabbit sausage; it only becomes unapproachable because of the word "rabbit." The other word is "sausage," followed by sweet mustard and black bread. I hope the love of one will negate the trepidation over the other.
How does price relate to food quality?
When I talk to a purveyor, we talk quality first. Then service. And then price. If the first two aren't there, the cost doesn't matter. Price becomes less a factor when the quality is memorable... Remember, the most expensive meal is the one you have to pay a lot for and then hate.
Three Flags has rotating specials, in other words, the same item available the same day every week. How do you know how much to prep?
POS systems track sales day by day, hour by hour. All you can hope is that the weeks are consistent. I don't think the public is offended when a daily special runs out.
Just as often, daily specials don't sell, making them a waste magnet.
If there's extra, it becomes the family [staff] meal. Ideally, the staff likes it so well, they sell the heck out of it the next week.
Four local craft breweries have announced expansion plans. How important will beer be at Three Flags?
I owned a brew pub, yet wrote a menu that pairs well with wine, with a lot of options, 25 or 30, by the glass because wine is where most of a restaurant's drinkers are still focusing. That said, our six to eight tap beers will be local craft beers—that's all we have room for. Bottled beer will be mainstream, craft, and imports.
I would describe your cocktail list as "classic." Yet some folks like the newest, buzziest thing. How does a new restaurant address that?
There's both an ease of sale and a speed of production in having a classic list. Most people know what the drinks are, so there are few questions—plus customers don't have to wait 20 minutes for that drink to be made. Behind the bar, having extra time means money. That said, bar people must be allowed to express themselves, just as cooks do, and that will happen. But it will be in addition to a menu of more classic cocktails.
What are your thoughts on ambience?
Customers are in the scrutiny business: While they wait, they scrutinize. I can easily change the food and drinks to react to their tastes, but it's hard to change the walls, the aesthetics, and the noise level. We'll pay initial attention to lighting and comfort, but let what's on the walls develop organically. Have you ever bought a chair because you needed a chair...and then spent years hating that chair that you bought so hurriedly? I don't want to risk looking at a wall and admitting, "Man, that is a terrible piece of sofa art."
How about noise?
Noise abatement comes at an aesthetic cost, because owners and designers rarely cover up old tin ceilings and beautiful brick walls. That's why you see so many undersides of surfaces getting treated.
Are you a location guy, or do you believe that if the food's good it doesn't even matter?
I love where we are. My first job was on The Hill. We're just off Kingshighway, one of the main thoroughfares in the city. We're near The Grove, Tower Grove, the botanical garden, and two major highways.
What's the biggest measure of Three Flags becoming a success?
Someone saying, "This dish is sooo good," or "We had such a good time. Thank you." Meeting and exceeding guests' expectations. It's so basic, so primal.
I know you and your wife are committed.
We're so into it we're building a nursery next door for our baby. Now that's commitment.
